THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Happy New Year from Darren and Chloe at Modern Mint!
Modern Mint will be turning 1 next month and what a busy year it has been…
… we have designed gardens, sown meadows, written nearly 200 blog posts, took part in the Chelsea Fringe, performed a new garden show called ‘What Do You Do With This Space?’ and started an online shop to showcase the best in artisan talent – furniture makers, tool makers, soap makers – we are seeking them out and sharing them with you!
Excited?
Absolutely.
Garden Design
With 5 designs on the go at the moment, and 2 meadows taking shape, we have a busy spring this year. And already the phone has been going for more work! So do get in quick if you need help and ideas with your garden this year.
Here are our major projects currently on the go:
A large garden in Upminster, Essex.
A small, private garden in North London.
A large garden in Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex.
Phase two of a large, private garden in Gidea Park, Essex.
Phase two of a meadow in Gidea Park, Essex.
Phase two of a meadow in Grove Park, London.
Organic Topiary
We also have our new shears coming this weekend, to help us with our Organic Topiary work in 2015 – we have been asked to sculpt a number of hedges and trees to give them a more dynamic look.
If you want to know more about this new form of topiary, check out these blog posts:
Or better yet, send us a message. We’d love to tell you why Organic Topiary has such cutting edge style (hehehe…)
Shop
Our shop is a platform for us to share with you the products we love – products that are sustainably sourced, hand-made, beautifully crafted, and support the idiosyncratic voices of the artisans who make them.
They are products for the home and the garden, and our list of suppliers is growing all the time.
If you know someone who is, shall we say, a little different…? Please tell them about us! We want to hear from them. And you, of course – if you want a particualr product, of a high quality, and you just can’t find it on the High Street – let us know and we will seek it out for you.
See our shop to discover what we have already found in our first 3 months since opening…
Blog
Top 5 posts from 2014:
2) Interview with Rosy Bee – Plants for Bees
3) 9 Ideas for a Cut Flower Business
5) Dan Pearson’s Must-Have Plants
Chelsea Fringe
We are curating a book of manifestos answering the question – why do you cultivate your garden? Each manifesto is no more than 100 words. This is a call for authors and garden enthusiasts to share their ideas with us – come on, 100 words – you have that in you, right?
Find out more here Chelsea Fringe 2015 Modern Mint.
Do follow us on Twitter to find out more – and have a great 2015 everyone – from Darren and Chloe at Modern Mint!
Modern Topiary, the Book, at Garden Media Guild
My book about topiary, Modern Topiary, has been mentioned on the Garden Media Guild newsletter…. As the screenshot says, the book can be read for free online here. At the bottom of the screenshot, it looks like another Garden Media Guild member has a book out called ‘A Year In A Cottage Garden’…. so if that is where your garden heart lies, check that out too! And at the top of the screenshot, it looks like I was listening to Pelleas et Melisande, by Debussy. What a classy chap I am, listening to classical music as I reply to emails. …
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 …