THE MODERN MINT BLOG
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Welcome to Modern Mint, for home and garden.
We never intended to be a shop. We started as a garden design firm, helping people who felt overwhelmed by their garden learn, season by season, how to make it a beautiful place.
To promote good garden practise we began adding articles to the Modern Mint website. There are now 100’s to explore ranging from environmental issues, to practical techniques for growing flowers, to discussing why we sell a particular item at Modern Mint.
To help you explore it we have provided this Start Here page. Just scroll down to find what interests you the most!
Start here for some free stuff – an e-book we curated for the Chelsea Fringe Festival…
Download ‘Contemporary Green’, a free e-book from Modern Mint
Start here to read some of our most popular garden interviews and essays:
Manifesto for the Modern Gardener
9 Ideas for a Cut Flower Business
The Alternative Guide To What To Do In The Garden This Month
The Charity We Support – Pets as Therapy
Start here for our top products:
Copper Tools for Organic Slug Prevention
Start here to find out where to meet us, or how you to book a talk for your group:
Start here to make sure you stay in touch. We send out news once a month (twice at Christmas) and never sell your email to anyone. It is the best way to be informed about how Modern Mint can help you, and let you know about the unusual home and garden products we have to offer.
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Thank you from all of us at Modern Mint!
Darren
Chloe
Stefano
Topiary, The Art Garden at The Henderson
The Art Garden at The Henderson in Hong-Kong has now opened to the public. I joined the project last March, to work with Gillespies Landscape Architects on the topiary that had been designed for the Art Garden, which gives a calm, green space below the extraordinary Henderson skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The garden has been designed with butterflies in mind, so lots of nectar plants, and has other art projects and installations within its footprint. The history of the site is interesting too – it was originally the first cricket ground in Hong-Kong! So still a green space….! …
ClipFest 2025
On Sunday June 22nd there will be Clipfest 2025 at Ichi-Coo Park in Surrey. It is a celebration of all things pruning and topiary, and I will be there in my capacity of teacher at the European Boxwood and Topiary Society to demonstrate tool cleaning and sharpening, and how to clip. Tickets can be found here on Eventbrite. We are hoping for great weather and to see lots of keen pruners getting their shears out and joining us at this amazing garden! And for more on topiary…
Secateur Holders
A present arrived from Norway today, from a student who visited last February to work with Chris Poole and I on learning topiary. His new hobby – a beautiful and neatly stitched secateur holder. Thrilled with this! The holder will save me keep losing my secatuers too…! Thank you Bernt! It was the same student who introduced me to the APA with whom I am doing a talk at the end of March. Tickets can be bought here for ‘Defining The Essence – Aesthetic Pruning in the Garden’. Do join the European Boxwood and Topiary Society for that!