THE MODERN MINT BLOG
If you want to waste time online… it is far too easy to do!
So we have chosen for you a number of posts worth reading online that will mean that, when you’ve finished, you won’t feel guilty about time lost. Because these are fabulous blogs. Not all are about gardening, but what they do have in common is a way of teaching you something, of taking you through an idea or a story that is worth hearing.
By spending time online with these ideas, you will give yourself something rich and deep to think about while you are head down weeding this spring.
Enjoy our five recommendations for online reading!
1) Whispering Giants by Sara Maitland
About wind farms an how to judge what is beautiful and what is not. So interesting as always from Sara Maitland, and the magazine it is published in – Aeon – is worth making a regular visit to.
2) The Farming Ladder by Michael Blanche
Brilliant thoughts into how to become a first generation farmer. Not easy, but exciting to see such creative thinking.
3) Farm Series photographs in Indie Farmer
Indie Farmer is another wonderful magazine, and this post talks about the work of photographer Rob MacInnis and how he managed to capture such funny and ridiculous images.
4) Career Advice by George Monbiot
Not one to hold back, here George Monbiot tells you to take the road less travelled – you might not earn much to begin with, but what a fun time you will have doing it. And what you learn along this odd road will pay for itself later on…
5) Outdoor Philosophy by Kate Rawles
Kate Rawles teaches about the environment. She wrote a book called the Carbon Cycle, where she cycled across the USA interviewing people she met along the way how they felt about climate change. You can imagine the responses there, yes?
Is that enough for now?
If you want more to read online we can offer you a few selections from our website… we loved making these interviews with interesting garden folk:
The Cycling Gardener of Liverpool.
And of course, you can always check out this years garden design trends:
Has that inspired you?
We do hope so. Now go get outside into the spring sunshine… rain… snow… whatever the weather holds, and get stuck into your garden jobs. The great stuff you can find online will always be there, but spring only comes once a year.
Happy gardening!
The Telegraph Wrote About My Topiary Work Yesterday
If you have a subscription, you can check out an article about bespoke ideas for your garden in the Telegraph. There are some great crafts people there, so check it out. Click Here To See The Article About my Topiary Work In The Telegraph
Lockdown Thinking, Changes A-Coming…
Lockdown has given me a chance to look through old notebooks and begin, gently, to piece together some sort of narrative about Modern Mint and how it has grown over the last six years. And it has changed massively in that time! Modern Mint Now, June Lockdown 2020 I currently make and maintain topiary all over the UK for clients who love well-pruned hedges and sculptures. I love this job – it is a beautiful art. In the winter I prune wisteria, roses and fruit trees in orchards. Much colder, shorter work days… but equally satisfying work. I give talks …
The Garden In Motion
During lockdown I went through a number of old notebooks. I found a note about Gilles Clement and The Garden In Motion – Le Jardin En Mouvement. Underneath my note I had written: “To be researched more! Something to definitely think over!” Now, five years later I have looked again… and am thrilled by this idea. The Garden In Motion is about taking a piece of unused land, and then as the gardener you make choices to do ‘as much as possible for the land and as little as possible against’ it. You are talking about limited input – watering, …