Yearly Archives: 2012

Homage to the Hornbeam

  Hornbeams are a fabulous tree for bonsai, a firm favourite with many and for good reason. You can see from the impressive image above that they can be of majestic proportions and this is one of our members trees which he has had for many years and developed it into this fine specimen.

The Japanese Landscape at Kew

The Gateway was first created for the Japan-British exhibition in 1910, a replica of the Karamon of Nishi Hongan-ji, Kyoto and then later restored and reconstructed for the Japanese Landscape at Kew in 1996. This covers five-thousand square metres and contains three garden areas built to compliment the Japanese Gateway named Chokushi-Mon (Gateway of the… Read more »

Verve soil conditioner

An interesting article in The Dendrologist magazine… Rock Dust Fertilizer – Scottish quarries are supplying 420 million year old volcanic rock, ground up and packed in 10kg bags, now being sold in B&Q for £5.98 as ‘Verve’ soil improver. It contains ‘the full suite of nutrients’, as marketing director Jennifer Cook proclaims. Rock dust has… Read more »

Kew’s Bonsai collection revisited

We visited Kew’s bonsai collection earlier last year but could not resist going back for a another peak at the winter image.

Ficus microcarpa (Ginseng Fig or Banyan Fig)

Recently I have been caring for a Ficus microcarpa as it was starting to show decline and leaf problems so I agreed to aid with the recovery if I could as I am used to looking after tropical bonsai trees having a few myself for the past 6 years.

Tool Roll

B&Q are currently selling these JCB Tool Rolls, good value for £5.98. You find them here  

Marcus Watts

Marcus Watts, lives in Cornwall and bought his first bonsai 22 years ago and has been enjoying the hobby ever since. He prefers working with larger trees and now maintains a smaller collection of mostly Japanese bonsai. He likes to refine and finish trees, so spend a lot of time wiring ! Next year he… Read more »

Mike Jones

Mike Jones has been interested in Bonsai Trees since the early 1980’s. If not for that small ‘extra’ Christmas present of a ‘grow your own bonsai seed kit,’ he may not have been so passionate about the hobby, as indeed he has – and still is! From that humble seed kit to today – he… Read more »

John Trott

John Trott started bonsai in 1969, lecturing since 1986 and went semi-professional in 1994 when he first started exhibiting at horticultural shows and set up the Mendip Bonsai Studio. He then went full time professional in 1999, and set up the educational side of the business to become one of the leading workshops to learn… Read more »