THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Meet Stefano
Stefano works with us at Modern Mint, designing gardens with Darren (who, incidentally, also does garden talks) and turning his hand to just about anything the business needs in terms of logos, prints, signs and artwork.
He joined us at the end of 2014 and fit in magnificently, his positivity and quick thinking an exciting asset to a new company like ours. He also makes an incredible tiramisu (he is Italian, after all) and a fantastic pizza dough – after too many strong espressos we often float around the idea that we should open a Modern Mint pizzeria too…. they really are that good!
To celebrate Stefano and the skills he brings to Modern Mint we decided to set him a challenge – to illustrate 99 Flowers in 99 days.
Which flowers and what style is completely up to him – what we wanted to see was a body of work created by an artisan, that when viewed together turned out to have extraordinary weight and depth. Is that a lot to put on someone, do you think? It could possibly be, but our man Stefano took up the challenge and so, we invite you to please take a little time to view and enjoy the 99 Flowers project by Stefano of Modern Mint.
For more of these amazing drawings, and to see how the style evolves throughout the 99 days, visit 99 Flowers by Stefano on Pinterest and Facebook.
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, …
Waltham Place Topiary Workshop 2026
With the European Boxwood and Topiary Society, I run two workshops each year at Waltham Place, one of my favourite gardens. The next topiary workshop there will be on Friday September 4th 2026. Details and how to book yet to be announced, but get in touch with them now to get on the waiting list, as last year we had double the amount of people wanting a place than we had space for. The Waltham Place website is here – topiary workshop 2026. See the teaching page for how else I can help you with the topiary in your garden …
Box Hill – Novella by Adam Mars-Jones
I picked this book up back in 2020 because of the title – Box Hill – fabulous, I thought, a book about boxwood. I’ll peruse this for its respective thoughts on the plant I clip most when I make topiary. I didn’t read the blurb on the back. Didn’t know the author (although I knew the publisher, Fitzcarraldo Editions, as I love many of the essays they have published… so trusted the author would be worth spending time with.) By page 2 I realised this novel wasn’t quite what I had expected. I started the book at 10pm, after getting …