THE MODERN MINT BLOG
I have recently been employed by Gillespies Landscapes to help with a new public topiary garden in Hong Kong, to be cultivated at the bottom of a new skyscraper – The Henderson – which was designed by Zaha Hadid Agency.
This is such an exciting project, giving clipped shapes of Carmona a chance to show off what topiary in a garden can do… they will lead the eye and people around the space, offer comfort and tactility to the people who sit on the benches and lean back against these large hedges, and transform the atmosphere for people who visit the garden – bringing a little peace and space to just breathe.
I will be travelling over again late spring to the nursery in China to clip and shape the plants that are to eventually be planted on-site.
But do contact me if you have a public space and want to discuss how topiary can make it just a little bit grounded, a little bit special…
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 …
The Henderson, Topiary Art Interview on Instagram
In a suit… eek! View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Henderson (@thehenderson_hk)
Topiary, The Art Garden at The Henderson
The Art Garden at The Henderson in Hong-Kong has now opened to the public. I joined the project last March, to work with Gillespies Landscape Architects on the topiary that had been designed for the Art Garden, which gives a calm, green space below the extraordinary Henderson skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The garden has been designed with butterflies in mind, so lots of nectar plants, and has other art projects and installations within its footprint. The history of the site is interesting too – it was originally the first cricket ground in Hong-Kong! So still a green space….! …