THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Mess
“What people somehow forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here.”
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
This is the best advice we can give to anyone starting there first garden – don’t worry if it is a mess.
It is so easy, when you move into a new house and suddenly have all this space to deal with (space that doesn’t stand still and let you catch up with it!) to begin planning for beautiful lawns, lots of roses, or a style that is easy to maintain.
Don’t move too fast. Don’t seek the ultimate perfection on day one.
Your job is to watch this landscape, let it exist with you and find out if you are going to be suited… and if you aren’t, if you have taken the time and found out a little more of who you are and why you are here… you may be better prepared in finding a way to get by together.
It may look a mess to begin with, but with time and a more relaxed attitude to the garden, you will learn a lot about yourself in the process.
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 …