THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Secateurs & Marie Kondo
I was interviewed recently for an article in the Telegraph about the best secateurs for the garden. I let my mouth run away with me (as normal) and said that the Okatsune pruners with the red and white handles, that I use everyday in the garden, are the kind you don’t throw away when you Marie Kondo your possessions.

I mean that, because I do believe in buy once buy well.
But when it gets reported in the paper, I don’t half sound like a wally…!
“Lerigo devoutly describes his chosen make of Japanese secateurs, Okatsune, as a bit of kit that Marie Kondo would approve if: simple, effective, and capable of sparking joy, time and time again.”
Good old Lerigo… what a windbag!
Great to see my suggestion for best secateurs coming top of the list though. They are great to use and yes, they do spark joy, as silly as that sounds.
You can get them from us here – Japanese Secateurs.
Or with a whetstone to keep them sharp in this set here.
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 …
