THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Over the last two years I have been involved with a couple of projects that have ended up being recorded, then placed on Youtube or Instagram.
I’m hoping they will be useful to you, so I have decided this morning to pop them together in one handy blog post so that you can bookmark the page and revisit when you need some inspiration for your topiary.
See below then, a few videos about topiary I have recently been involved with…
Garden Masterclass – Provocations of a Modern Topiarist
My Work In The Background Of This Short Clip
Transforming Topiary
Topiary Teacher Put On The Spot
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTj-EfOKRL6/
In the above video I had one hour to make a topiary, wth no thought or preparation, in front of 16 students … and teach them about it as I made it.
Especially love that at the end the students join in and help!
How To Sharpen Shears
Hope these few videos give you a little indication of my work and what topiary I can potentially make for you…!
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
With Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society we visited Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. Do you know it? Amazing place! Chris and I were teaching a topiary workshop in order to give local people the skills and technique, and tenacity! to help with the pruning of the avenue and elevate it to something even more special than it already is. Read more about the workshops here. We hope to run a further workshop in September 2026, as well as teach an advanced course too. Check the teaching page through the year as it will be updated …
Aesthetic Pruners Association – New Talk In December
An organisation I love and have been learning lots from in the last two years is the Aesthetic Pruners Association based in the USA. Sharing knowledge with them about clipping and the overlap – and differences! – in style is something worth exploring, so I recommend a visit to their website and to join onto their events and talks, which are all on Zoom meaning you can access them from anywhere in the world. No excuse not to learn! The next event will be led by Jocelyn Cohen and be about ancient trees in the British Landscape. This is such …
The Amelia Project – Episode 88: Didius Julianus
Friends of mine write a sitcom podcast called The Amelia Project (I wrote about this years ago, when they started it….!) December 2024 I had some fun playing the tiny part of Fornio in episode 88 – Didius Julianus. I have not listened to the episode yet, as I am clearly not an actor… and the thought of listening to my dulcet tones for the few minutes I’m in it just… makes me feel ill. But the recording and being in the studio was great fun, the real actors were hilarious and the script is brilliant – not just funny, …