THE MODERN MINT BLOG
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…
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?
Guanock House – Trainee Topiary Artist Needed

Guanock House needs a trainee topiary artist! Some of you may know it as the first home and garden of designer Arne Maynard, but is now owned and maintained by Michael Coleman and his wife Michelle. They offer meditation workshops and retreats there and it is as beautiful a house and garden as you could wish to visit. They called me in last Autumn to help shape up some of the topiary as it was all getting out of hand, but what it really needs is someone with a steady hand and lots of patience to take over the clipping …
Topiary In The Snow
Here are some photos of work I have been doing at the garden of Charlotte Molesworth in Kent. Snow and ice brings out the depth of the different planes and angles carved into the boxwood. A garden has to look beautiful in winter – and topiary (green architecture) helps do that! For more topiary pictures, click here.
New Talk: How To Use Topiary In The Garden

How To Use Topiary In The Garden is my new talk, which I first gave last year via Zoom for the European Boxwood And Topiary Society. Returning to Zoom again, there are two dates available to see and hear the talk: March 16th – Book your ticket here April 6th – Book your ticket here The talk is great fun, perfect for keen gardeners or people who want to know how to improve their garden with hedges and architectural plants. How To Use Topiary In The Garden looks at how to move away from the idea topiary is twee or old-fashioned, …