THE MODERN MINT BLOG
So here we have a new programme – All Gardens Great And Small – with the comedienne Miranda Hart and her gardening mother, Dee Hart-Dyke.
You can watch the first episode here on More4.
And here we are with our tools out, soaking up the sunshine on the day of filming.
But why would you watch All Gardens Great And Small? Why especially this first episode?
Because you can see the wonderful work of our friend, topiary artist Charlotte Molesworth, and get a rare glimpse into her extraordinary topiary garden. She is the first garden visited by Miranda Hart’s mum, and it looks fabulous.
It should do, because we spent blooming ages through spring helping her clip and prune the hedges, trees and topiaries. We also helped weed through the exceptional flower borders that Charlotte and her husband Donald have been tending, caring for and cultivating over the last 33 years. (You even see Charlotte holding her preferred gardening trowel, which she got from us here at Modern Mint….)
It was incredibly fortunate that on the day of filming the sun shone bright, as it meant not only did Dee Hart-Dyke get a chance to really look around the garden but also had an opportunity to try out some pruning, with Charlotte teaching her how to make a topiary bird.
The boxwood plant used on the show was one Charlotte had grown herself, from a cutting she took years previously. Digging it out from her boxwood nursery was a job left to Modern Mint back in early spring…
Please do take a look at All Gardens Great And Small with Miranda Hart and her mum – it is, of course, an innuendo-laden programme – but they have done a great job seeking out some unusual places to visit and share with you.
And we are of course so proud to have been involved in making the first garden of the series such a visually arresting and fun one.
If you would like Charlotte Molesworth and Modern Mint to help you with some topiary, we travel all across the UK (and recently into mainland Europe!) to clip, cut,a dive and design.
Here is a design done for a client in Kent, of topiary ducks sat looking into a pond…
So do watch contact us to start a conversation about the topiary in your garden.
(Or buy yourself a pair of these shears, the ones used by Charlotte in the programme, and get started at home….)
Start of the Whitby Topiary Library
I have been offered a space here in the centre of Whitby, south-facing aspect, with some raised beds in, so that I can make a Topiary Library. In my head, a topiary library is a place to showcase the common (and then not so common) shapes you can make out of topiary. With classical topiary plants, as well as some more unusual pieces. This Topiary Library can act as a reference for people to learn more about pruning and clipping. The space is small but the aspect is great and the beds are deep enough to put some plants in. …
Delivery After Dark – From the Makers of The Amelia Project
Last week I spent most nights stood in cold water streams on the moors of North Yorkshire, helping to film a new project called Delivery After Dark from the makers of the Amelia Project. I worked on the Amelia Project back at the end of 2024, lending my terrible vocal talents to a small part in the episode Didius Julianus. But this project is something new – and exciting! – and thankfully only needed me to be filmed, rather than to actually say anything. But not only did I have to stand in cold moving water at midnight, I also …
Modern Topiary (The Book) – Message From Lady Clippers, And Others!
My topiary book – Modern Topiary – has recently been put out as a PDF, which can be read for free. (Have a look here to download and read/share it!) Then last week I received a lovely email from Ann Perkowski of Lady Clippers, who are topiary and pruning specialists in New York (Ann is a brilliant pruning teacher too, who teaches at New York Botanical Garden… check out her work and Lady Clippers website.) Hi Darren, I had to write you how much I love reading your Modern Topiary. I’m not sure I’ll ever be quite done with it because I’m …