THE MODERN MINT BLOG
It is time for the Edinburgh Festival 2018 – hurray for August!
We will be in Edinburgh for 2 days towards the end of month, meaning we miss out on a few days work pruning topiary and cutting the stone fruits in the orchards.
However, it will be great to rest my back a bit and take in some great shows. Many clients are also going to Edinburgh and have been asking for recommendations, so here goes below…. to point you in the right direction:
Jordan Gray: People Change
Mel Byron: Old Movies Saved My Life
Will Seaward: Spooky Midnight Ghost Stories
Eleanor Morton: Great Title, Glamorous Photo – brilliant comic who will be performing here at ‘The Daft & The Dispossessed’ in October. Go buy a ticket!
Tony Law: A Lost Show
Paul Foot: Image Conscious
Pauline Eyre & Rebecca How: Better
Succubus – a lovely, early in the day show. Get the magazine too!
We would also recommend Daniel Rubinstein, Mawaan Rizwan, Sheep, John-Luke Roberts, Leslie Mcjagger, ACMS, Kieran Hodgson, Natalie Palamides, Jordan Brookes, Flo and Joan, Daniel Kitson (if you can get tickets) and Alun Cochrane. I may have forgotten a few. But that will hopefully be enough to get you started!
Hope you enjoy them all!
The Modern Mint Team.
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 …