THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Finnish Gardens
From our trip to Western Finland last summer to check out some Finnish gardens, the Finnish landscape, and get some garden ideas…

The landscape around you effects the way you behave. Notice how much colour the Finnish people use… symptomatic of the short growing season…
Do we use enough colour in the UK? Or do we not appreciate just how bold we can go? Although a white garden is lovely, we can take lessons from people who like a more vibrant palette – try The Bold and Brilliant Garden if you need ideas.


Everything gets recycled and reused, like this spade being used as a shallow surface to grow plants… echoes of Derek Jarman’s Garden by the sea, anyone…?
We hope to go back soon, as the Finnish gardens and landscapes we saw last summer were beautiful and inspiring. Don’t forget to check out our trip to Japan either…
And for a real colour boost to your borders – go make use of this sale by clicking the link below!
Box Hill – Novella by Adam Mars-Jones
I picked this book up back in 2020 because of the title – Box Hill – fabulous, I thought, a book about boxwood. I’ll peruse this for its respective thoughts on the plant I clip most when I make topiary. I didn’t read the blurb on the back. Didn’t know the author (although I knew the publisher, Fitzcarraldo Editions, as I love many of the essays they have published… so trusted the author would be worth spending time with.) By page 2 I realised this novel wasn’t quite what I had expected. I started the book at 10pm, after getting …
The Henderson, Topiary Art Interview on Instagram
In a suit… eek! View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Henderson (@thehenderson_hk)
Topiary, The Art Garden at The Henderson
The Art Garden at The Henderson in Hong-Kong has now opened to the public. I joined the project last March, to work with Gillespies Landscape Architects on the topiary that had been designed for the Art Garden, which gives a calm, green space below the extraordinary Henderson skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The garden has been designed with butterflies in mind, so lots of nectar plants, and has other art projects and installations within its footprint. The history of the site is interesting too – it was originally the first cricket ground in Hong-Kong! So still a green space….! …