THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Lovely to see one of our favourite companies trending on the BBC today…. Hiut Denim Jeans.
Not only do they make brilliant jeans, but they have been a massive inspiration to us.
Their philosophy, to make the best jeans they can, not the most jeans they can, reminds us all the time that at Modern Mint, it is okay not to sell the same tools and products as the garden centres.
Because we don’t like those tools. We like these tools….
These tools are the ones that will last you, that are sharp and strong yet light, and will be something you love to use every single day in the garden.
The best tools, not the most popular tools.
Having coveted a pair of Hiut Denim jeans for awhile, we finally ordered one pair at the start of the year.
We waited while they were made.
Since they have arrived, back in March, we have worn them pretty much every single day. We did not wash them, as is the way of raw denim, for 9 months.
This is what they looked like after 9 months without water, each and every crease made by my frame and movements…
They looked ready for a wash, didn’t they?
But the benefits of the No Wash Club are strong, particularly that you will have a pair of jeans that are unique to you.
When I did wash them, in lukewarm water in the bathtub, turned inside out so that the true indigo only lightly bled…. they looked like this…
Really loved where they have faded. Where they are creased. It is like looking at my copper tools after so much use….
So there you have it. A Welsh company making jeans is an inspiration for Modern Mint. Because they want to sell you something excellent, that will do you a great job. And last you a long time.
Sounds very much like the lovely items we have here on our shop!
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….! …
ClipFest 2025
On Sunday June 22nd there will be Clipfest 2025 at Ichi-Coo Park in Surrey. It is a celebration of all things pruning and topiary, and I will be there in my capacity of teacher at the European Boxwood and Topiary Society to demonstrate tool cleaning and sharpening, and how to clip. Tickets can be found here on Eventbrite. We are hoping for great weather and to see lots of keen pruners getting their shears out and joining us at this amazing garden! And for more on topiary…
Secateur Holders
A present arrived from Norway today, from a student who visited last February to work with Chris Poole and I on learning topiary. His new hobby – a beautiful and neatly stitched secateur holder. Thrilled with this! The holder will save me keep losing my secatuers too…! Thank you Bernt! It was the same student who introduced me to the APA with whom I am doing a talk at the end of March. Tickets can be bought here for ‘Defining The Essence – Aesthetic Pruning in the Garden’. Do join the European Boxwood and Topiary Society for that!