THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Who To Follow On Twitter
Twitter – we use it to push our work out into the world. But, out of the 400+ people we follow, who are the most interesting?
Rare Breeds Survival Trust (of which we are also a member. Why? Because it makes us feel good to support the work they do. You may get this good feeling too, for just £34 a year… Join RBST here.)
They all post lots of photos, which are then easy to retweet with your own followers. These photos are also thrilling – Nigel Dunnett’s work on roof gardens is so far ahead of the ubiquitous ‘sedum mat’ most people recommend, while the Twitter pics of the two sheperdess’ will make your jaw hit the floor.
The other night we began looking at one picture and twenty minutes later we realised we were still flicking through… and it certainly wasn’t time wasted!
The others we follow on Twitter – most of them gardeners or businesses, both local and national – are interesting enough… but they don’t do it for us like the above. We are also quite aware, now we have had time to think about it, that we need to up our Twitter game too. Otherwise we are just wasting other people’s attention, surely?
We don’t take many photos (we know we should, but it is customers talking about us that gets most of our work. The garden design portfolio is, in essence, just a shop front) and the photos we do take that we actually like and want to share are ridiculous – like this apricot on a plate…
It hardly matches up to the Yorkshire Sheperdess and her horses.
We are also more comfortable with words. Perhaps we can tweet lines from the blogs we write? Quotes sent out on Twitter are also popular (though not popular enough with us to break into our top 5 above…)
It is the push system that Twitter uses that is so good – you push your work out and it goes straight to people, knocking on their doors to tell them it is there. A blog can be posted and it doesn’t enter the world with the same force, it is placed ‘out there’ and awaits people finding it. So valuable information – like this from Dan Pearson – can be missed.
We will continue looking at what tweeting does for Modern Mint – as a business, also as a way to live. Do we want to use it? If using it, can we make it better for the people who are seeing it? What steps can we take so that it adds value to their lives – this is exactly what we try so hard to do when we take on a new client – add value to their lives. Shouldn’t we do the same with our tweets?
Having said all of this, and hopefully pointed you in the direction of some great Tweeters, here is where you can follow Modern Mint on Twitter. Or do you think you can inspire us enough with your Twittering to break into our top 5?
Or for more about Twitter and other social media, here are some books that will make you think…
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 …