THE MODERN MINT BLOG
This week I gave a talk – Helping The Honeybee – to the lovely beekeeping group at Southend on Sea.
Here are some notes for those who didn’t have a chance to write down some of the ideas we spoke about and shared….
The Top Plants For Bees
- Helenium
- Sedum
- Echium
- Marjoram (a wonderful British native.)
- Oregano
- Eupatorium, also known as Joe Pye-Weed
- Borage
- Nepeta
- Veronicaastrum
- Teucrium
Phillyrea
If you want a hedge for around your apiary, you will not go too far wrong with planting the amazing, tough as old boots, Phillyrea.
Read plenty more about this shrub here.
Rosybee Nurseries
To stay up to date with the latest research on the best plants for bees, speak to Rosi Rollings at Rosybee Nurseries.
We interviewed her a few years ago now. But her nursery has grown plenty since then….in fact, she has now moved sight completely!
Helping The Honeybee
I was researching plants for bees, now although I no longer specialise in doing this (as I am making and teaching my first love, topiary) I would love to hear from anyone who can suggest to me the most valuable bee friendly plants in their garden.
Please do contact us if you have any thoughts about this!
Finally….
I was asked about rabbit proof planting. Take a look at these, but… good luck with that!
And the nurseries I recommend you look for plants from, would be:
- Great Dixter Gardens
- Beth Chatto Gardens
- Marchants Hardy Plants
- Knoll Gardens
- Phoenix Perennial Plants, Marina Christopher’s nursery
Thank you everyone at Southend on Sea Beekeepers – enjoy your summer of helping the honeybee!
And check out my Topiary work here.
Why I Wrote The Book Modern Topiary
I have written this book, Modern Topiary, because I wanted a collation of useful information that would give people access to everything they need to know in order to start making topiary. Topiary is an amazing (and niche) line of work to follow – amazing because it offers up opportunities to travel all over the world, making gardens, meeting people… but also, the work is intensely physical, hands-on, yet requires creative thinking in order to solve the puzzle of how to make the shapes you want. This mixture of the craft and the art is what I love the most …
Buxus the Norfolk Terrier In Modern Topiary Book
This is Buxus, our Norfolk Terrier, who I acknowledge in the acknowledgments of the book of Modern Topiary. The book of Modern Topiary can be read, for free, here. There you go. Buxus the dog on ‘doorstep duty’ at a friend’s house in Edinburgh. For those asking what he looked like!
What People Think Of Modern Topiary, The Book
Yesterday I put out the book – Modern Topiary – that I have spent the last six years writing. Download for free a pdf of Modern Topiary here. And what seems amazing to me, is that not only have people actually been reading it, but then responding to it. So below are a number of comments I have been sent from those who read it last night, and this morning…. “Brilliant read, exactly the right amount of info to take in and digest.” Rachel, a gardener “I love your book, the advice is so straightforward and your writing is so …