THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Roses for Hips
Just a quick note to share these choices of roses for their hips, from the RHS magazine. The rose choices were…
Rosa rugosa ‘Alba’ – yes, lovely. choice
Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate’ (not sure who has the space to grow this one!)
Rosa ‘Francis E Lester’
Rosa ‘Generous Gardener’ (though the article noted if you leave the hips on you will get fewer flowers later in the season)
Rosa ‘Morning Mist’
Rosa ‘Cupid’
Rosa sericea subspecies omeiensis f. pteracantha (not just a mouthful of a name, but the hips drop off quickly too, within a few weeks)
Rosa ‘Geranium’
Rosa californica
Rosa rubiginosa (sweet briar! Crush those leaves for the scent!)
Rosa virginiana
Rosa ‘Shropshire Lass’
Many of these roses are species roses, because they have a need to set seed, in order to live on and prosper!
Uses of Rosehips
Loved this part of the article, as we have a special interest in skincare and the use of plants for helping the body stay healthy.
Hips were used for:
Itching powder
An excellent source of Vitamin C
The pulp for jams and juices
As a tea – recommended to alleviate headaches, cramps, dizziness and osteoarthritis.
It is also said to improve your mood, your energy levels and the quality of your sleep.
Those hips don’t lie, huh?
For more on roses, take a look at a blog about our visit to David Austin Roses.
Why I Wrote The Book Modern Topiary
I have written this book, Modern Topiary, because I wanted a collation of useful information that would give people access to everything they need to know in order to start making topiary. Topiary is an amazing (and niche) line of work to follow – amazing because it offers up opportunities to travel all over the world, making gardens, meeting people… but also, the work is intensely physical, hands-on, yet requires creative thinking in order to solve the puzzle of how to make the shapes you want. This mixture of the craft and the art is what I love the most …
Buxus the Norfolk Terrier In Modern Topiary Book
This is Buxus, our Norfolk Terrier, who I acknowledge in the acknowledgments of the book of Modern Topiary. The book of Modern Topiary can be read, for free, here. There you go. Buxus the dog on ‘doorstep duty’ at a friend’s house in Edinburgh. For those asking what he looked like!
What People Think Of Modern Topiary, The Book
Yesterday I put out the book – Modern Topiary – that I have spent the last six years writing. Download for free a pdf of Modern Topiary here. And what seems amazing to me, is that not only have people actually been reading it, but then responding to it. So below are a number of comments I have been sent from those who read it last night, and this morning…. “Brilliant read, exactly the right amount of info to take in and digest.” Rachel, a gardener “I love your book, the advice is so straightforward and your writing is so …