THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Wealden Fair
This week, from Thursday to Saturday, you will be able to find Modern Mint at the Wealden Summer Fair!
It is a really fantastic show, with a hand-picked variety of stalls that will mean you have a great chance of finding something amazing for your home (and garden) as well as gifts for people in your life.
We get a lot of our shopping done there!
Modern Mint will be taking our latest product, an eco-friendly gardening hat that is guaranteed to keep off the sun and rain!
See more of our new eco-friendly gardening hat.
The Wealden Summer Fair is one from 9am-4.30pm each day and will be held at Hole Park, Benenden Road, Rolvenden.
Sat nav postcode is TN17 4JA.
We will be back at Wealden in November too, for the winter fair – but hope to see you this week while the sun is shining!
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 …