THE MODERN MINT BLOG
I saw this a few months back.
Not exactly sure I know what to feel about it:
- Cutting during the growing season when birds and other wildlife are nesting.
- Having to do this each year, with the high carbon footprint attached to it, when it may be less environmentally damaging to cut down the trees close to the cables and replant more in a better, more open space?
- And then of course, there is the use of a freaking helicopter with a freaking rotating blade on a freaking swinging cable being arced around next to live POWER LINES!!!!!!!
I guess you either glory in man’s (and I would put money on it being a man that thought to do this) ability to conquer nature with machines.
Or you marvel at the quality of the flying and care taken by the pilot, whilst wondering if it is no more than finding a solution to a problem that could be designed away before the helicopter and the saw are even needed?
My instinct is to look closer at the latter.
For more on my topiary and pruning work, made far more gently with shears and secateurs, visit The Artisans series in the Guardian.
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 …