THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Oak Nordeck Chair
As people keep asking what is our favourite Nordeck chair, we thought we would let you know in no uncertain terms – the oak.
Take a closer look at the Oak Nordeck Chair
The wood is strong, the colour is beautiful and it just looks right in the garden (or conservatory, or beach hut… or wherever!)
The larch is another chair we think is beautiful. Larch is an underused wood, lighter in colour than the oak, but with that ability to fit in seemingly anywhere. The larch chair would be our second choice.
The two most popular chairs and pine and birch. Lovely as they are (in very different ways!) it is the quality and dignity of a piece of oak that will be our first choice when choosing furniture for the garden.
There you have it then – the oak nordeck chair is our favourite, and it is steadily becoming more and more popular – we found it was our biggest seller this weekend at RHS Hyde Hall and the Wealden Fair.
Topiary Teaching For 2026
A new year, so time to share a few thoughts on what I will be looking at doing with topiary, and the focus on teaching I would like to put in place, for 2026 and beyond. Above is Nandina, made by a student of ours from the European Boxwood and Topiary Society. She took a year to work on this, taking a plant not renowned for being a good topiary plant, but seeing what its weirdness is and what values it does have, then exploring and exploding those. I am thrilled by this. Not just this look for autumn. A …
Topiary Workshop 2026 at Waltham Place
The next topiary workshop I will be teaching is now live on the website and can be booked! Just visit Waltham Place to get a ticket for the Topiary Workshop I will be teaching on Friday September 4th at Waltham Place. Myself and Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society (Buxus expert! Like, he knows everything there is to know about the plant! So worth booking just to tap into his knowledge….!) will be teaching here for the… fifth year in a row I think? The garden is a beautiful place to spend time clipping. We will teach …
Michael Gibson, New York Topiary Art!
In the New York Times earlier this year was a lovely interview with Michael Gibson, who makes topiary and gardens in New York. The article is here but you may not have access… however, search the internet, find it and have a read. It is great! His philosophy of pruning is especially worth it… Sacred geometry in topiary? Yes please! What a phrase! I think (and speak) of balance, of major and minor, of leaf volume… but sacred geometry might well make it into my topiary teaching lexicon! And the idea of directional trimming? I realise I do this, but …