THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Earth Friendly Gardening Books
Modern Mint are thrilled to announce we now have a collection of Earth Friendly Gardening Books now in stock!
Written by the brilliant and award winning gardener John Walker (who gave us a fantastic interview on this blog last year) we can now offer you the following titles in his oeuvre…
The Brand New Book ‘Weeds’
The Practical ‘How To Create An Eco Garden’
2 Book Collection of Essays ‘Digging Deep’
Click on the photos above to read more about what makes these books such a worthwhile read… or visit the Modern Mint Shop.
If you want a quick run-down of why these books are such a worthwhile purchase, then see below:
- They offer practical advice that you can actually take action on at home in your own garden.
- The writer, John Walker, is an award winning writer who knows how to tell a story well – especially when it comes to earth friendly gardening!
- If this beautiful earth of ours is to be made even better, the ideas these books showcase need to be acknowledged.
- They are great value and can easily be popped into a bag, suitcase or even a pocket for reading on holiday. We often take them on the train with us into London, as they fit neatly into the back pocket of our jeans, making it easy to carry around.
- They make a fantastic gift for a friend – so don’t be shy in buying one!
I Only Have Enough Money for 1 Book – Which is Best?
They are all good, honestly, but the best if you are on a budget is ‘How To Create an Eco Garden.’ It is packed full of useful information and is a lovely, weighty book to hold in the hand. It includes lots of illustrations too.
@ModernMintLtd I love this book! I take it to my talks (hog-friendly gardening). Our #garden works with #nature 🙂 pic.twitter.com/a0I4sRAfmn
— BioRisings (@HedgehogTorfaen) August 19, 2016
(As a bonus, The Digging Deep books would be our second choice, as they are full of wit and really get you thinking. Buy Digging Deep the Collection here.)
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 …
Topiary Library
I do a lot of teaching topiary. I had the opportunity from my mentor, Charlotte Molesworth, to work on her garden and experiment and test techniques and generally try making shapes without the worry of failure, or being fired, or being sued and run out of business for getting it wrong. This opportunity was essential (along with Charlotte’s insistance that pruning standards had to be high!) in becoming better at topiary. When I look around the world at our cultural vitamins, what we see in the media day in and day out, I see the stupidest and grossest of people …
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
With Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society we visited Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. Do you know it? Amazing place! Chris and I were teaching a topiary workshop in order to give local people the skills and technique, and tenacity! to help with the pruning of the avenue and elevate it to something even more special than it already is. Read more about the workshops here. We hope to run a further workshop in September 2026, as well as teach an advanced course too. Check the teaching page through the year as it will be updated …