THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Plants for a shady border… be aware, some can cope with deeper shade than others, but all are worthwhile garden plants. For more plants, try Dan Pearson’s list…
Scilla
Snowdrop
Narcissus
Leucojum
Liriope
Hakonechloa
Deschampsia
Foxgloves
Aquilegia
Honesty
Campion
Forget me not
Campanula
Clematis
Cephalaria
Thalictrum
Epimedium
Gillenia
Alchemilla
Hellebore
Japanese anemone
Trillium
Brunnera
Trollius
Bergenia
Tellima
Hosta
Pulmonaria
Aster
Primula
Rodgersia
Asarum
Kirengeshoma
Gallium
Convallaria
Buxus
Hydrangea
Daphne
Sarcococca
Ribes
Ilex
Rosa
Cherry
Polypodium
Dryopteris
For books on what plants to use for a shady border, try these…
Alan Titchmarsh How to Garden: Gardening in the Shade
Planting the Dry Shade Garden: The Best Plants for the Toughest Spot in Your Garden
And probably one of the best writers about gardens… Keith Wiley:
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, …
Waltham Place Topiary Workshop 2026
With the European Boxwood and Topiary Society, I run two workshops each year at Waltham Place, one of my favourite gardens. The next topiary workshop there will be on Friday September 4th 2026. Details and how to book yet to be announced, but get in touch with them now to get on the waiting list, as last year we had double the amount of people wanting a place than we had space for. The Waltham Place website is here – topiary workshop 2026. See the teaching page for how else I can help you with the topiary in your garden …
Box Hill – Novella by Adam Mars-Jones
I picked this book up back in 2020 because of the title – Box Hill – fabulous, I thought, a book about boxwood. I’ll peruse this for its respective thoughts on the plant I clip most when I make topiary. I didn’t read the blurb on the back. Didn’t know the author (although I knew the publisher, Fitzcarraldo Editions, as I love many of the essays they have published… so trusted the author would be worth spending time with.) By page 2 I realised this novel wasn’t quite what I had expected. I started the book at 10pm, after getting …