General

It's silly season around here and it's tough to get much done from beneath your avalanche of orders. Not that I am complaining it's just an insanely busy time and I also have to run around buying and moving our new seasons stock too. This year we have a lot of...

Just got back from our annual gruelling, but ultimately rewarding, trip to Belgium for the Noelanders Trophy. Too many years have passed by with us visiting this event but it never ceases to surprise in one way or another. This year the buzz around the trade was a...

If you stick at bonsai long enough and do enough work there comes a time when the doubt and uncertainty disappears. In relation to styling trees a lot of folk seem to struggle when it comes to dealing with the initial basics. A few years back I was regularly running...

  I understand it's customary to wish ones friends and family a happy new year today. Seeing as I do not have any friends I thought I should make up my quota of good wishes by doing it here. Along with Catherine I would like to sincerely wish all of our family,...

Anyone who knows me will know what an unsociable old grouch I can be. If those folk happen to do bonsai they also know I like to take the gently gently approach to creating bonsai. I like to take my time and use as light a touch as possible. Seeing as everyone was in...

I took half a day off, now it's back to work! Just finished off this sweet little juniper that Ramon got wired a few days ago. It's been for sale on the web site for a while now without a single murmur of interest. We cut a large branch away and the deadwood was...

The old saying goes 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'. Which, I guess, makes me the dullest of all. Early next year my daughter turns 23 and the last time I went on holiday was two or three years before she was born. I have a few reasons for that, firstly...

When you get through as many trees as we do in the course of a year there is a tendency to become decidedly unimpressed with a lot of it. This time of year I will be very happy to have cleared out all of our little Chinese elms. I started at 4am yesterday packing the...

After 25 years mucking about with plants I am pretty good at identifying species. I also have a penchant for unusual types and have got myself in all sorts of trouble gathering up strange trees. However I am currently stumped. I bought this tree off a price list where...

There are two things in life I really love. Big V8 engines and Scots pines. Ying and Yang, perfect balance. This morning we took delivery of some awesome scotties and as I sit here now all I can see out of the window is my favourite things 🙂 The truck isn't for sale...