THE MODERN MINT BLOG
I will be teaching a Topiary Skills Workshop at Waltham Place in September 2023!
For more information and to book your spot on the course do visit the Waltham Place website.
In this 3 hour course you will learn everything you need to know about pruning and making topiary – as well as getting some practise in as well!
No experience necessary, just a positive attitude and a pair of shears needed… I can help you sharpen and clean everything up before we begin, so don’t panic if your tools are a little rough!
During the session you will:
- Learn about the basic tools you need for topiary, how to look after them and what to do with pests on your boxwood.
- Take a tour of the garden to see which plants can be used and what it is possible to do with them
- Learn the right technique for clipping
- Get clipping – practise makes perfect!
Topiary should be fun and practical so come prepared to do some pruning – it is, after all, the best way to learn.
And tell your friends about the course. The garden is magnificent, so what could be better than a wander around with friends, then doing something creative? (Having a glass of wine and wandering around with friends? Ok, that is better.. but not going to happen when using sharp tools… for this course, anyway…)
Book a place now on the Topiary Skills course at Waltham Place.
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!