new addiction

During the second half of 2008 my wife and I were busy planning the building of our new bungalow and our new rear garden. This garden will be locked in when the building is up so we needed to get it sorted before the start of the building. We had acquired a beautiful large Buddha figure for the garden and we wanted planting to complement our new friend.

In September we started visiting all our local Garden Centres and nurseries with a view to buy some sculptural trees and plants. As we gradually went through our list we got to the Bonllwyn Bonsai and Garden Centre near Ammanford. Here we met Chris Thomas the owner. During my life I have always believed if you need some advice ask, so during my conversation with Chris I asked quite a few questions. It's very refreshing to speak to someone who knows what he is talking about. An important question I wanted an answer for was, where I could find information on how to shape trees planted in a garden to look like trees that I had seen in many photos of Japanese gardens? Chris then told me about the Bonsai group that meet at the Garden Centre on Wednesday afternoon and most of Sundays. I'm now thinking laterally, there must be common skills between shaping small trees grown in pots to doing the same on a larger scale!

A few weeks later I decided to check it out. My wife encouraged me to give it a go; I think to get me out of the house as much as anything. So on a Wednesday in early November I met up with Chris and a number of members of the Dragon Bonsai. Everyone made me feel welcome. Then Chris spent the best part of the afternoon demonstrating some basic techniques on a Larch that I was given as a new member. During that first afternoon I also spoke to the others who were working on their own trees. Now to me their trees looked fine examples of the art of Bonsai but their owners would say they were just works in progress. What a variety of trees, including oak, pine, maple, hawthorn, blackthorn and the list goes on. I think I was hooked from that moment.

Over the last few months I have gotten to know more of the Dragon members and they are without exception a generous and friendly group of individuals. Generous with their time, either by helping me or explaining to me the how and why's, lending me tools as I gradually build up my own kit. I have been given a few young trees to work on, as well as being invited on the many trips the club make collecting yamadori (material dug from the ground) or visiting specialist Bonsai Nurseries. The enthusiasm of the club members is infectious.

What is good for newbie's like me is that there are many experienced people in the club which means helping the less skilful doesn't consume too much of their own time. It's an education to hear the group discuss the possibilities of a young tree. And for me the times when we get together and discuss displaying the trees is particularly enjoyable.

For the first few weeks I felt a little lost, as with every new experience we undertake, there is a lot to learn, but, gradually over the last few months I have settled in, and I feel I'm getting somewhere, I have learned so much in the last three months.

All this knowledge and learning for £15 a year as well as copious amounts of tea and coffee and sandwiches and biscuits, and friendship! What a bargain, less than a price of a Bonsai book but with an almost endless reference section.