THE MODERN MINT BLOG
(Fifty) Shades of Green
Shades of Green is a book by Paul Waddington, giving you some common sense advice on how to live more sustainably.
It is well put together and gently teaches you how broad the spectrum of green living is. From starting the book with ‘don’t fly’ (brave way to split your readers on page one!) to sharing ways on how to live without a fridge (how did people stop their food spoiling before refrigeration?) we list below some of the ideas, both dark green and lighter green, we liked the most from his book. Do check it out – Shades Of Green: A (mostly) practical A-Z for the reluctant environmentalist
Shades of Green
No flying.
Homegrown food and flowers (including raw milk, no meat (or at least have rare breed if you do), local, artisan bread, cheese, fairtrade, organic dark chocolate, eggs from your own chickens and ale hand pulled from a cask… to be honest, when food is spoken about in such gloriously delicious terms, you wonder why we accept anything less from the supermarkets?)
No babies.
Shorter showers, smaller bath (apparently there are baths shaped like a peanut that should force you to use less water…)
Second hand bikes.
Darker clothes as whites require more energy to get them crisp and white. Probably best to go for wool, cotton, silk… animal? Handwash them.
No cod. Wild fish, sustainably caught.
Shade grown organic coffee. Or you could try dandelion root…
Induction hob instead of an electric oven.
Laptop? Or just go without completely?
Generate your own electricity.
No fridge – a zeer pot, pantry, larder or root cellar.
Use a wood-framed conservatory leaning against your house – better than a polytunnel!
Look again at your furniture and your homes. Is there some retro-fitting you can do? Can you use or buy less?
Let your lawns become meadows.
Use LED lights. We hear THIS IS THE FUTURE from people in the know. So check them out…
Have a wind up radio.
Then came more food ideas (it is amazing just how far wrong our diets have gone…) like using extra virgin olive oil, organic sunflower oil, organic dried pasta, home-grown strawberries and tomatoes (ripened by the sun…) use local staple foods (so for us in the UK – wheat? oats? barley?) honey instead of sugar and, if you must have sugar, make it organic, dark, unrefined sugar… and of course you should drink a cup of loose leaf tea.
Don’t keep cats and dogs – if you want pets, try bees and carp.
If you go on holiday – backpack or camp.
Put a pond in the garden.
Make your shoes of leather. Or hemp, with a rubber soul from a recycled car tyre.
No TV. You have a laptop anyway, right?
Soap. Washing powder. Jewellery. Make-up. Think about all of these now…
Telephone – we would love to be without one.
Target your water use – do you harvest rainwater? Flush too often? Could you have a compost toilet?
Take the train, or go sailing.
Use a triple AAA rated dishwasher – apparently it really is better than washing up by hand!
Make your own wine, or drink locally made.
The two items Paul Waddington talks about in Shades of Green that seem to be the biggest places we can cut back on our energy use are cars and houses. Financially, these are also the items that cost us the most.
Perhaps it is time we started sharing them?
To see what else he has written, click this link – Books by Paul Waddington
Last of all then – what shade of green are you?
Modern Topiary, the Book, at Garden Media Guild
My book about topiary, Modern Topiary, has been mentioned on the Garden Media Guild newsletter…. As the screenshot says, the book can be read for free online here. At the bottom of the screenshot, it looks like another Garden Media Guild member has a book out called ‘A Year In A Cottage Garden’…. so if that is where your garden heart lies, check that out too! And at the top of the screenshot, it looks like I was listening to Pelleas et Melisande, by Debussy. What a classy chap I am, listening to classical music as I reply to emails. …
Start of the Whitby Topiary Library
I have been offered a space here in the centre of Whitby, south-facing aspect, with some raised beds in, so that I can make a Topiary Library. In my head, a topiary library is a place to showcase the common (and then not so common) shapes you can make out of topiary. With classical topiary plants, as well as some more unusual pieces. This Topiary Library can act as a reference for people to learn more about pruning and clipping. The space is small but the aspect is great and the beds are deep enough to put some plants in. …
Delivery After Dark – From the Makers of The Amelia Project
Last week I spent most nights stood in cold water streams on the moors of North Yorkshire, helping to film a new project called Delivery After Dark from the makers of the Amelia Project. I worked on the Amelia Project back at the end of 2024, lending my terrible vocal talents to a small part in the episode Didius Julianus. But this project is something new – and exciting! – and thankfully only needed me to be filmed, rather than to actually say anything. But not only did I have to stand in cold moving water at midnight, I also …