THE MODERN MINT BLOG
What are the best looking, easiest bulbs to plant this Autum? Here are a few we are putting into designs for our clients…
1) Narcissus ‘Thalia’
2) Allium ‘Purple Sensation’
3) Narcissus ‘Actaea’
4) Narcissus ‘February Gold’
5) Tulipa ‘Ballerina’
(We thought about adding pictures and explanations to help you decide they are worth planting – but planting bulbs is such an act of faith – that we didn’t want to give away what will come up in the spring. What we mean is, you get these tough little bulbs and bury them in the dark, let life carry on and forget what you did right now, here in the Autumn… then suddenly, they are poking their heads up out of the soil, making you exclaim with joy and dream of warmer days and shorter nights… so we left the pictures out of this blog post, left you to an act of Autumnal faith… trust us, they are great (and easy!) varieties which you shouldn’t be without in the garden…
You can get all of these bulbs here at Sarah Raven…
Our last advice to give you about these bulbs? Plant them in the hundreds… so that these bulbs will make a fantastic show for you in the Spring!
(For more on bulbs try these books below…)
The Bulb Expert: The world’s best-selling book on bulbs (Expert Books)
Bulb: A Hand-Picked Selection of the World’s Most Beautiful Bulbs
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 …