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!
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
With Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society we visited Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. Do you know it? Amazing place! Chris and I were teaching a topiary workshop in order to give local people the skills and technique, and tenacity! to help with the pruning of the avenue and elevate it to something even more special than it already is. Read more about the workshops here. We hope to run a further workshop in September 2026, as well as teach an advanced course too. Check the teaching page through the year as it will be updated …
Aesthetic Pruners Association – New Talk In December
An organisation I love and have been learning lots from in the last two years is the Aesthetic Pruners Association based in the USA. Sharing knowledge with them about clipping and the overlap – and differences! – in style is something worth exploring, so I recommend a visit to their website and to join onto their events and talks, which are all on Zoom meaning you can access them from anywhere in the world. No excuse not to learn! The next event will be led by Jocelyn Cohen and be about ancient trees in the British Landscape. This is such …
The Amelia Project – Episode 88: Didius Julianus
Friends of mine write a sitcom podcast called The Amelia Project (I wrote about this years ago, when they started it….!) December 2024 I had some fun playing the tiny part of Fornio in episode 88 – Didius Julianus. I have not listened to the episode yet, as I am clearly not an actor… and the thought of listening to my dulcet tones for the few minutes I’m in it just… makes me feel ill. But the recording and being in the studio was great fun, the real actors were hilarious and the script is brilliant – not just funny, …