The Kaizen Bonsai Blog by Graham Potter
Whether you are looking to master the basics of tree health or perform advanced structural styling, use the sections below to navigate our decades of experience in the art of bonsai.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Scroll down for the latest updates, videos, and ramblings from the nursery.
Bonsai Tree Care
The foundation
Bonsai Tree Creation
Bonsai Restoration
Bonsai Technique
Video Masterclasses
Graham's Bonsai Trees
Getting Out and About
I have to thank Peter, Kevin and all the crew at Herons for all their hard work. Also my fellow exhibitors who turned out some beautiful bonsai trees and a fine display.
Graham Potter’s Big Weekend.
Graham Potter's Big Weekend. First up let me apologise for the lack of posts recently. Summer's a funny time here for many reasons and this one has been unusually funny (not) for all the wrong reasons. My trees started off the year raring to go and by end of February buds were breaking left and right. Then by the time we got to May (which is our most significant period of activity in the growing of bonsai here on the east coast) the temperatures were colder than February and we didn't see blue sky for weeks whilst enduring biting northeasterly winds right off the cold North sea that tore the...
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Per Aspera Ad Astra.
Living in modern Britain is not easy. We have always been a country that lurches from one crisis to the next but at this moment it does appear we are in a state of flux. That makes us feel uneasy and the more bone idle one is the worse the feeling will be. Many have...
Bonsai. It’s All About The Trees!
Warning: Pretentious opinionated bullshit follows! I am not the first to say, of late, that the world has gone insane. To be fair planet earth is just fine and carries on much as it always has done with it’s ups and downs, it’s the bit that we humans inhabit...
Pretty Pictures
Seeing as I was having a good bitch and moan last week I thought it would be a good idea to redress the balance with a happy post. Sadly we are not able to trade trees like we have done in years past so the number in the garden is drastically reduced. However the...
A Smashing Time
This week I had several tons of Bonsai pots delivered. The experience got me thinking about where we find ourselves and what to expect going forwards. If strong language offends PLEASE do not read further. If you are a bone-idle tired hands please do NOT read further....
Defoliation – What You Need To Know
There are many mysterious techniques used in the world of bonsai tree creation and maintenance. In my experience, many of them are misunderstood and therefore incorrectly applied. In my own case it certainly took a long time to understand what defoliation of deciduous...
I Got Off The Subject
I sat down to write a diatribe expounding the virtues of defoliation. As usual I got off the subject and never got back. However what follows has proven to very cathartic. Please forgive the self indulgence but rather than consign this to the folder of a thousand...