THE MODERN MINT BLOG
The next topiary workshop I will be teaching is now live on the website and can be booked!
Just visit Waltham Place to get a ticket for the Topiary Workshop I will be teaching on Friday September 4th at Waltham Place. Myself and Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society (Buxus expert! Like, he knows everything there is to know about the plant! So worth booking just to tap into his knowledge….!) will be teaching here for the… fifth year in a row I think?
The garden is a beautiful place to spend time clipping. We will teach you about technique, so you have a good foundation to work from back at home or in gardens you work in. Then we will look at the tools you need, the plants you are likely to work with… and some you might just covet! And finally we will look at design and the shapes that are possible to make.
This is a practical course, you will be clipping. A lot. And different things. But it is lots of fun – short, sharp (tools) and intense. Places go fast so do get onto Waltham Place and book a spot soon.
Buxus, my Norfolk Terrier, came with me to work on the hedges last year. He had the most amazing time running through exploring the garden. I don’t expect you to do quite the same if I meet you on the course, but it will certainly be an informative and fun day.
If you need one-to-one teaching or for a private group, perhaps as part of training for staff or just to improve the garden you are in, then please do look at my teaching page for more information too.
Michael Gibson, New York Topiary Art!
In the New York Times earlier this year was a lovely interview with Michael Gibson, who makes topiary and gardens in New York. The article is here but you may not have access… however, search the internet, find it and have a read. It is great! His philosophy of pruning is especially worth it… Sacred geometry in topiary? Yes please! What a phrase! I think (and speak) of balance, of major and minor, of leaf volume… but sacred geometry might well make it into my topiary teaching lexicon! And the idea of directional trimming? I realise I do this, but …
Topiary Library
I do a lot of teaching topiary. I had the opportunity from my mentor, Charlotte Molesworth, to work on her garden and experiment and test techniques and generally try making shapes without the worry of failure, or being fired, or being sued and run out of business for getting it wrong. This opportunity was essential (along with Charlotte’s insistance that pruning standards had to be high!) in becoming better at topiary. When I look around the world at our cultural vitamins, what we see in the media day in and day out, I see the stupidest and grossest of people …
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
With Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society we visited Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. Do you know it? Amazing place! Chris and I were teaching a topiary workshop in order to give local people the skills and technique, and tenacity! to help with the pruning of the avenue and elevate it to something even more special than it already is. Read more about the workshops here. We hope to run a further workshop in September 2026, as well as teach an advanced course too. Check the teaching page through the year as it will be updated …