THE MODERN MINT BLOG

May26

Dan Pearson’s Must-Have Plants: Perennials

Now we get to the heart of Dan Pearson’s plant recommendations… and he offers far more perennials than another designer we have written of…

(Do also check out this review of his excellent book ‘Spirit’.)

Perennials

Acanthus mollis latifolius group ‘Rue Ledan’

Actaea cordifolia

Anemone x Hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’

Angelica edulis

Aralia cordata

Baptisia Alba var. Macrophylla

Brunnera macrophylla ‘Betty Bowring’

Bupleurum longifolium ‘Bronze Beauty’

Cephalaria dipsacoides

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

Dierama pulcherrimum ‘Blackbird’

Digitalis ferruginea

Disporum longistylum ‘Night Heron’

Epimedium wushanense ‘caramel’

Erigeron karvinskianus

Eryngium agavifolium

Eryngium ebracteatum

Ferula tingitana ‘Cedric Morris’

Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’

Gaura lindheimeri

Geranium ‘Tiny Monster’

Gillenia trifoliata

Glycyrrhiza yunnanensis

Helleborus x Hybridus Ashwood Hybrids

Hemerocallis ‘Stafford’

Inula magnifica ‘Sonnenstrahl’

Iris lazica

Lathyrus vernus ‘Gracilis’

Molopospermum peloponnesiacum

Paeonia lactiflora ‘White Wings’

Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Alba’

Persicaria virginiana var. filiformis

Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Herbstsonne’

Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’

Salvia uliginosa ‘Ballon Azul’

Sanguisorba ‘Cangshan Cranberry’

Sedum ‘Jose Aubergine’

Selinum wallichianum

Thalictrum ‘Elin’

Verbena macdougalii ‘Lavender Spires’ (this plant is difficult to find, at least at the time of writing. Not the same but easier to find is a plant we also wrote about here Verbena bonariensis…)

Read part 1, part 2, part 4.

Recommended Reading:

Tokachi Millenium Forest

The Well-tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques

Dream Plants For The Natural Garden

Jan28

Monty Don British Gardens Episode 4

I hadn’t seen the new Monty Don series ‘Monty Don’s British Gardens’ but I was sent a message one evening to say stick it on – episode 4 especially! On the episode were three gardens I make and clip the topiary in… the photo above is my quizzical boxwood emu… which looks ridiculous out of context of the wider topiary garden it sits in… but hey! Showcases what you can do with boxwood, when given enough time to let it grow! But also on the episode were Waltham Place, one of my favourite gardens and a place I teach topiary …

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Nov01

Topiary Art In Hong Kong, The Henderson

Here are a couple of photos of the topiary work I have been doing in Hong Kong for the Art Garden at the bottom of the brand new skyscraper, The Henderson. The building has been designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and this November 2024 the garden at the base of the structure will be planted up, with lots of topiary originally designed by Gillespies Landscape Architects, grown by Tarzan Nursery in China, and then clipped and refined into shape by…. me. Will update with photos from The Henderson Art Garden when all is completed and the garden is opened, but …

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Apr16

EBTS Boxwood Growers Forum

Through the European Boxwood and Topiary Society I worked with Chris Poole and Sue Mesher, members of the EBTS board, and we set up a Boxwood Growers Forum. This was to discuss how to make sure this wonderful topiary plant stays in the public conscioussness – we know many growers, suppliers and distributors have stopped selling it as the cost of replacing boxwood that has blight, or is nibbled by the boxwood caterpillar, makes it unviable to offer to clients and gardeners. But Boxwood is a phoenix plant, and there are ways to deal with the problems associated with Buxus. …

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