THE MODERN MINT BLOG
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 at… it even showed the hedge the students work on.
And at the end they visit the garden of Charlotte Molesworth, the Queen of Topiary and my mentor.
So if you have an interest in topiary, watch episode 4 of Monty Don’s British Gardens.
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 …
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. …
Modern Topiarist @ Garden Masterclass Poland
My video on Modern Topiary for Garden Masterclass has been translated into Polish, for the keen gardeners (and happy pruners!) of Garedn Masterclass in Poland. Tickets for the first showing and q and a were available here. But it will become available on the Garden Masterclass Poland website at some point in the near future – so if you are a keen clipper and want to know more, but speak Polish and not English, then I suggest you visit the website and get watching. (Of course, if you don’t speak English, you may not be able to read this…. hmmm… …