THE MODERN MINT BLOG
David Austin, Roses
David Austin, the Rose breeder and nurseryman, passed away the week before Christmas.
You can read his obituary in the Guardian and I am sure there will be many more words about him published across the internet. Many of us have his English roses in our gardens, or have given them as presents to friends.
We met him briefly in Shropshire during 2017, at his home, when afforded a tour behind the scenes of the David Austin Nursery. I have written about that visit here. The nursery itself is worth a visit in June for the collection of wild roses alone.
A sad start to the year. But also a reminder (for me at least) to stop and take time to smell the roses. Or the peonies, my own favourite, which you can find at the nursery of Claire Austin, his daughter.
Topiary Teaching For 2026
A new year, so time to share a few thoughts on what I will be looking at doing with topiary, and the focus on teaching I would like to put in place, for 2026 and beyond. Above is Nandina, made by a student of ours from the European Boxwood and Topiary Society. She took a year to work on this, taking a plant not renowned for being a good topiary plant, but seeing what its weirdness is and what values it does have, then exploring and exploding those. I am thrilled by this. Not just this look for autumn. A …
Topiary Workshop 2026 at Waltham Place
The next topiary workshop I will be teaching is now live on the website and can be booked! Just visit Waltham Place to get a ticket for the Topiary Workshop I will be teaching on Friday September 4th at Waltham Place. Myself and Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society (Buxus expert! Like, he knows everything there is to know about the plant! So worth booking just to tap into his knowledge….!) will be teaching here for the… fifth year in a row I think? The garden is a beautiful place to spend time clipping. We will teach …
Michael Gibson, New York Topiary Art!
In the New York Times earlier this year was a lovely interview with Michael Gibson, who makes topiary and gardens in New York. The article is here but you may not have access… however, search the internet, find it and have a read. It is great! His philosophy of pruning is especially worth it… Sacred geometry in topiary? Yes please! What a phrase! I think (and speak) of balance, of major and minor, of leaf volume… but sacred geometry might well make it into my topiary teaching lexicon! And the idea of directional trimming? I realise I do this, but …