THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Plant Trees With Ecosia
This came to our attention about a year ago. But we’ve only just realised we hadn’t told enough people about it!
Ecosia. A search engine that plants trees, every time you use it.
How amazing is that? Helping the planet green up each and every time you search for something. We think it is just as good as Google for most things you need to search for (please don’t send me your search items it couldn’t find. Your private searches are your own.) Plus, it takes you away from giving information (and so more power) to Google. Something some of you may be interested in.
Another search engine that does that is called DuckDuckGo. They are also very good and using them means you are ‘sticking it to the man’.
So if you are not looking for some presents at Modern Mint this year, why not continue your search on the search engine that plants trees? Use Ecosia – for a greener kind of window shopping!
We Also Have Our Own Grove Of Trees You Can Add To – Visit Trees For Life To Help Plant More!
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 …
Aesthetic Pruners Association – New Talk In December
An organisation I love and have been learning lots from in the last two years is the Aesthetic Pruners Association based in the USA. Sharing knowledge with them about clipping and the overlap – and differences! – in style is something worth exploring, so I recommend a visit to their website and to join onto their events and talks, which are all on Zoom meaning you can access them from anywhere in the world. No excuse not to learn! The next event will be led by Jocelyn Cohen and be about ancient trees in the British Landscape. This is such …
The Amelia Project – Episode 88: Didius Julianus
Friends of mine write a sitcom podcast called The Amelia Project (I wrote about this years ago, when they started it….!) December 2024 I had some fun playing the tiny part of Fornio in episode 88 – Didius Julianus. I have not listened to the episode yet, as I am clearly not an actor… and the thought of listening to my dulcet tones for the few minutes I’m in it just… makes me feel ill. But the recording and being in the studio was great fun, the real actors were hilarious and the script is brilliant – not just funny, …