THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Garden Design App
If you google ‘Garden Design App’ a few options turn up. One for the I-Pad offers to help you create your perfect garden, and tells us it is easy to use. It offers choices of trees, plants, pavings, lawns… oh gosh, everything… but never once mentions logistical issues like soil amplitude, seasonal dynamics, companion plants or the effect of wind and rain on plant growth.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t good, but what a ‘Garden Design App’ cannot do is the human work needed to create a garden.
By human work, we mean creating atmosphere. Inspiring the owner. Giving confidence to people who have never gardened before. Being able to answer questions in a gentle manner, when those questions are asked quietly for fear of being thought stupid.
This is what we at Modern Mint are trying to do – be human.
That way we make the garden you want. Rather than just be an App.
Call us now to speak about your garden… or check out these books, which are not a bad second option if you want to learn a little more about gardening (or being human…)
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 …
Aesthetic Pruners Association – New Talk In December
An organisation I love and have been learning lots from in the last two years is the Aesthetic Pruners Association based in the USA. Sharing knowledge with them about clipping and the overlap – and differences! – in style is something worth exploring, so I recommend a visit to their website and to join onto their events and talks, which are all on Zoom meaning you can access them from anywhere in the world. No excuse not to learn! The next event will be led by Jocelyn Cohen and be about ancient trees in the British Landscape. This is such …
The Amelia Project – Episode 88: Didius Julianus
Friends of mine write a sitcom podcast called The Amelia Project (I wrote about this years ago, when they started it….!) December 2024 I had some fun playing the tiny part of Fornio in episode 88 – Didius Julianus. I have not listened to the episode yet, as I am clearly not an actor… and the thought of listening to my dulcet tones for the few minutes I’m in it just… makes me feel ill. But the recording and being in the studio was great fun, the real actors were hilarious and the script is brilliant – not just funny, …