THE MODERN MINT BLOG
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 – a free video, a video you have to pay for, a book (I’m still formatting the book alright! I get you want it out and email me asking when, but it just takes forever to get the margins and stuff right and I’m busy actually making topiary so it gets put back… and back.. and back.. but it is coming! It is!) and an option for private tuition.
So if you can’t get to Waltham Place September 4th 2026 then see the Teaching page for more ideas how I can help you.
Modern Topiary, the Book, at Garden Media Guild
My book about topiary, Modern Topiary, has been mentioned on the Garden Media Guild newsletter…. As the screenshot says, the book can be read for free online here. At the bottom of the screenshot, it looks like another Garden Media Guild member has a book out called ‘A Year In A Cottage Garden’…. so if that is where your garden heart lies, check that out too! And at the top of the screenshot, it looks like I was listening to Pelleas et Melisande, by Debussy. What a classy chap I am, listening to classical music as I reply to emails. …
Start of the Whitby Topiary Library
I have been offered a space here in the centre of Whitby, south-facing aspect, with some raised beds in, so that I can make a Topiary Library. In my head, a topiary library is a place to showcase the common (and then not so common) shapes you can make out of topiary. With classical topiary plants, as well as some more unusual pieces. This Topiary Library can act as a reference for people to learn more about pruning and clipping. The space is small but the aspect is great and the beds are deep enough to put some plants in. …
Delivery After Dark – From the Makers of The Amelia Project
Last week I spent most nights stood in cold water streams on the moors of North Yorkshire, helping to film a new project called Delivery After Dark from the makers of the Amelia Project. I worked on the Amelia Project back at the end of 2024, lending my terrible vocal talents to a small part in the episode Didius Julianus. But this project is something new – and exciting! – and thankfully only needed me to be filmed, rather than to actually say anything. But not only did I have to stand in cold moving water at midnight, I also …