THE MODERN MINT BLOG
‘Someday We’ll Linger In The Sun’ is a beautiful song by the wonderful fiddle player Gaelynn Lea.It is this lack of sunshine we want to speak about today…
As the weather reaches a balmy (barmy?) 1 degrees celsius outside, here at Modern Mint we think it is better to stay in and read about gardening than be outside doing it. Uninspired? No, just don’t want to freeze again today!
We love the cold weather at this time of year, love the garden and the way it looks as the frost begins to melt…
We adore the winter jobs, the pruning too…
But for all of that love, today really does just feel a little to cold to get stuck into the garden again.
Forgive us? Laugh and call us out as being no better than a fair weather gardener….?
Go for it! We can take it!
We are quite happy to be sat inside with a cup of coffee this morning. Listening to songs of warmer times. Which is why we suggest you take a moment to, and watch the incredible performance of Gaelynn Lea singing her composition ‘Someday We’ll Linger In The Sun’.
The melody is exceptional, the voice thrilling, and the words….? The words are deep and rich, evoking a little bit of that warmth we look forward to enjoying as this gardening year moves away from the cold and into spring, into summer….
Someday We’ll Linger In The Sun
Our love’s a complex vintage wine
All rotted leaves and lemon rind
I’d spit you out but now you’re mine
We bit the fruit, it seemed a lie
I’ll never know which way was right
Now side by side we face the night
And I love you
And I love you
We walked the pier and back again
It was the most scared I’ve ever been
You held my hand until the end
And I love you
And I love you
Don’t tell me we’ve got time
The subtle thief of life
It slips away when we pay no mind
We pulled the weeds out til the dawn
Nearly too tired to carry on
Someday we’ll linger in the sun
And I love you
And I love you
Phillyrea From 1682
Phillyrea is one of my favourite plants for topiary. I have been using it for quite a few years as a specimen shrub, mostly due to the fact it clips well and has a tough habit – all good characteristics for a topiary plant. It also has a reputation for being an excellent nectar source for bees… Read more about Phillyrea here. Mentioning this to Malcolm Thicke, a market garden historian and writer, he sent me a some photos of topiary and phillyrea mentioned by John Worlidge in Systema Horticulturae from 1682…. incredible! He also mentioned to me that in …
Kites And Strings Podcast – Topiary In The Garden
Kites and Strings is a podcast about creativity, hosted by US-based Stephen Ploum and Catherine Chinnock. Back in March they asked me to come onto their podcast and talk about topiary, my past writing plays, the stand-up I did and how creativity can fit into your life. The Kites and Strings podcast was great fun and Stephen and Catherine are fantastic hosts. Listening back today I am surprised by some of the ideas I talked about (somehow I even started to describe a future where I run a ‘School of Creativity’ by the sea…. where did that come from?!) but it …
Robinia – Pruning A Beautiful Tree For Small Gardens
Robinia is often forgotten – by me, actually! – when thinking of plants for topiary. But when I work on it I do love it, brittle and soft as the wood is if you climb into it. But that danger of snapping a branch with a heavy step and falling out of the tree aside, I love it for the dappled light it allows into the garden space. Robinia Near The Sea Below is a Robinia I have gently clipped over the last few years, down near Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. The tree was large when I arrived, although it is …