THE MODERN MINT BLOG
In 2022 I did a free video for Garden Masterclass, the Annie Guilfoyle and Noel Kingsley run website that is a treasure trove of the great and good of the horticultural world – well worth looking through all the wonderful talks they have available, like meadow-maker James Hitchmough or nurserywoman Rosy Hardy.
They are certainly inspirational! Perfect for watching and dreaming up new ideas during the winter months…
As a follow-up to my Topiary Provocations video (which you can see on Youtube for free) I was asked to do a video for their Masterclass series on how to make topiary.
In the video I share the tools you need for topiary, technique for clipping, best plants to use and how to go about designing topiary – both classical shapes and something more modern.
It is a lot of fun and was pleased to be able to share as much as I could in an hour about clipping and pruning topiary.
I did my best to give away as much knowledge as possible, to be as helpful as possible – which is exactly how my mentor Charlotte Molesworth was with me – so that more people can see how a well-thought out, well-made topiary, can transform a garden.
The full video can be rented on Vimeo for £12.08 – a funny price now I write it down, but… that is what it is.
I hope you will watch my video The Modern Topiarist on Garden Masterclass to learn more about Modern Topiary… and then get clipping in your own garden!
Why I Wrote The Book Modern Topiary
I have written this book, Modern Topiary, because I wanted a collation of useful information that would give people access to everything they need to know in order to start making topiary. Topiary is an amazing (and niche) line of work to follow – amazing because it offers up opportunities to travel all over the world, making gardens, meeting people… but also, the work is intensely physical, hands-on, yet requires creative thinking in order to solve the puzzle of how to make the shapes you want. This mixture of the craft and the art is what I love the most …
Buxus the Norfolk Terrier In Modern Topiary Book
This is Buxus, our Norfolk Terrier, who I acknowledge in the acknowledgments of the book of Modern Topiary. The book of Modern Topiary can be read, for free, here. There you go. Buxus the dog on ‘doorstep duty’ at a friend’s house in Edinburgh. For those asking what he looked like!
What People Think Of Modern Topiary, The Book
Yesterday I put out the book – Modern Topiary – that I have spent the last six years writing. Download for free a pdf of Modern Topiary here. And what seems amazing to me, is that not only have people actually been reading it, but then responding to it. So below are a number of comments I have been sent from those who read it last night, and this morning…. “Brilliant read, exactly the right amount of info to take in and digest.” Rachel, a gardener “I love your book, the advice is so straightforward and your writing is so …