THE MODERN MINT BLOG
What is your garden’s story?
Are you a minimalist?
Or perhaps a maniac for a meadow?
In this beautiful Ted talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, she explains that the tales we tell ourselves affect how we identify with the world – and that if we are not careful, if we only have and believe one story – it ‘robs people of dignity.’
Please do take the time to watch her talk, allow it to affect you and help you decide what the stories of your life (and not just your garden) really are…
(If you like this, you may also be interested in this ‘genius’ Ted Talk…)
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….! …