THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Lonely Bouquet Day
National Lonely Bouquet Day is tomorrow (Sunday 29th June) – an initiative that seeks to put a smile on the face of a stranger!
We love this idea. Having grown cut flowers in the past (and that really is a beautiful job) we applaud any idea that helps encourage people to get out and use flowers they might not have considered before. Flowers that are seasonal, smell great because they are fresh, are grown locally and, best of all, make a stranger happy.
If you want to take part in Lonely Bouquet Day, here is what you need to do…
1) Pick flowers fresh from the garden or forage straight from nature
2) Arrange the flowers in a small, recycled jar
3) Add a signature “take me!” tag
4) Leave the homegrown arrangement behind for a lucky local to take home. Voila! You have just delivered a handful of flowers that will surely put a smile on a stranger’s face.
We hope you support this wonderful project – go for it, cut some flowers and make someone smile!
(For a bouquet that seems to do the opposite of the aims of the Lonely Bouquet, take a look at this from our Chelsea Fringe project… that lonely bouquet is pretty sad by the end, right? That’s why we encourage you to spread the happiness tomorrow!)
If you are a complete novice with cut flowers, haven’t a clue where to begin, but are inspired enough to want to give it a go… you can always ask us for help. Other clients have… Cut Flower Garden.
Or these books below will give you a huge amount of information – we recommend you check them out!
The Cut Flower Patch: Grow your own cut flowers all year round
The Cutting Garden: Growing and Arranging Garden Flowers
(This one below is more about cut flower growing in the USA, but the lady who wrote it introduces great case studies from other growers – invaluable and inspiring tips about how to make your cutting patch work!)
And for those who have arranged flowers before and want something a little more exciting to work with… how funny are these florist snips…?
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 …