THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Came across this post a little while back, about ‘A Revival of English Topiary’.
Great little look at the clipped trees of the Dutch being brought to the UK, with fantastic photos and ideas on what were the most popular figures….
“Pyramids, mop-heads and blunt cones… sitting hens, geese and ducks are common designs, and to protect the verdant poultry one may obtain equally verdant dogs.”
Verdant dogs? I love that! Sounds like a pulp fiction novel, a blood lust of a Western, rather than a 14 year old figurative yew plant placed as a visual joke into an English garden!
Not often you come across a well-written blog, with enough information to be useful too, but I was inspired by this.
Check it out – Planting Diaries: A Revivial Of English Topiary
Or take a look at some recent work of mine… Organic Blobs, 18 Months Apart
Modern Topiary, the Book, at Garden Media Guild
My book about topiary, Modern Topiary, has been mentioned on the Garden Media Guild newsletter…. As the screenshot says, the book can be read for free online here. At the bottom of the screenshot, it looks like another Garden Media Guild member has a book out called ‘A Year In A Cottage Garden’…. so if that is where your garden heart lies, check that out too! And at the top of the screenshot, it looks like I was listening to Pelleas et Melisande, by Debussy. What a classy chap I am, listening to classical music as I reply to emails. …
Start of the Whitby Topiary Library
I have been offered a space here in the centre of Whitby, south-facing aspect, with some raised beds in, so that I can make a Topiary Library. In my head, a topiary library is a place to showcase the common (and then not so common) shapes you can make out of topiary. With classical topiary plants, as well as some more unusual pieces. This Topiary Library can act as a reference for people to learn more about pruning and clipping. The space is small but the aspect is great and the beds are deep enough to put some plants in. …
Delivery After Dark – From the Makers of The Amelia Project
Last week I spent most nights stood in cold water streams on the moors of North Yorkshire, helping to film a new project called Delivery After Dark from the makers of the Amelia Project. I worked on the Amelia Project back at the end of 2024, lending my terrible vocal talents to a small part in the episode Didius Julianus. But this project is something new – and exciting! – and thankfully only needed me to be filmed, rather than to actually say anything. But not only did I have to stand in cold moving water at midnight, I also …