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
Pearls of Wisdom
Fictional characters are renowned for saying the wisest things. If it were possible to rehearse life we would all be clever bastards, wouldn't we? Anyone know who said "The world don't run on love" ?* Forrest Gump's Mama said "Life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." My Dad said "Life is like a bank account. You only get out what you put in" Over the years I have lived my life under the umbrella of this last pearl of wisdom. All told it's paid off but f**k it's hard work. The amount of effort you have to put in to get something worthwhile in return is...
A New Challenge.
Anyone who stops by here regularly will know I don't consider myself an 'artist'. That's all too pretentious for a working class and comprehensive school educated (partly) boy from Norfolk. I just suffer from an over-active imagination and an obsessive dedication to minutiae. At this time of year I get a chance to begin styling work on a few of my literal mountain of tree stock. Few folk have the courage to buy raw material, something I have written about at great length in some of my older posts here. Therefore I have to spend a lot of the off-season making scruffy bushes look like bonsai...
Top Posts
Recent Posts
I Can’t Work Under These Conditions!
Judging by the activity on our web site you would be forgiven for thinking Kaizen Bonsai is on a winter sabbatical. You would however be wrong. January is always our busiest month and leads right into the re-potting season. This time of year we are buying tree stock,...
New Workshop Dates for 2014
New dates have just been released for our Bonsai Workshops for 2014 8 March 30 March 12 April 27 April 17 May 14 June 20 July 16 August 14 September October TBA 8 November 23 November
Graham Potter Advanced Bonsai Styling Video
Our new video, Advanced Bonsai Styling is now available to watch here and on our bonsai videos page. If this video is blocked where you are, you can also watch it on Vimeo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INiuFEItu44
Bonsai Takes Time and a Little Patience
This week my good friend Stuart came over with a couple of trees to look at. One of them was this lovely little Ezo spruce. A great example of the benefits of taking your time. It's a sad fact that we westerners are in a hurry all the time. Everything has to be ASAP....
The Price of an Education
I am constantly bombarded by requests for help from people who want to create beautiful bonsai. Some are just starting out and some have been plodding away for years. The defining factor is a concern about doing it wrong and messing up their material. This comes from...
Noelanders Trophy 2014
Kaizen Bonsai will be kicking off the new year with a visit to the Noelanders Trophy in Belgium. It's 14 years since I first visited this great show and have been every year since. This has become the premier bonsai show in Europe and a meeting point for bonsai...