THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Topiary Teaching For You
I am an experienced teacher of topiary and pruning, running workshops in the topiary garden of Charlotte Molesworth in Kent, as well as for The English Gardening School and The European Boxwood And Topiary Society.
So if you are a keen gardener, a garden club, a group of friends who want to know more or even an absolute beginner who has been bitten by the gardening bug, then do contact me about what you might like to learn.
What a laugh we are having in this workshop session I ran for a group of friends in Essex…
Many people employ me to come in and do the topiary and pruning work for them, but sometimes people don’t need me – what they need is a little inspiration, a little help with technique and design. They love their garden, and I for one love to encourage people to take ownership of what they have.
Teaching topiary is about allowing people to develop the instinct and eye for gardening and pruning they need to make the garden into something special, something that feels like it belongs in their home.
So one-to-one, or group teaching, in your own garden, is a perfect solution – you enjoy the time getting to know and understand what you need to do (and can do) whilst learning the foundations of being a good pruner.
If you think a workshop or some teaching might benefit you and your garden, then please do get in touch with me. Add the following details:
- Name
- Number
- Where you are based
- How many people might join – you alone, or in a small group
- A general idea of the plants we could prune and practise on
Then I can get back to you and we can work out a plan of action for helping you learn to prune.
Contact Me About Teaching Topiary
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, …
Waltham Place Topiary Workshop 2026
With the European Boxwood and Topiary Society, I run two workshops each year at Waltham Place, one of my favourite gardens. The next topiary workshop there will be on Friday September 4th 2026. Details and how to book yet to be announced, but get in touch with them now to get on the waiting list, as last year we had double the amount of people wanting a place than we had space for. The Waltham Place website is here – topiary workshop 2026. See the teaching page for how else I can help you with the topiary in your garden …
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 …