THE MODERN MINT BLOG

Apr22

Topiary Provocation Spring 2021

Topiary Provocation? What is this about?

organic topiary blob

Topiary Provocation, Darren Lerigo, Spring 2021

This spring of 2021 I invited a number of garden designers to a series of meetings via Zoom, to discuss how topiary can be used effectively in modern gardens.

I wanted to discover how both clients and designers felt about topiary, whether it was a part of the garden that got as much thought as, say, the choice of stone for a patio…. and if certain plants and shapes tended to trend in designs or if it truly was a mish-mash of different topiary styles.

The provocation and talks were great fun, the designers engaged and interesting, and a number of ideas came up again and again at each meeting.

Topiary hedge maintenance

The ‘Topiary Provocation’ Report

So whether you are a garden designer or just a keen gardener, do please download the Topiary Provocation report from spring 2021.

It is not as good as being there and taking part in the meetings themselves, but it is a pretty close second! You can see what the provocations were, gage the reactions of the garden designers involved and discover a little more about the problems that stop topiary being used as well as it can be in a garden.

There are plenty of solutions too…

Download and read the report here:

Topiary Provocation, Darren Lerigo, Spring 2021

teaching topiary again

You are more than welcome to send this webpage to other people who may be interested, or put the provocation on your own website. It would be fantastic to have more people see it (and hopefully be inspired by what they read) so please do share it as widely as possible.

If you want to see more of my work, you can take a look at some of the topiary I make here. Or check out some of my topiary tips at The European Boxwood And Topiary Society website.

Though please be aware I do a huge range of work all over the country, both formal or organic in style, but due to needing to keep the gardens private you won’t be able to see some of the most interesting topiaries (unless you are invited over to a client’s garden for lunch. Then you will get to really enjoy it!)

But keep in mind that topiary can be all manner of interesting shapes and styles.

So do get in touch with me if you need some help, or advice, or to chew over an idea….

Aug04

Box Hill – Novella by Adam Mars-Jones

I picked this book up back in 2020 because of the title – Box Hill – fabulous, I thought, a book about boxwood. I’ll peruse this for its respective thoughts on the plant I clip most when I make topiary. I didn’t read the blurb on the back. Didn’t know the author (although I knew the publisher, Fitzcarraldo Editions, as I love many of the essays they have published… so trusted the author would be worth spending time with.) By page 2 I realised this novel wasn’t quite what I had expected. I started the book at 10pm, after getting …

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Apr14

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….! …

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