THE MODERN MINT BLOG

Feb28

Open Garden Charlotte Molesworth 2019

Balmoral Cottage is the garden of my topiary mentor Charlotte Molesworth. She will be opening her garden in 2019 on the following dates:

  • April 7th
  • May 5th
  • September 22nd
  • September 29th

For the NGS Yellow Book. Highly recommend you visit as it is a fantastic garden, grown over 34 years and completely organic.

Dates are still to be confirmed for the South East Open Studios. But they will be open sometime in late spring to showcase Charlotte paintings, as well as sculptural work for the garden by other artists local to this part of Kent.

The Potting Shed Holiday Let, Benenden

You can also stay in The Potting Shed at her lovely garden, and discover from her first hand how it was made and is maintained. It is a brilliant little bolthole for a long weekend or week away, close to Great Dixter, Sissinghurst, Hole Park and of course – the sea!

Visit The Potting Shed Benenden for more details.


Charlotte is keen to be as green as possible, reducing her carbon footprint and making sure we allow garden life to survive and thrive. At Modern Mint, we have a similar ethos and have used a green energy supplier for a long time now.

Buying green energy is the simplest way to make a difference – almost as good as having a compost heap!

We use Bulb as out green energy supplier. We recommend you do too – if you sign up, we both get a financial benefit (alongside the moral one) and they do all the paperwork for you. They even pay any fees you may be charged for leaving your current supplier.

Find out more about using Green Energy and making a difference to the world in the simplest way possible.

Jan28

Monty Don British Gardens Episode 4

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 …

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Nov01

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 …

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Apr16

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. …

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