THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Permaculture Magazine
Do any of you read Permaculture Magazine? We have just found out about it and are very excited to see they not only sell lovely copper tools, but also have a fantastic website. On it you can:
Sign up to Permaculture courses.
Hear podcasts and watch videos about how people are changing the way they live to be more resilient and self-sustaining.
Find recipes for making use of plants and weeds you may not think about eating.
Get solutions for your own permaculture experiments.
(Oh, and you can of course buy the magazine….)
What is Permaculture?
“Permaculture is the design of an ecologically sound way of living.”
We thought this quote was beautiful and really inspires us to think about how we garden, work and live.
We hope you will take heart from this phrase and begin to question, then seek answers, for a way of life that suits both yourself and the world around you.
If you want to know more about gardening organically, try this blog: Manifesto for the Modern Gardener.
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 …
Topiary Library
I do a lot of teaching topiary. I had the opportunity from my mentor, Charlotte Molesworth, to work on her garden and experiment and test techniques and generally try making shapes without the worry of failure, or being fired, or being sued and run out of business for getting it wrong. This opportunity was essential (along with Charlotte’s insistance that pruning standards had to be high!) in becoming better at topiary. When I look around the world at our cultural vitamins, what we see in the media day in and day out, I see the stupidest and grossest of people …
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
With Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society we visited Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. Do you know it? Amazing place! Chris and I were teaching a topiary workshop in order to give local people the skills and technique, and tenacity! to help with the pruning of the avenue and elevate it to something even more special than it already is. Read more about the workshops here. We hope to run a further workshop in September 2026, as well as teach an advanced course too. Check the teaching page through the year as it will be updated …