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ENTHUSIASTS: Auckland Bonsai Society members Marianne Uys and Louis Buckingham.

CONTAINER gardening is hot these days with people growing anything from tulips to tomatoes in pots to maximise the use of every nook and cranny.

However, taking on the challenge of growing a tree in a restrictive container is much more than gardening. Bonsai is a creative art form requiring patience and a vision of the future.

Throughout New Zealand enthusiasts of this ancient form of sculpture share their knowledge and friendship at regular club get-togethers.

Howick bonsai artists Louis Buckingham and Marianne Uys say belonging to the Auckland Bonsai Society has given them comradeship and experience from people who have been involved with the tiny trees for many years.

Louis’ father was a nurseryman and the youngster grew up around horticulture. When Louis was about 16 he became interested in bonsai.

“I was playing around with small plants that were in the nursery and wouldn’t be sold to anyone else,” he says. “When I was about 20 it became a hobby.”

The young man’s intrigue may have been further cultivated by his interest in martial arts at the time.

“They’re fascinating and you’ve got more control over them. You can work with the tree and make it into a work of art rather than a big tree that just grows. It’s working with nature to produce something people can look at and become inspired. They may see something of themselves or their memories.”

Today people might visualise an owl perched on a branch but historically Chinese enthusiasts imagined dragons, birds and animals in the twisted trunks and root formations. Records indicate bonsai may have originated in ancient Egypt about 4000BC.

Louis has heard small plants were kept in pots so travellers could take medicinal and fruiting plants on their journeys. Around 265 to 420AD, the word ‘penzai’ appeared in Chinese writing, with ‘pen’ meaning a vase and ‘zai’ to plant.

Elements of the art have developed throughout history and from exposure to different cultures.  The Japanese made significant changes and used bonsai to decorate their homes and gardens.

Internationally, bonsai can command high prices, but the market is not significant enough in New Zealand for Louis to turn his hobby into an occupation. Many enthusiasts buy and sell the miniature trees through bonsai associations.

Louis will try growing any species as a bonsai, but says many of the junipers are easy. Some New Zealand native plants can also make impressive bonsai.

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CHAMP: A prize-winning juniper procumbens nana. Times photos Jackie Russell.

ORIGINAL: One of Louis' first bonsai, chamaecyparis obtusa nana.

“Pines can be quite rewarding and deciduous trees can be quite nice in winter,” he says.

“What I really like the most is taking some big raw material from gardens or an old garden centre and finding its inner beauty.”

Occasionally bonsai association members are permitted to go into places such as The Redwoods — Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua to collect saplings.

Louis likes working with bigger plants because he can create more character and vision with a bigger piece of material.

In saying that, Louis still has a dwarf chamaecyparis obtusa nana that only stands about 30cm tall. He has nurtured the gem since his teenage years and continues to preen it into a fine specimen.

Fortunately Louis has restricted his travels to the Auckland region but the beauty of bonsai is that they are extremely portable. Guardians can easily transport them to new abodes.

Caring for bonsai is quite easy but most critically they should be kept outside — they are definitely not houseplants.

“You can’t take a forest giant and put it in your living room and expect it to live,” says Louis. “Watering is the biggest thing, especially in the middle of summer when you could find yourself watering twice a day. Just keep them weeded and once every few years you might need to re-pot them or root prune them and put them back into the same pot.”

The older the tree, the less often the roots are trimmed to avoid stressing the plant.

Collectors tend to find a pot that matches the tree and it stays with it for most of its life. The combination is designed like a picture and frame.

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FRUIT: Bonsai can grow berries and fruit. AND HAPPY: Buddha enjoys nestling among the bonsai.

EXPOSED: Roots of a bonsai grown over a rock.

“You can go through a number of pots until all of a sudden you’ve got the one that suits the tree. You know when you’ve got it.”

Regular potting mix is used with the addition of open gravel or grit to improve drainage. Louis uses fine scoria with the finest matter sieved out to prevent compaction. They need feeding fortnightly through the growing season, like a houseplant.

Some bonsai are grown over a rock to add character and slowly expose the root structure. This can be achieved more quickly by planting a tree over a rock in the ground or a large pot until the trunk thickens and then the soil is carefully brushed away from the established roots.

The size of bonsai leaves reduces but the size of flowers and fruit remains the same. Louis says an apple bonsai could miraculously produce fruit that is bigger than the tree.

Aluminium or copper wire is used to train the branches into a desirable position, and create positive and negative spaces that birds or butterflies could fly between. It also exposes branches to the sun for plant health.

It can take a number of years to achieve the desired form and Louis’ oldest bonsai is about 40-years-old. An elderly bonsai club member passed it on to him when he was no longer able to care for the miniature tree.

A lot of the artist’s emotion goes into bonsai, so it’s important to have someone to inherit the mature tree.

Louis is president of the Auckland Bonsai Society and his partner Marianne is also on the committee. Other club members bring new ideas from overseas artists back to the local group, which keeps developing the art. At conventions there are competitive exhibitions and demonstrations from international experts.

Quality tools and equipment, which are important to maintain the delicate and refined aspects of bonsai, are often traded between members.

And, when life gets too chaotic a quiet meditative moment trimming tiny boughs is a healthy escape and definitely beats reality television shows.