THE MODERN MINT BLOG
That’s right, it is now time for a little sale…..
Up to 50% off selected items!
When we get to the last few items in a particular range, it makes it very hard to present them to people at the fairs and markets we visit. When you have a stack of hand made skipping ropes or amazing Japanese secateurs, it makes a statement. People notice it and want to touch these products.
But when it gets to the last few? Everything looks bitty.
Handmade Products
We also curate and sell many products that are handmade. This means that when we run out, that is it. They may come back when the material (and craftsmanship) is available again. Or they may not. Sometimes the last few really can mean the end of a product line.
So we put them on sale to make sure they go out to you, rather than sitting forlornly in a stock room. These items are just too much fun and too beautiful and too damn useful not to be used.
Please enjoy yourselves by having a browse through our sale items, the ingenuous last few….
Browse Sale Now!
Topiary Teaching For 2026
A new year, so time to share a few thoughts on what I will be looking at doing with topiary, and the focus on teaching I would like to put in place, for 2026 and beyond. Above is Nandina, made by a student of ours from the European Boxwood and Topiary Society. She took a year to work on this, taking a plant not renowned for being a good topiary plant, but seeing what its weirdness is and what values it does have, then exploring and exploding those. I am thrilled by this. Not just this look for autumn. A …
Topiary Workshop 2026 at Waltham Place
The next topiary workshop I will be teaching is now live on the website and can be booked! Just visit Waltham Place to get a ticket for the Topiary Workshop I will be teaching on Friday September 4th at Waltham Place. Myself and Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society (Buxus expert! Like, he knows everything there is to know about the plant! So worth booking just to tap into his knowledge….!) will be teaching here for the… fifth year in a row I think? The garden is a beautiful place to spend time clipping. We will teach …
Michael Gibson, New York Topiary Art!
In the New York Times earlier this year was a lovely interview with Michael Gibson, who makes topiary and gardens in New York. The article is here but you may not have access… however, search the internet, find it and have a read. It is great! His philosophy of pruning is especially worth it… Sacred geometry in topiary? Yes please! What a phrase! I think (and speak) of balance, of major and minor, of leaf volume… but sacred geometry might well make it into my topiary teaching lexicon! And the idea of directional trimming? I realise I do this, but …