THE MODERN MINT BLOG
For those of you who wish to be ‘natural’ gardeners, the designer Henk Gerritsen laid out four commandments in his book Henk Gerritsen: Essay on Gardening
1) The use of fertilisers and chemical herbicides is a mortal sin
2) Try to disturb the soil as little as possible
3) Be frugal with water
4) Don’t whinge!
Not a bad place to start if you are beginning your journey towards becoming a better gardener. Buy the book by clicking below:
A fifth commandment could easily have been – Plant Trees. Planting a tree is a fabulous way to make a natural garden and support wildlife, capture carbon… and refrain from disturbing the soil below the branches.
You can plant a tree here in the UK with Trees For Life at the Modern Mint Grove.
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 …