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!
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….! …