I suppose I am an unlikely person to have developed an interest in trees in general and bonsai in particular. My first twenty six years were spent in and around Boston (the original old town, not the upstart city in the United States). Anyone visiting the fens and marshes in south Lincolnshire will be well aware of the shortage of trees or indeed of any vegetation taller than the various crops grown in this fertile area Such trees as can be seen are usually in small groups around village churches or near farm houses to give shelter. Winter winds in the fens blow right through you - not around!

 

In 1960 Doris and I moved to the Fareham area when I joined a firm of solicitors with whom I stayed until my retirement in June 1996. During most of that time we lived close to the sea at Hill Head. On the cliff top there are excellent examples of windswept trees like overgrown bonsai, bent at an extreme angle by the persistent south west wind.

 

Frequent visits to the New Forest soon brought a fascination for trees. I began to grow a few trees and shrubs in pots and kept them small by pruning. Having heard, vaguely, of bonsai I thought that it only involved an annual “quick back and sides”. How wrong can you be?

 

The first books I found on the subject did not provide a great deal of help. They were re-prints translated from Japanese with poor black and white photographs and descriptions of the techniques and soil mixes so elaborate that they were off-putting.

 

Not satisfied I wrote to the National Bonsai Society asking for clear information on the magic art and it suggested that I contact Ray Filsell. He told me that a few local bonsai enthusiasts had recently met and agreed to form Solent Bonsai Society. I was invited to join them. I did and, as the saying goes, “the rest is history”. (See “Profile” by Trevor Arm in the Winter 1997 Magazine).

 

Since 1978 I have had the privilege and honour of various offices in Solent Bonsai Society - Vice-chairman, Show Organiser (as it was then known), Secretary, Librarian (I started the library with five books and a few American magazines), Publicist and also General Dogs’s Body. In addition I have had great pleasure in travelling to give talks and demonstrations to garden clubs, Women's Institutes and other bonsai clubs. Solent Bonsai Society have become an important part of my life and I look forward to continuing involvement in the fascinating world of trees, large and small.

 

Do not forget that trees are the lungs of the World. No matter how many trees you already have in your garden - PLANT MORE TREES.