THE MODERN MINT BLOG

Dec13

Hiut Denim Jeans – As Good As Our Garden Tools

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…

Hiut Denim jeans before washing

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…

Hiut Denim Jeans after first wash

 

Really loved where they have faded. Where they are creased. It is like looking at my copper tools after so much use….

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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!

Jan28

Monty Don British Gardens Episode 4

I hadn’t seen the new Monty Don series ‘Monty Don’s British Gardens’ but I was sent a message one evening to say stick it on – episode 4 especially! On the episode were three gardens I make and clip the topiary in… the photo above is my quizzical boxwood emu… which looks ridiculous out of context of the wider topiary garden it sits in… but hey! Showcases what you can do with boxwood, when given enough time to let it grow! But also on the episode were Waltham Place, one of my favourite gardens and a place I teach topiary …

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Nov01

Topiary Art In Hong Kong, The Henderson

Here are a couple of photos of the topiary work I have been doing in Hong Kong for the Art Garden at the bottom of the brand new skyscraper, The Henderson. The building has been designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and this November 2024 the garden at the base of the structure will be planted up, with lots of topiary originally designed by Gillespies Landscape Architects, grown by Tarzan Nursery in China, and then clipped and refined into shape by…. me. Will update with photos from The Henderson Art Garden when all is completed and the garden is opened, but …

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Apr16

EBTS Boxwood Growers Forum

Through the European Boxwood and Topiary Society I worked with Chris Poole and Sue Mesher, members of the EBTS board, and we set up a Boxwood Growers Forum. This was to discuss how to make sure this wonderful topiary plant stays in the public conscioussness – we know many growers, suppliers and distributors have stopped selling it as the cost of replacing boxwood that has blight, or is nibbled by the boxwood caterpillar, makes it unviable to offer to clients and gardeners. But Boxwood is a phoenix plant, and there are ways to deal with the problems associated with Buxus. …

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