THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Update – My favourite garden Waltham Place now sell Copper Tools.
Copper trowels. There are three of them. Too much choice? Can’t decide:
Which Copper Trowel is Best for Me?
At Modern Mint we offer three copper trowels. They are…
- The Mira
- The Musca
- And the Castor
Each trowel has a uniqueness in both shape and feel when you use it. How you are as a gardener and the style with which you garden will also affect which one is best for you.
As we get asked so often what is the difference between each copper trowel, we have written a short, handy guide on the different places in the garden we use them.
Hope this helps you decide which copper trowel is best for you and the gardening you love to do!
The Musca Trowel
1) Musca – our favourite trowel at the moment. No scratch that! Our favourite copper trowel of all time! I have been using this non-stop in the garden since forever…!
Why?
Because it is a great all-rounder. Because the blade is deeper you can use it for potting up and moving compost from the bag (or barrow) into seed trays. But it is also sharp enough and has a long enough blade to use in the garden whichever job you happen to be doing too.
One moment this summer I used it for putting out cosmos into the borders, clearing goose grass from the vegetable patch and scratching as much root of the dandelions as I could get from between the paving.
My ‘Musca’ gets well used…!
The Mira Trowel

The Castor Trowel

What Else Must You Know About Copper Trowels?
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….! …
ClipFest 2025
On Sunday June 22nd there will be Clipfest 2025 at Ichi-Coo Park in Surrey. It is a celebration of all things pruning and topiary, and I will be there in my capacity of teacher at the European Boxwood and Topiary Society to demonstrate tool cleaning and sharpening, and how to clip. Tickets can be found here on Eventbrite. We are hoping for great weather and to see lots of keen pruners getting their shears out and joining us at this amazing garden! And for more on topiary…
Secateur Holders
A present arrived from Norway today, from a student who visited last February to work with Chris Poole and I on learning topiary. His new hobby – a beautiful and neatly stitched secateur holder. Thrilled with this! The holder will save me keep losing my secatuers too…! Thank you Bernt! It was the same student who introduced me to the APA with whom I am doing a talk at the end of March. Tickets can be bought here for ‘Defining The Essence – Aesthetic Pruning in the Garden’. Do join the European Boxwood and Topiary Society for that!