THE MODERN MINT BLOG
This piece in the Guardian got me thinking a lot – it shows how an orchestra, a country and a town in Devon have been putting the cost of their carbon footprint at the head of their priority list.
Read the article – Carbon Cutters.
Gardening is not above this. From refraining from using peat compost to moving to a decent pair of shears, you can easily reduce your carbon footprint. Perhaps you could even make your own compost, so as to enhance life in your garden all the way down the food chain? (For more on that, you can book my talk ‘A Very British Garden’.)
We have done a few posts on reducing your carbon footprint, but the best thing you can do after starting a compost heap is use a green energy supplier (maybe not the best, but definitely the simplest!)
We use Bulb. They are 100% green, renewable energy. If you sign up, we both get cash bonuses. Take a look and make this simple change today.
Join Bulb & Reduce Your Carbon Footprint.
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, …