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.
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 …