THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Nigel Colborn
We wrote last week about the book Gardens of Inspiration.
In it, Nigel Colborn wrote an essay about gardens that have influenced him. W want to quote him further today – as we are currently designing a woodland garden and… well, he wrote beautifully about it here…
“Species that enjoy similar ecologies will almost always look good together… a natural piece of North American woodland, for example, would boast trilliums and smilacina; in Europe, solomons seal and hellebores might occupy the same niche; and in Asia these might be replaced by meconopsis and epimediums.
But in a garden, it is easy to bring all these together, like a horticultural melting pot, and to come up with a ravishing woodland garden. And if plenty of our own natives are added – not just popular plants like bluebells and primroses, but also hedge garlic, figwort, even dog’s mercury – then the garden has ecological as well as aesthetic value.”
Gorgeous. Inspiring. Is there anything better than a woodland edge garden?
For more books by Nigel Colborn, try these now!
Modern Topiary (The Book) – Message From Lady Clippers, And Others!
My topiary book – Modern Topiary – has recently been put out as a PDF, which can be read for free. (Have a look here to download and read/share it!) Then last week I received a lovely email from Ann Perkowski of Lady Clippers, who are topiary and pruning specialists in New York (Ann is a brilliant pruning teacher too, who teaches at New York Botanical Garden… check out her work and Lady Clippers website.) Hi Darren, I had to write you how much I love reading your Modern Topiary. I’m not sure I’ll ever be quite done with it because I’m …
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!