I have been a member of the Solent Bonsai Society for over 15 years, but my interest in growing trees in pots began about 2 years earlier when on holiday in Cornwall. I chanced upon a small nursery and was instantly amazed and enthralled by the majestic splendour portrayed by specimens of all shapes and sizes, but at the same time bewildered by the fact that some of the trees were actually hundreds of years old and had survived for that period of time in such restricted conditions. I shelled out a few pounds and bought a small Podocarpus, a little pot and a bag of soil and, armed with just a few tips offered by the sales girl I had my first 'bonsai'. It survived my attempts to kill it for eighteen months but finally got browned off and succumbed - murdered! - by a lack of knowledge.

It was about this time that I was made redundant from a fairly mundane factory job and decided to start my own business as a fence erector (patios, pergolas, lawns and shingle dressing etc). This change in employment however rekindled my interest in Bonsai, after all, the raw material was all around me and it was all free. So, anything that needed digging up found its way back to my garden where it was crammed into as small a plastic pot as possible and I very quickly became overrun with 'twigs in pots'. Of course my 'I can do that' attitude was soon dispelled when most of my 'trees' became 'dead twigs in pots'.

I needed to know more about this enthralling subject so, following a visit to an excellent exhibition at Fareham's Ferneham Hall, I became a member of the Solent Bonsai Society where I have been offered the opportunity of borrowing books and videos from a very impressive library of subject matter and have been able to talk Bonsai with like minded people, most, more experienced in the intricacies associated with keeping the trees healthy.

I still collect trees of all shapes and sizes but now am a little more discerning in that I choose only those trees with an interesting feature or 'potential' as it is commonly known.

The majority of my collection is of species commonly found in woodland or hedgerows but I do purchase trees on occasions from Garden Centres and starter trees from nurseries. Over the years I believe I have become an active member of the Club and I enjoy helping out whenever possible at various exhibitions and shows, more as a way of assessing my own progress than in a search for glory.

To be able to transform a potensia (potential bonsai) into a beautiful creation admired by all is the goal I aim for. I still have a lot to learn and I am still looking for that elusive 'tree within a tree' but with creation comes the requirement for the know-how to help it survive.

Hopefully with knowledge will come enlightenment