Episode: 4
Title: Bonsai
Broadcast: 26th September 2015
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane

If there is just one garden type that captures the imagination of all people, it has to be the garden art form of Bonsai. In this story, Trevor explores Bonsai and meets up with a member of the Bonsai Society of WA, Marc Widmer to show how beautiful Bonsai trees can be.

• There’s a difference between the Chinese and Japanese culture’s interpretation of Bonsai where with the Chinese, it’s an ability to replicate miniature landscapes whereas for the Japanese, it’s creating the perfect miniature trees and Bonsai in Japanese literally translates to gardening in a tray.
• If you can keep a plant alive, you can do Bonsai but if you want to be good at planting Bonsais, you have to get good stock that depends climatically or geographically.
• Joining a Bonsai club will benefit your knowledge and learning tremendously, have access to better stock and equipment and camaraderie of the club.
• People often think that growing Bonsais are difficult but it is actually really simple as they just need water, food and sunlight just like any other plants.
• The perfection of each plant is something to admire and behold and people who take part in this form of gardening are fastidious and diligent, these plants are constantly looked at and their shape carefully manipulated and developed to recreate the perfection of nature in the gardeners’ mind.
• The strict Japanese rules on Bonsai have been relaxed a bit and with innovate clubs, they are starting to use Australian natives with great results. It’s a really good example of dwarfing a plant down, containing it to size and getting it to a perfect shape.
• If you are interested in Bonsai, check out our website and we will provide links to your local Bonsai society.

Bonsai Society of WA – Website: www.bonsaisocietywa.com/