THE MODERN MINT BLOG

Feb01

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.

teaching topiary

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…

Topiary Teaching

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.

teaching topiary again

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

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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