THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Logs – Modern Mint
Autumn is arriving and nights are getting colder, so we need to start thinking about logs for the fire.
Why you should use logs from Modern Mint…
The logs we offer are guaranteed to have been seasoned for 1 year, with a low moisture content.
All logs are sourced from the UK – Essex, South London, Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire.
Buying logs from Modern Mint (and so from the UK) helps support work in native woodlands.
What are the best logs to use for your fire?
In the words of ‘Woodsman’ Ben Law, you need to:
“Mainly use birch for firewood. It burns hot and bright, and, when mixed with a slower-burning wood, it creates a good fire. I use birch bark for fire-lighting. It remains by far the best of all fire-starters…”
Here you can read more about Ben Law and his woods… while a more in-depth study of the different firewood to use to keep warm with can be found here at a post we wrote called ‘Best Logs for a Woodfire.’
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
With Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society we visited Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. Do you know it? Amazing place! Chris and I were teaching a topiary workshop in order to give local people the skills and technique, and tenacity! to help with the pruning of the avenue and elevate it to something even more special than it already is. Read more about the workshops here. We hope to run a further workshop in September 2026, as well as teach an advanced course too. Check the teaching page through the year as it will be updated …
Aesthetic Pruners Association – New Talk In December
An organisation I love and have been learning lots from in the last two years is the Aesthetic Pruners Association based in the USA. Sharing knowledge with them about clipping and the overlap – and differences! – in style is something worth exploring, so I recommend a visit to their website and to join onto their events and talks, which are all on Zoom meaning you can access them from anywhere in the world. No excuse not to learn! The next event will be led by Jocelyn Cohen and be about ancient trees in the British Landscape. This is such …
The Amelia Project – Episode 88: Didius Julianus
Friends of mine write a sitcom podcast called The Amelia Project (I wrote about this years ago, when they started it….!) December 2024 I had some fun playing the tiny part of Fornio in episode 88 – Didius Julianus. I have not listened to the episode yet, as I am clearly not an actor… and the thought of listening to my dulcet tones for the few minutes I’m in it just… makes me feel ill. But the recording and being in the studio was great fun, the real actors were hilarious and the script is brilliant – not just funny, …