Beginner's bonsai: Discover the artist within by trying your hand at bonsai

摘要

Tortuous, exacting and finicky - bonsai is definitely not for the no-maintenance gardener but if you possess a nurturing streak and have an eye for beauty the intense training of these scaled down trees can be both relaxing and invigorating at the same time. Robert Langholm is a skilled bonsai master. We took a beginner's lesson with him and partner Simon Misdale in their Auckland garden. As Robert points out, as well as bonsai being a relaxing process in itself it allows you to enjoy a wide range of plants in a small plot - and not just static little conifers squatting in saucers but the whole gamut of garden pleasures from flowers to fruit in season, autumn colours and fresh spring growth.