THE MODERN MINT BLOG
It’s that time again, mild panic starts setting in … Christmas gift shopping time! You want to get something good, and not a standard gift you can get on the high street. You want something a little different, something that looks like you’ve put some effort in!! Modern Mint is here to help you with our countdown to the top 10 gifts for garden lovers that are slightly unusual.
At number 10 is a perfect stocking filler – seedballs! Small and in a beautiful designed tin. These come in 5 different varieties, from £4.50. If you want to bulk buy for a corporate gift or you have a lot of friends emails us on shop@modernmint.co.uk for a bulk buy option!
Number 9 The bronze look is everywhere at the moment for interior trends, but why not for the garden also? The Castor trowel at £32 and Nunki weeder at £27 are great looking tools. But there is more to them than their beauty, there is logic behind the use of bronze and cooper in gardening tools. Experiments carried out after the Second World War by an Austrian named Viktor Schauberger showed when used on the land, there was a marked improvement in productivity.
Number 8 Know someone who loves the scandi-cool look? Then go for the Nordeck chair … its sleek design speaks for itself. Prices start at £122.
Number 7 The Mouillere Overshoe (£39.99) from our friends in France. Luc who invented the shoe is the best person to tell us about his shoe – check out this video!
Number 6 Know a keen cook but not such a great gardener? A Grow Your Own Pizza Kit (£11.99) is the perfect addition to the window sill. 
Number 5 Do you know a stud muffin or a queen bee (or perhaps a fun guy)?
Number 3 A reminder of a recent holiday to Thailand? A hint that you like a good pad thai or green curry? Introducing the Thai Curry Plant Gift Set (£46)!
Number 2 Low maintenance and beautiful to look at. These terrariums come in a range of styles and even some seasonal baubles … bit different than tinsel don’t you think?
And our Number 1 is … the giant bean bag! Its come in an array of great colours. Perfect as extra seating when the house gets full and in the summer great for sunbathing on!
Head to the Modern Mint Shop for many more gift ideas!
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 …