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.
10 Years Of Modern Mint
On Valentine’s day this year (2024) Modern Mint, the company I started when I moved to Essex to explore a fresh, contemporary approach to gardening, will be 10 years old. The cliche is time flies… but it does! So much has happened in a decade, from studying topiary with Charlotte Molesworth, to clipping all over the UK (and eventually in the USA and Sweden) to selling shears and secateurs at garden shows and hiding away my reticence to give talks about gardening and topiary to Horticultural Societies across the UK. Ten years feels a good time to mark a new …
Garden Masterclass Trailer – The Modern Topiarist
In 2022 I did a free video for Garden Masterclass, the Annie Guilfoyle and Noel Kingsley run website that is a treasure trove of the great and good of the horticultural world – well worth looking through all the wonderful talks they have available, like meadow-maker James Hitchmough or nurserywoman Rosy Hardy. They are certainly inspirational! Perfect for watching and dreaming up new ideas during the winter months… As a follow-up to my Topiary Provocations video (which you can see on Youtube for free) I was asked to do a video for their Masterclass series on how to make topiary. …
Charlotte Molesworth’s Garden In The FT
The lovely garden of my mentor Charlotte Molesworth is featured here in the Financial Times in the last week or so… She has been interviewed lots of times but I thought this was a particularly great piece, with some photos done at unusual angles and different parts… so well worth a read. For more on topiary by Charlotte Molesworth…