What a Bunch of Tools

So here we are already in the middle of January. I’m finally getting over my Christmas lurgy, my horrible knee sprain is on the mend along with my buggered up pinky and orders are flying out the door to the point we are measuring our output in weight (average 800Kg of goods daily). An almost imperceptible layer of snow is sparkling in the pristine sunlight, there’s a crackling fire in the grate and the dogs are toasting themselves right there. Life is good!

To cap it all Kevin Willson just made me the proud owner of a very special scots pine I have been developing for close on 20 years. Follow the link to his Instagram for a sneak peek. To cap it all I lost a couple of stone too though despite what every born again fatty tells me I don’t feel one iota better. So I reckon many folk are just full of crap (or I have a long way to go)! Overall 2024 has started well in the Potter household and long may it continue….. and that’s all I have to say ’bout that.

So, along with all my healing, packing, humping boxes and waxing lyrical about the good life I have also been busy listing the latest addition to the Kaizen Bonsai range of amazing products on our web site. Pleased to say we now have a very nice little selection of bonsai tools from Kaneshin Cutlery Mfg (Japan) at some pretty amazing prices all things considered. This has taken several months to put in place for reasons I no longer want to remember and the last week has been ‘kin dull as I have been sitting in front of a screen creating web site listings but it’s all done now.

See the range – Kaneshin Bonsai Tools

So if you are looking for TOP quality genuine Japanese bonsai tools please do go take a look. More will follow but for now i’m very pleased with our offering and some pretty keen prices too considering these are all largely hand made in Japan using the legendary Yasuki-Hagane (Japanese steel from Yasuki produced from local iron sand).

These days many things are far from what they seem. It appears to me a modern business can say almost anything in the pursuit of sales. Anyone seen SKY ad’s lately? Sky cinema is JUST NOT THAT GREAT. Shampoos make girls hair softer, toothpaste makes our teeth whiter and washing powder makes things so white they ought to be fecking invisible. Let’s not even get started on tech’, apps, ‘phones’ or the latest CCTV gadget that means we can all watch your house being burgled or you wheels getting lifted in what we used to call ‘glorious technicolour’ and ultra hi def’ streaming to just about and device from a watch to a flat screen the size of a duvet.

Bonsai tools are no exception in this respect. Most bonsai tools, along with almost everything else, are made in China nowadays. There is a perception that Chinese stuff is largely a bunch of crap, indeed I would concur a lot of what we do see here is indeed what the OED calls “something of extremely poor quality.” (crap:vulgar). But, much like everywhere else in life you get what you pay for. Most businesses go to China to source ‘goods‘ (not good actually) because they’re cheap, and also they (the Chinese) like to work hard, unlike us, and get things done. This ensures maximum profit margins but often saddles the customer with a crock of shit that ends up in landfill pretty quick. It’s what they call function of profitability or some such. A lot of utter crap gets made and distributed just prior to being dumped but so long as it results in a profit who cares right? Well, increasingly WE DO!

All of this is NONE of China’s fault, it’s ours. If you go to China and ask for a top quality product they can and WILL make it for you. Sadly not many folk do that, we have seen simply outstanding quality world leading products made there. These do carry a hefty price tag but quality has always cost money and top quality cost lots. Some Chinese bonsai tools are SO good in fact that many of our competitors are openly marketing them as Japanese made which is a crock of shit.

The bonsai tool market has always been a bit shifty or, should I say ‘opaque‘. These complex tools are hard to make, require quality materials and time served craftsmen (people) to build them. Bonsai tools are not made by automated machines in their millions like main stream tools. A few days ago I got an email from a Chinese producer of hammers. Apparently they make 7 million hammers annually. HOW can the world need that many hammers? I’m still using the one my dad gave me for Christmas 1976 and it’s nowhere near worn out. I doubt there have been that many bonsai tools manufactured in the last 10 years….. which is a wild guess on my part. Suffice to say small production numbers and high quality materials result in a high price. There’s an inescapable law at work in the universe much like E = mc2. This one states you get what you pay for.

In reality there are endless brands of bonsai tools. However most are no more than ‘badge engineering’. There are very few manufacturers of bonsai tools and even some of the major Japanese names are just branded packaging for standard quality tools. Not that this is a bad thing but it makes it very difficult when buying bonsai tools to figure out what’s what.

That’s why we have added Kaneshin Bonsai tools to our range, they’re kosher, the real deal, made by the same family and dedicated time served craftsmen for as long as anyone can remember. Not everyone can afford to buy the ‘best’ but it’s nice to know that good quality tools made with integrity and pride are available when we do want to treat ourselves.

As with all things ‘quality‘ is relative. There really is no limit, take Mr Yasuhiro Hirakawa as a fine example. A fifth generation blacksmith shop (Sasuke) who, among many other exquisite things happens to make the worlds most expensive bonsai scissors. These can carry a price tag right up to an eye watering $32,000 (£25,200) though his ‘standard‘ scissors go for a paltry $1100 (£866). This budget range still takes 10 hours a day for one week to turn out a single pair and in my book that’s a cheap tool.

So, having spent a week immersed in all this tool business it got me thinking about my own bonsai tools. Just for the record I love tools. As I mentioned, way back in the 1970’s my dad often gave me tools for birthday or Christmas presents. A lot of those fell off the back of his British Gas lorry but I didn’t care.

When I started doing a paper round at age 12 I had 32 houses to deliver to. At 6.30am I pedalled the 2.5 miles to the newsagent, assembled my papers myself before pedalling a mile and a half with a heavy canvas bag slung over my shoulder to the start of my round. I then pedalled/walked the 1 mile length of my round up one side of the road and back down the other side until the last paper hit the last doormat. I then had to ride back home like a demented person in order to get changed and walk the half mile to school in time for 8.45am registration. I did this round seven days a week come rain or snow. Fridays everyone got a local paper in addition to their regular title which meant a bag so heavy I could hardly heft it onto my shoulder and made for some sketchy bike riding too. To cap it all, on Saturdays I had to call at every house and collect payment for their weeks papers before accounting to the boss back at the shop. Once ALLLLLLL that was done I received the princely sum of £1.35.

When I first started that job I saved up for two weeks before taking what I thought a kings ransom to the local hardware store where I blew the whole lot on a beautiful shiny silver guess what……………… Stanley knife. Not just any Stanley knife though, this one came with 10 spare blades. I was SOOOOOO happy walking out the store I thought I was on a magic carpet.

At school I was the envy of all my mates every time I whipped out my glistening silver treasure. One time (true story) I used it to carve my name into a wooden desk top. What I actually spent the lesson doing was a beautiful intaglio carving of the phrase “Graham Potter is god” (note the small G). Funnily enough the next day I got called into the headmasters office for a bollocking. He took my treasured knife off me and I had to pick it up at the end of the day under a strict understanding that I did not bring it back to school with me ever again. I was about 13 by then, HOW much things have changed. Suffice to say I LOVE tools and in particular knives. Ohhhhh I love knives, but you get the picture right?

For my younger readers, tools are something used accomplish a task that can’t be done on a phone and is beyond the capabilities of ones own teeth or fingernails. With care good tools in skilled hands produce amazing things. Many folk like to collect high quality tools, i’ve seen a lot of folk in bonsai with “all the gear and no idea“. Tools are much like a pencil. In the right hands it can produce a work of art. In my own pubescent hands they were used to jab other kids in the forehead which if done correctly left them with a little tattoo that resembled a blackhead.

I was recently hanging around Kevin’s workshop absent-mindedly going through his ragtag assemblage of hard worked tools. Much like many skilled artisans there was not a single item there of any real significance but no artist in the UK generates more outstanding bonsai transformations than me ol’ mate from Essex. The tool is less significant than the hand that puts it to work. Left to its own devices a tool never created anything. This appears true of many skilled tradesmen and artists, their tools might be a shoddy assemblage but the skill held in the hands that wield them is often exemplary.

So, to my own tools. Whilst these may look to be that shoddy assemblage they are mostly good quality items that only became shoddy because they were good enough to survive me and have delivered a great deal of often punishing work over the decades. Like most long practicing craftsmen I have gathered up a huge selection of tools from some of the best available to others repurposed from other disciplines, some are custom made, some are bastardised bits and bobs of scrap and random busted items that at one time or another were just perfect for the task at hand.

Looking at my own dirty tray of disgrace It occurred to me I do about 95% of all my bonsai work with no more than eight items as you can see here. Were I traveling somewhere to work these are my ‘must have‘ tools that I simply cannot function without. All the other tools get used extremely infrequently but we have a lot of history together so I keep them all.

So here is my MUST HAVE tool kit which consists of two groups of four items. One group I use 100% of the time and the other not so much. Every one of us well experienced bonsaists can probably show their own unique collection and some folk have actually expressed an interest in mine so here goes……

So this first bunch is the stuff I use 100% of the time. From the top we have…….

Masakuni #8309 – This is the long handle version of the very popular #8009. This is the only wire cutter I use for wire up to about 2.5mm. It’ll cut thicker and i have bent it a few times doing just that. Nothing comes close to being this brilliant especially when removing fine wire from densely ramified bonsai.

Next is my beautiful little Yagamitsu SP1. This is a hand forged scissor made by a single blacksmith. I have had it over 20 years and even back then they were very expensive but it’s THE best scissor I have ever owned by a country mile. When pruning densely ramified bonsai the short length allows very accurate work to be carried out at super fast speed. Longer scissors may be needed for deeper access but for top work who needs all that excess length in the way. It’ll cut branches as thick as a pencil and chop 4mm aluminium wire like it’s made of cheese.

The next tool is my Masakuni #8812. I only got this because I typed the wrong number onto an order years ago but it’s the best tweezer I have ever seen. This thing has the pulling power of pliers with the accuracy of a scalpel. Technically it’s a pine tweezer made for pulling needles and thinning candles and congested buds but to me it’s an absolute must have at almost any price.

Finally in this group I have our very own Superior Long Handle Scissors. For the price these are superb and can be found doing anything from pruning bonsai, cutting roots, branches, wire, working like a chopstick, creating deadwood and they are great around my motorcycle workshop making gaskets, cutting rubber, plastic and wires. They’ll open a can of soup, cut a sandwich in half or trim up ‘ur nose hair. This pair have a few custom grinds and subtle mod’s which I like and suit me personally and the way I work.

This next group of tools are items I use every time I work on bonsai but I do put them down from time to time.

From the top we have my little Jin pliers. No idea where I got these but they have been in my pocket for over 20 years at least. From making deadwood to wire work I could barely finish any task without these. The slim straight handles double up as a pair of re-potting sticks too when i’m in a hurry. I have bent them on a few occasions but they can be straightened and a little heat restores everything back to normal.

Below that we have the fine twig cutter or NBBC (narrow blade branch cutter). I recently did a video pruning a maple where these can be seen in action. This pair have been bent and abused to a criminal extent. I cut the end off a broom handle with them one time which was stupid but thankfully I have become very good at sharpening and resetting the blades. They are only made for very light pruning of deciduous twigs and small branches which they do remarkably well as they give great access in a tight spot. I very rarely use any other type of branch cutter since I mastered these little guys.

Below that we have the mighty Masakuni #8007. From time to time I get a tree come in that’s wired and sometimes that’s done in a horrible way or with entirely inappropriate materials like galvanised steel fencing wire. Whilst mini bolt cutters can sort that out these give better access and are significantly more powerful. They’ll cut 10mm aluminium (yes it does exist) 5mm hardened copper and 3-4mm steel including most nails and screws. They also make a great hammer if I find myself short of one and can smash up the largest bonsai pots with consumate ease. Why? don’t ask 😉 Masakuni tools seem to be disappearing fast as I believe there is only one craftsman left now but I may be wrong. We certainly never get what we order anymore.

Finally in this group is the Small Bonsai Knob Cutter. Trimming up a cut to enable it to heal flat is a skill that takes a long time to master and judge correctly. When dressing cuts I like to use the small tool to nibble away at it which I find much more accurate than just blasting in with a big gun. Also knowing that the little tool is somewhat more delicate I treat it with some respect and so it lasts much longer that it’s big brother in my hands.

Some of these tools are stainless and some are black. This just happened and was in no way intentional. Stainless steel will never hold as good an edge as a high carbon steel and stainless tools are not 100% rustproof either. The correct term should be ‘stain resistant‘. A 100% stainless steel is too soft to carry an edge or retain its integrity under pressure. There are some utterly spectacular stainless hardenable steels available today and whilst these make spectacular knives they are not suited to bonsai tools.

As I said I have virtually every bonsai tool ever made somewhere in my old filing cabinets and on occasions I will dive in there for a tool to do a specific job that just can’t be accomplished any other way but this set of eight tools are what I use all the time. There are just two more items I cannot work without. First up is this…..

Bonsai tools that cut mainly work on the scissor/plier principle of two parts joined together by a pivot. This pivot is the single most important part of an opening and closing tool because it keeps the cutting edges in alignment even under pressure whilst acting as a fulcrum to magnify the amount of force one applies at the handles. Once this gets full of crap, wears and becomes loose the tool will NOT cut properly no matter how sharp.

Every day I pick up one of my bonsai tools I put a tiny drop of oil in the base of the blades just above the pivot and two more at the base of the blades/top of the handles just behind the pivot. This is quickly drawn in and not only keeps the union lubricated but prevents the ingress of dirt. Those little Yagamitsu SP1s have no wear in the pivot after 20 years and still have perfect blade geometry. Keep your tools lubricated, it’s the single most important factor in ensuring tools perform well and last a long time.

At this point someone will ask me what oil I use. Currently this is a 30 weight non detergent mineral oil that’s used in vintage motorcycle engines that do not run oil filters. This particular one is made by Millers Oils, a superb UK company, Vintage Millerol 30. The reason I use that is because the last time I filled up my little oil can it was close at hand. Honestly who gives a shit it’s oil for scissors. Don’t go and use WD40 or similar, it’ll do nowt unless your tools are rusted shut, use proper oil and use it often.

And finally we get to my most versatile, treasured and best tool that goes with me ALL the time. Honestly! If I’m dressed this tool is about my person and it is……

As I said, I have a passion for knives. There are hundreds in my house from 200 year old antiques through military weapons and farm implements. Then there are a whole bunch of artisan made and unique pieces that can only be called works of art. However a man needs a good working knife.

My grandad was never without his trusty Sheffield made pocket knife. I never saw him a day in his life without his waistcoat, tie, Zippo and pocket knife. I have no need for the former two items but the later I do.

This Benchmade knife designed by the late and great Mel Pardu is simply the best working knife I have ever owned and it’s been by my side every day for years now. I did modify the blade angle to a much shallower pitch which increases it’s sharpness and ability to cut things like cardboard and plastic. That took weeks of patient work by hand because the steel is SO darn hard. I have used this to cut everything including mild steel wire and my own flesh. It’s so sharp one does not immediately feel a cut from the edge until it touches bone, Trust me 😉

This little bit of incredible steel is one of my most treasured possessions without which I could neither do bonsai or live. A pocket knife must be strong. I have used this to split logs by hammering in into wood with a baton but it must hold a good edge without the need for continuous grinding. A good old fashioned steel brings this back to a razor edge in only a couple of swipes and about once a year I put it across a water stone just to freshen it up.

It is not legal to carry in the UK simply because it’s blade locks. So that makes me an outlaw then I guess. Never buy a pocket knife without a locking blade unless you need to loose part of a finger. I rarely carry a phone when I go out but I will never be found without this in my pocket. In fact I think I’ll have this buried with me when I go.

I love and adore tools, as I said. Tools open up a whole world of possibility and creativity and I love mine with an absolute passion. I hope this little post has passed on a little bit of my knowledge and enthusiasm. I could go on all day but there are parcels that need packing so I need to go.

If you made it this far I extend my sincere thanks and respect. If you have any sensible questions about tools of any sort do get in touch. After all a passion shared is a passion doubled right?

Graham

 

The post What a Bunch of Tools appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

Two Half Heads are Better Than One!

Creating bonsai takes a really long time. It also takes a long time to figure out exactly how to do it so if you are starting out TODAY assume it will take twenty years to figure out the basics, and that assumes you are busy and not applying yourself in a ‘working from home‘, civil service, tired hands kind of a way.

Having been hammering away at bonsai now for the better part of forty years I might be so bold as to say I figured this all out a while back. I often say it takes ten years to figure out which end goes into the soil. Now that’s not strictly true in a Trumpian kind of a way, it’s not to be taken literally, it’s a figure of speech which illustrates that even after a decade in the saddle one can still be susceptible to chafing. That’s another figure of speech isn’t it but illustrates my point I hope.

Sadly todays society has, by and large, lost the appreciation of things that take time unless that time can be charged for of course. A bottle of Private Collection Glenlivet 1949 74 Year Old will set you back about £35,000 whilst a bottle of Whyte & Mackay Blended Scotch Whisky from Asda comes in at a very reasonable £17.00. I don’t drink Scotch but i know folk who do and they would be very keen to point out the difference of which I would be largely oblivious.

The basics of these two bottles are much the same (a distilled spirit) but the fact is one got left in the shed for a really long time and to a connoisseur who is blessed with a sensitive palate the difference is night and day and quite possibly worth every penny. The single malt had time to develop it’s special unique character alone whilst the blended one was engineered to taste a certain way and always the same way. Long ago I worked as a printer when the use of chemicals was acceptable workplace behaviour and I burned away whatever sensitive tissues I had in my head, my nose has not really worked since and so my ability to taste at all is minimal and as a result I have literally ZERO appreciation of these fine things.

For sure I wouldn’t drink that cheap blended s**t. On the very rare occasion I have Scotch in the house it’s going to be a 15 year old Glenlivet (donations gladly accepted). To be honest my preference is for a single barrel Jack Daniels, donations of which, again, I would be very glad to receive. Leave that blended stuff to the kids getting hammered on a Friday night.

So in this respect I feel I am like a lot of bonsai folk I encounter in daily life. I appreciate, at some level, the difference between good and bad, i know the basics but beyond that i literally know nothing and have no comprehension of the finer points. What I call a good whisky is unlikely to ever touch the lips of a true aficionado who might well look down on my choice as ‘window cleaner’ or some such.

After a lifetime spent immersed in something so deeply and so fanatically it’s impossible not to develop one’s palate and appreciation but it’s far from guaranteed. I know lovely folk that have spent twenty years travelling the world, attending every top bonsai exhibition year after year who see the very best our world has to offer and getting to know all the right people but don’t have a worthy bonsai to their name or a single clue how to make one.

I guess that’s like racing drivers, you don’t have to know how to engineer a car to drive one. If you want to be at the top of the game there’s a lot you need to know about how your machine works, why it does what it does or not. That way you can relay information back to the man that actually knows how it works so he can make it better for you. That’s why racing cars are largely managed and supported by a team. It brings all the best elements together that can never be embodied by a single person and the net result is better.

Seems to me many folk have money, opportunity or both and so have these nice things but can lack the apparatus to genuinely understand and appreciate their true value whilst a lowly person lacking in means but with highly developed senses, acquired through long application looks on in horror at the flagrant waste of true value and lack of appreciation and understanding beyond some notion of smug pride, that ‘look at what i’ve got’ nose in the air notion. Remember Stanley and Pammy……

These days I don’t tend to leave home, i did an insane amount of windscreen time back in the day and unless i am on two wheels I tend to avoid all travelling and stay off the roads. I don’t drag my trees all over the place showing them off and I’m very particular who I let visit my garden. I have no interest in impressing anyone with my work until I myself am impressed and trust me I am very far from that level so I continue to work hard and carefully to improve my results every single day and if I get the time perhaps one day i just might make a good bonsai in much the same way a blind squirrel might find a nut.

Going back to my analogy of a motor racing team it has always struck me that working together is best. However finding someone I can work with has not been easy. Most bonsai folk, certainly those I might choose to work with are a very long way from me. Just nipping over to Milan to work with Salvatore or Marco is not entirely practical. I’m also what one might call a ‘rummun‘. Hard to get along with, opinionated, largely oblivious to the feelings of others and determined to do it my way. Finding anyone to work with therefore was always going to be a challenge but lucky for me I know a guy….

Thankfully that guy lives not too far away, about 40 minutes on a well sorted Shovelhead. On paper Kevin Willson and I should not get on, we should fight like a cat and a dog but somehow, after 25 years, turns out we can actually work together fairly well. Mutual respect goes a long way and as they say ‘two heads are better than one’. Considering our advanced age and history of ‘substance abuse‘ I might say that two ‘half heads‘ make one properly functioning one but that might be unfair on my buddy. Whatever, between us we can knock up a half decent tree when we combine our skills despite our differing ideas on how that actually happens.

I guess we all have bonsai trees that have spent decades on our benches. Some become special to us whilst some are just bulk in our collection. This scots pine was one such for me. It came here from Norway perhaps fifteen years ago. Surprisingly it survived and I even styled it and made a video of the process though that was never released. Ultimately I got bored with it. I tried to sell without success and in time it started to suffer a little from neglect. I just could not bring myself to love it and having spent so long looking at it, as it was, I had absolutely NO inspiration to do anything with it at all.

Sound familiar? You got one on your bench?

Nowadays I stopped selling trees like we did at one time and am just rediscovering my love of bonsai work. I really don’t want anything in my garden that’s not special. So this pine stuck in my craw, can’t sell it, too much heart to dump it and no inspiration to reinvent it. As they say I could not see the wood for the trees. So what to do?

I’m a firm believer in letting folk do what they are good at. I don’t do any book keeping, banking or accounting because I have absolutely no head for numbers, absolutely NO clue whatsoever so I leave that stuff to professionals as I do web site stuff and lots of other things. Now when it comes to reinventing a bonsai tree there is only ONE place to be and that’s 40 minutes up the Norfolk coast and so it was I dropped this pine off on my unsuspecting mate last autumn.

I can’t imagine anything worse than having to create a bonsai tree from another artists work for that very same artist. Especially when you know it’s all going to end up online for the world to see in glorious Technicolour. That’s pressure right there but thankfully my raffish mate has a cast iron work ethic, a thick skin and’s not really that bothered what the hell I think. But then I did tell him to do whatever he wanted with my long suffering scotty.

As anyone who has had a tree worked by Kev’ will know, chances are when you get it back it’ll be tipped up on it’s side. No1 item on the agenda is finding the best trunk line and inclination. After that it’s just the technicalities of how to get the branches in the right place and with a good trunk line that’s usually pretty easy. But, this tree has a problem, one I failed to deal with decades ago and now I have no choice but to bite the bullet.

Now when I first got this tree it was recently collected and I vaguely remember it was a planted in a long thin wooden box that was about a foot square and four feet long. It had been growing in a crack and had a long V shaped rootball with a good couple of feet folded back on itself. The growth was pretty much non existent. Come August Rammon helped me get it out of the box with the intention of sorting out the roots but that long hard V shaped root ‘ball’ was rock solid and mostly composed of wood in the form of big thick roots. The only live root ends I could find were insufficient to fill a teaspoon. I was entirely disgusted with the whole affair and intended dropping it in the bin but Rammon was insistent we give it a chance and so we broke up the rootball as best we could, cut away a load of dead suff, shortened it all as much as seemed safe and stuck it in a plastic pot with all that ugly wood just squeezed into the rectangular pot corner to corner. Miraculously it survived obvs.

So, as soon as I got the restyled tree back for Kevin my heart sank because I could see there was no chance of potting it at the appropriate inclination. Come last weekend and with buds extending i decided to bite the bullet. I would not normally repot a newly styled tree and I certainly would not recommend it but over the years I learned a few things that make a difference and create possibilities where there was none. Sometimes we just have to pull on the big boy pants and step up. Back in the day I would have done this without thinking but nowadays I don’t kill trees because I learned the finer points and have ‘developed my palate’ somewhat.

In conclusion working together, with someone of weight and experience really is the only way to create special bonsai trees worthy of the title. However finding that person’s not easy and if you are lucky and find one in you life hang onto them for all you are worth. Just last week my one and only bike riding mate of fairly recent acquaintance dropped dead on the way to a football match. Never even made it into an ambulance and I am totally heartbroken to have lost such a lovely positive and special friend.

Keep it real folks! Who knows what is just around the corner.

The post Two Half Heads are Better Than One! appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

It’s Time To Relax a Little

Bonsai takes time and lots of it.

A great deal of water has passed under the bridge of life since I purchased my first bonsai, a serissa, to stand on the side of my little koi pond. On occasions I ruminate over all that time passed, about thirty five years I guess. The trees that came and went, the stupid ideas I grew out of, the bonsai I made, the trees I killed, the people I have met, journeys undertaken, the friends I made and some I have sadly lost. I have reached an age where I have more to look back upon than I have going forward. I have aged parents, grand-babies, everything is paid for and so I guess life is good so long as I focus on the positives which is hard for me.

I got a slow start in life. I remember my school teachers telling my parents ‘Graham is sharp as a whip but he just will not apply himself‘. Every school report noted ‘Can do better!’ ‘Must try harder‘ or some such. I unofficially left school at 15, I figured out how to register my attendance then bunk off for the remainder of the day. Nobody noticed I was missing. I just turned up for woodwork and test days, the rest of the time I was AWOL. Nobody at school, except my woodwork teacher, managed to get through to me exactly what i was doing there. I just could not see the point.

When I officially left school at 16 I had nothing to do and nowhere to go. I didn’t know how to get a job or even what jobs there were to do. I did a bit of part time (floor) cleaning at a store and spent my time (more than three years) applying to be a postie because it looked like an easy job to me. On my own, walking the streets, poking mail into doors, how hard can that be? They never even wrote me back….or maybe the letter got lost 😉

So, age 17 I spent my last £150 savings and put it into a part share of an old printing press. I spent a year learning to work the beast and the rest is history, I spent 21 years full time in the printing trade. Eventually that got in the way of my bonsai and so the stark choice was to stay put in a cushty job with decent pay and good security or launch myself into thin air. Against all advice and with every nerve screaming at me to stop I walked out of my job into nothing. Long story short, thanks to all the lovely people in the bonsai community I did not loose everything, we didn’t starve, we’re still here. Thank you all so much, my little family is eternally grateful.

Don’t…….DON’T, for a moment think it was easy. At times the pressure and stress was so great I thought I was going to have a stroke or something and I know about that having been hospitalised for life threatening problems related to work stress. At times I have been close to running my bike into a tree. Just living in GB today, trying to make a living makes me feel that way. But now I am older I find myself focusing more on what’s right than what’s wrong.

Sure there is a lot wrong in society today and as we get older that seems much more threatening than when we were younger but, on the other hand there’s a lot to be thankful for. My glass may well have been half empty for most of my time here but at least it wasn’t empty right?

I have written many times about the value of spending quiet time with our trees. Back in the day I would often be found out in my garden at 2am. Over the past few years I got out of that habit because basically all I was doing was stacking up trees to sell, over 1500 trees were going through my hands annually and everything was for sale. Eventually I just lost my way in it all. Today, thankfully, things have changed for the better. I now no longer sell trees, or at least not many and thanks to the efforts of my close friends, not least of all Kevin W I am back doing bonsai and rediscovering what I lost.

These days I can be found out in my garden at first light, expresso in one hand and a small cigar in the other just looking, listening and feeling. The peace and quiet can be magical, nature is so expressive and engrossing if we can shut up long enough to hear. I’m sure this is news to no one but the things I am seeing and hearing are simply amazing. I have been insanely busy 24/7 for so many years but now I begin to realise a great deal of that pressure was self inflicted. Don’t worry, i’m not about to do something daft like take a vacation, after all everything I want in the world is right here at home but I do see a chance to stop and smell the roses.

This very (cold) morning I was outside at 5am accoutrement in hand and noticed this monster elm. I bought this in Southern Italy back in 2018. Back then it was in a massive tub nearly four feet wide. The previous owner had roughed it out and it arrived in my garden as can be seen in the image below.

Thankfully I never offered it for sale. Since then all I did was sort out the roots and pot it. Each summer I run over it with scissors a couple of times. My intention being to create enough material to justify a winter styling session. Largely I just ignore the old thing but maybe that’s not so bad right?

My regular readers will be aware I have been gathering up a lot of very old British bonsai over the last year or so. Doing so has significantly changed my mind about a great deal of the ‘bonsai’ I was doing. Having so many trees that have been bonsai for many decades, many of which were created in ways different to those we take for granted today has left me questioning a lot of the things we “do“.

I have a very exacting standard and a high bar for what I personally consider to be ‘bonsai’. However, recently I have begun to realise the magic we seek is something that comes from a mixture of nature and time rather than just our skill, we need both on our side. For many years I have been of the opinion that a lot of bonsai we do should in fact not be ‘done‘ at all. I’m now beginning to realise we have to find the balance between making bonsai and letting ‘bonsai’ happen. This elm is a great illustration of that principle. Very often trees that are just left alone with the minimum of interference can develop into very special bonsai trees.

In the early days I was led to believe we could ‘age‘ a tree but that’s utter bollocks. Time ages a tree and on occasions something very special and unexpected can turn up seemingly by magic.

Going back to my more recent posts here, our particular lack of bonsai heritage and old British bonsai trees can’t help. For a start finding an old tree that’s been left to the passage of time is hard, most are either beyond help or deceased. The big issue is achieving the balance between doing enough to keep a tree happy and healthy but not doing so much that we spoil the enchantment passing time has left. Time can give bonsai a cloak of magic that we simply cannot make but we sure as hell can wreck.

This big old elm is very far from what I had intended to do and it’s far from being bonsai but I thought it was a good example of what can happen with the minimal amount of interference from me. It appears we often put too much pressure on ourselves for a multitude of reasons. Pressure can be a good thing but just as easily it can be destructive. I have put immense pressure on myself, my family and my bonsai for far too long to the detriment of all. Time to live life at a trees pace not our own, after all a decade to a tree is nothing.

Sadly that seems to be the story of our time and we are all the worse for it. Do more, get more, be more, go further, take it to the next level etc’ be dammed! I can’t believe I am saying this but perhaps it’s time to relax a little, take the pressure off and give our trees a break. You never know they just might teach us all something valuable right?

Graham.

The post It’s Time To Relax a Little appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

Graham Potter’s Big Weekend.

First up let me apologise for the lack of posts recently. Summer’s a funny time here for many reasons and this one has been unusually funny (not) for all the wrong reasons. My trees started off the year raring to go and by end of February buds were breaking left and right. Then by the time we got to May (which is our most significant period of activity in the growing of bonsai here on the east coast) the temperatures were colder than February and we didn’t see blue sky for weeks whilst enduring biting northeasterly winds right off the cold North sea that tore the skin off anything daft enough to assume it was actually time to start growing. It was actually mid-June before we experienced a warm day here…..honestly.

In 35+ years of growing bonsai this summer has been the absolute worst I can remember. I have a big magnolia outside my window and it flowers faithfully every April. This year the wind tore it to shreds and now here we are in September and it’s covered in flowers. The wisteria growing up the back garden wall flowered in August whilst Satsuki azaleas were flowering in April. The last month has been alternatively hot with vicious drying winds one day and cold the next and no rain for weeks. Catherine had the heating on at the beginning of the month.

As a result all my carefully laid plans for the season have gone to shit…. much like the rest of the country but don’t get me started on that. However some trees have responded very positively to low temperatures and very little sun. I have rarely seen so much growth on my junipers. Larch also have been simply outstanding. Most high mountain species have been really good, maples have been average but most others have been lacklustre at best. It’s been necessary to change a lot of the care regimen we use for our bonsai this year in order to help the struggling pants do what little they could.

I am often asked what’s my favourite species for bonsai? That’s an easy one….. scots pine. Were I limited to one species or one tree that’s what it would be. Nothing in life is more reliable than a scots pine and if that’s all that were in my collection I would still be a happy man.

Regular visitors here will remember the little pine I worked with Kevin Willson last year. In case you missed it see….

Graham & Kevin Willson’s First Bonsai Creation Collaboration

We worked this old scots last October for the first time. Apart from my TLC and a serious re-pot in 2019 nothing was done in a styling context. It’s my conviction that success in bonsai is all about patient preparation and here is the proof.

A Bonsai Wrestling Match

This coming weekend I have been asked by Peter Chan to exhibit a tree at Herons Bonsai. Something of a milestone for me as I remember visiting Peter’s nursery the thick end of 40 years ago as a spotty clueless youth with my pockets turned out. To be asked to join a stellar cast of other talented bonsai folk from around the UK in presenting a few decent trees for me is a bit special.

I was invited to Herons last year. I knew I had arrived when at 2am after a long evening of excess I was to be found in the kitchen of Peter’s guest house drinking strong coffee whilst Kevin made hot buttered toast for us both. Funny the things that you remember!

So I am not too sure what’s going on this weekend but I will be there with me ol’ scots. I’m sure if you contact Herons they will fill you in with the details. Kevin and I got together and gave the tree a little polish recently and I have to say, despite the weather and some ham fisted work on my part the tree is looking pretty good, especially considering this is ‘first work’. It’s entirely likely this tree is several hundred years old but has the strength and vigour of a seedling. If only I could say the same! Now, where’s my Hawaiian shirt 🙂

G.

 

The post Graham Potter’s Big Weekend. appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

Getting Out and About

I have to say I was somewhat uncomfortable dragging my old ass and a van load of trees down to Herons last weekend. I rarely leave home these days and once I get outside my little part of Norfolk & north Suffolk I get the jitters. Being on the M25 sees me break out in hives. Still, in a moment of weakness I promised to support Kevin Willson who pulled us all together for the event. It seemed like a good idea months ago but less so as the day arrived but i’m not one to let a brother down.

Despite my innate fear of large groups it was my job to tough it out and do my utmost to be friendly and sociable. I’m so out of my depth at these kind of things it’s painful. But everyone pulled together and put on a fantastic event that was sold out. The aim was to raise £5k for charity which i’m pleased to say we did. To the best of my knowledge I avoided pissing anyone off and so I guess the weekend was a great success.

I have to thank Peter, Kevin and all the crew at Herons for all their hard work. Also my fellow exhibitors who turned out some beautiful bonsai trees and a fine display. Whilst it may have been small it was exceptional in quality and the best I have seen in the UK. Once I got over myself it turned out to be a very memorable weekend. You’ll find lots more about the event on socials i’m sure. I didn’t take a single photo, i just forgot so here are some I trawled off FB. If any of these are your photos and you would like a credit please post a comment.

Ipswich Bonsai Society Demonstration.

It’s now Wednesday and my head has finally cleared. Bonsai folk are champion drinkers 😉 It’s now time to start getting ready for my next trip, this time just down the road to Ipswich, well within my comfort zone.

This Friday evening I have a demonstration at Ipswich Bonsai Society. I’ll be discussing the process of building bonsai trees, in particular scots pines. The focus will be on the long term work required to build a bonsai tree from raw material. Most folk rely on wire to keep their scots looking good but it’s entirely possible to create a densely ramified and self supporting tree over time providing we understand the process and plan it all out well in advance. So if pines leave you scratching your head in bewilderment might I suggest ya’ll come along and hopefully I can explain. I know this friendly bunch of folk will be thrilled to see new faces.

Graham.

 

 

 

 

The post Getting Out and About appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

The Summer That Was (not) & Upcoming Bonsai Projects

It NEVER ceases to amaze me how you lovely folk are (generally) so impressed with with my silly little blog. I was humbled during my recent visit to Peter Chan’s to receive so many comments on how my dear readers just love to peruse my ranting bullshit.

This all started about 1998/9 when I took on the newsletter at our local bonsai club. Back then I didn’t know shit about shit as far as bonsai was concerned but, having got my little Bondi blue Imac hooked up to the interweb via a telephone modem I figured I could do my research and compile enough, what we now call ‘content’ to fill a page or two every month.

The post The Summer That Was (not) & Upcoming Bonsai Projects appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

2024 Milestones & Bonsai Videos

With Christmas madness about to descend upon us all I guess it’s that time of year when tossers like me who conceitedly write blogs have to take stock of the year all but passed. 2024 was a year of milestones and some bonsai videos too. Growing up my family weren’t ones for making a fuss, birthdays, Christmas etc’ would come and go with relatively little fanfare. So forgive me for not being overly effusive but it seems appropriate to at least mention a few significant milestones that both I and we here at KB passed over the last year.

I have never been one for celebrations but seeing as I passed the grand old age of 60 in September I thought it would be nice for once to stage a celebration with my besties. However by the time the day arrived I had scaled back my plans to virtually nothing and so mostly the family got together for the evening and that was pretty much that. My first birthday celebration since I was a kid!

Another big mile stone that went by without a thought was the 20th anniversary of my full time employment by Kaizen Bonsai. YES it’s now more than 20 years since we bought Colin Lewis’s Bonsai Mart and dear God has that been an experience. Looking on the bright side we are still here, just about. Hanging on by the skin of what few teeth I have left thanks to the British, so called, ‘government‘ rogering us with a toilet brush every time we try to do something. Back when we started it was so much easier but nowadays the price of everything makes my eyes water and the margins are just too small. I’m committed now so we have to carry on but if you were to ask me, as is traditional at these moments of reflection, if I would do it all again my reply would be “Absolutely not!”.

What would I have done 20 years ago assuming I knew then what I know now? Think Budd (Michael Madsen) from the film Kill Bill. My ideal life would be just that, less the ignominious end of course. I now know all I need is a shitty trailer home in the desert, a pickup truck and a Harley shovelhead, possibly a little dog with attitude and a shitty job. My sister went to the US back in her teens and never came back, it broke my mothers heart and I just couldn’t follow her but there’s rarely a day I don’t wish I had.

2024 was also the year I lost my mother-in-law, the mother of my first lady who I lost to the big-C thirty years ago. Whilst we were never close, she was a unique sort of person, her passing reunited me with Tina’s brother who I had not seen for decades. Shane’s reappearance has been a fantastic and enriching experience for the whole family, it’s like those intervening years never happened. This whole business and a funeral bought back some very powerful memories for me and what we had to endure back then and that’s all I have to say about that.

I have been exceptionally blessed this year to have acquired several large bonsai collections. Once upon a time these would have come and gone within weeks. However now that the movement of trees is more difficult than moving cocaine or illegals around I keep everything I get. For decades now every time a tree started to look good it was sold. As a result I have been denied the joy of seeing my bonsai develop and mature. Thankfully now that’s not the case and I’m able to make plans and develop my lovely bonsai without being concerned they might disappear at any moment. As it turns out I do have some skill and the trees are making sterling progress.

I was particularly excited to obtain the collection of Harry Nicholl. A stalwart of the Scottish bonsai scene for many decades. We met at a shitty motorway services on the A1 in the depth of winter and loaded his beautiful trees into my van. Whilst I only spent a half hour with Harry (in his eighties) I took to him instantly, what a lovely man. Imagine my horror when three months later I learned he had passed quite suddenly. I had been so looking forward to telephone conversations about the stories and techniques behind those trees. I don’t take to most people, folk scare the shit out of me and because I lack almost any social skills i’m best on my own. To meet a gentleman like Harry and instantly take to him, for me, never happens and I’m so sad he’s gone but I love his trees that I will cherish for the rest of my days.

Talking of being social…. This year I was equally pleased and apprehensive to be involved in Peter Chan’s Bonsai Journeys event in September. Were it not for Kevin Willson’s intervention I would NEVER have done something like that. In the end I had a great weekend, met some interesting folk and came away with a little more understanding of how you lovely folk appreciate what I do. It’s a bit odd to be held in high esteem by so many people and something i’m just not really aware of seeing as I don’t go out much these days so, thank you all so much and please, don’t be afraid to send me compliments at any time. Also please do pick up the phone once in a while, apparently it’s good to talk.

Other notable events in the last year include a second grand-baby Eveline (no 3 is in the oven). My 29th anniversary married to Catherine without whom I would be utterly useless. My parents 65 odd anniversary and its been 25 years since I first started working with Kevin Willson. Then just for good measure I lost a bunch of weight which has been utterly miserable and continues. Sadly something had to be done, too many good men have been lost in my life these last few years which makes you think. ALSO I was having trouble riding my sportier bikes so the gut just had to go. I’m much more interested in crafting the perfect high speed cornering manoeuvre than I am eating or drinking. Trouble is I’m still wearing all the same clothes so I look like a sack of shit tied up scruffy most of the time.

2024 presented bonsai growers with a shitstorm of weather, at least it did on the east coast. Hand on heart we did not have a warm day here until the latter part of June. I spent less time watering between April and July than I did over last winter. In 35 years I have never known such a piss poor summer. My maples were so late many only finally let their leaves go in the last three weeks. Some trees loved it though, i have never seen so much growth on larch, juniper, spruce and mugo pines. Those mountain trees really don’t like heat so they were right at home in the wind-cut chilled expanse of my Norfolk garden. Bike riding was also seriously curtailed and i’m still not over that.

September 2024 also saw the launch of our new web site. This whole e-commerce business is a PITA. There are so many rules and regulations these days and of course staying up with all the latest trends, giving customers so many options, payment channels, functionality and security across so many platforms/devices just never seems to end. This latest iteration is by far our best, it took nigh on two years to achieve and costs a shit load of money both to create and run. For all this I have to thank Sarah who you don’t know, she’s the absolute foundation of KB and without her we would be gone.

Like a good few of our customers I look longingly back at those days 20 years ago when I spent July and August compiling our paper catalogue. November was always a throwback to my printing days when we spent the month addressing and stuffing envelopes with crisp fresh glossy print and the whole house smelt of ink and paper. Unlike our first web sites, those paper catalogues still bring in orders. It must be close to fifteen years since I last mailed out a catalogue but some folk are STILL ordering from them.

Sadly my annual Christmas holiday break will be interrupted this year thanks to the arrival of several ton’s of bonsai pots this week. These will all need to go onto the website pronto as so many canny folk are getting their spring supplies in early. For the first time I am aware of in the UK we have supplies of BIG high quality glazed pots up to 27″ in a multitude of styles, shapes and colours. We also have hundreds of exceptional exhibition quality shohin pots never seen before. This will appear alongside our extensive range of quality Japanese glazed and unglazed pots now all fully restocked. If I had to guess we probably have 7-800 pot options available and about 15-18 tons of stock.

We have also had shipments of all varieties of bonsai tools, carving tools and 2 tons of Japanese fertilisers like Biogold etc’. There’s over 50 tons of soil products and two tons of wire so whatever you are likely to need chances are we have it in stock right here. It’s safe to say I have never held so much stock of everything but that’s just how this business has to operate these days. Gone are the days when we could pop over to a wholesaler and buy a few odds-n-ends.

And finally I thought I would bend to the endless cries of my adoring supporters. It’s new video time folk (bottom of the page) and this time I have made a throwback to those heady days over 15 years ago when, largely for the first time Youtube got to show proper bonsai in the making. Yes! We have made another Crappy Taxus video. I really didn’t want to spend a week (on and off) in mid-winter doing a tree like this. These days the call of an open fire, the Chesterfield, a very large JD (or 2,3,4) and slippers is strong during these long dark days. However it turned out okay and i’m very pleased I did get off my ass. I managed 9 videos this year which is the best for a long time. If there’s something you think I need to cover in a future edition I would like to hear from you though I can’t promise anything.

For next year Kevin’s been stitching me up again so now I have to make another public appearance at the newly planned Bonsai Fest in Newark or some such next March I believe. I’m looking forward to that, and not, in equal measure but for now I have to go and move this mountain of pots.

So, all told, election results not withstanding, 2024 has been one for the books. Not everything went to plan but I didn’t fall off a bike, loose any good bonsai, go broke or die so I recon that makes it a good one even if the summers tan has long gone. I’m happy, the family’s good and business is sound, BOF the shovel is now working 100% and ready for next summer and my benches are full and as we say around here “At least we don’t have bombs falling on the roof” for now at least.

I sincerely hope you have had a good year on balance. The world’s a crazy place right now but even so we have a lot to be thankful for and those little trees work hard at keeping many of us on the right side of sane. From all of us here at Kaizen Bonsai we wish you a very merry and hospitable Christmas and lets all just chill the fuck out and get along.

Cheers and God bless ya’ll good folk!

Graham & Catherine & Kaizen Bonsai!

 

The post 2024 Milestones & Bonsai Videos appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

New Bonsai Videos

7 months to the day  since my last blog post. I know how many of you lovely folk appreciate these posts and so all i can do is apologise for my absence. If I’m honest I have had the year from hell for a multitude of reasons and entirely lost my way to the point I was contemplating  dumping everything for pennies on the pound and fucking off. Im not going into detail at this time but WTF. I know i’m not alone here either.

So, i’m in a fragile state and in order to try and get back on an even keel i have made a few changes. I had largely become nocturnal, getting up at 2am and only sleeping 3-4 hours at a time took it’s toll. Now I have gone back to what I did for decades, i go outside to work on my trees from about 9pm until 1am. I’m still permanently knackered but at least some of the trees are coming along nicely which is making me feel a lot better and i’m feeling inspired again.

That means (so long as I can be bothered) there’s a lot more bonsai work to share with ya’ll. I actually filmed several projects early in the year but entirely lost interest and they are still on the camera entirely undisturbed. I utterly detest having to sit in front of this fucking screen for so many tedious hours every day and night, it absolutely wrecks my mental state and by the end of most days I become an intolerable savage, just ask Catherine next time you speak to her!

Perhaps it’s the little artist in me. Catherine says I am never happier than when I have my teeth into a project. I love to create things but the moment the projects done I loose interest. I have never met a happy artist in any discipline. Having the ability to imagine what COULD be simply serves to make everything that IS look like a piss poor second rate option.

I take that view of my own work, like all my school reports ever stated ” Graham can do this standing on his head but just can’t be bothered. Must try harder.” Right from the first day I sat up in my cot I have had a significant problem being told what to do so when a teacher told me I must try harder I just did the opposite. My mum always called me “Little Tommy Opposite” because I was such a cantankerous little toe rag.

Smart folk will figure this out right away. I currently have a 10 week old puppy in the house and he simply refuses to do as he’s told. If we need him to sit in his bed he just won’t, he’ll duck and dive and hide, he’ll run all over the house in obstinate defiance. However chuck him outside in the cold and he’ll rush back in and hide in his bed.

Years ago my mate Stuart bought a yew to a workshop and suggested that even I would struggle to make much out of it. Turns out it was some of the best work I had done up to that point and now, 30 years later I own the tree and it’s still pretty good. Tell me I can’t do something and watch it happen, unless it’s something that really matters. Had my teachers told me I was hopeless waste of skin incapable of learning I think I could have gone on to be a fighter pilot. Turns out i AM just a cantankerous old scrote, a dinosaur and even at the age of 60 I can’t quite figure out which way is up. Just another ordinary working class Englishman then!

I say that to say this……

Two new videos posted this week. Seeing as so many folk really like these it makes me happy to share my work even though it cost me three days screen time this week and my heads frazzled. I’m open to offers of help editing videos but before ya’ll rush to offer your time an assistance do bear in mind i’m what they call complicated.

ENJOY…….

The post New Bonsai Videos appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

Another Bonsai Video!

As it happens I’m sitting here twiddling my thumbs waiting on three imports. We’ve goods coming from Japan, China and Eu and so I have had opportunity to complete yet ANOTHER bonsai video.

 

Just before you go off to see that let me get this off my plate….

Trigger warning! Don’t read the following if you are a Trigger, you may be offended. My apologies to any RM or PF employees.

For one reason or another these imports are all being delayed, nothing ever seems to happen on schedule any more. For instance….  Just getting a parcel delivered by……so called PARCELFORCE (always sounds like the name of some shit superhero to me) is a task.

Just last week I had to take a half day out and do a fifty mile round trip to pick up a parcel they were incapable of delivering. Just to make matters worse I also got a flat tyre which cost me a ton to replace. I couldn’t park within a half mile either. When I eventually got to the counter the guy glibly threw my way “You could have done this online you know, would have saved a trip.”🤬

Just to fill in the blanks Catherine (she’s expert at this stuff) had, to that point, spent more than 12 business hours trying to resolve their incompetence. Businesses charge clerical work at £30-40 an hour so that sucks. I then lost a whole morning and aforesaid tyre alongside another score for diesel. I won’t tell you what I said to the meathead behind the counter. To be fair I think I woke him from a nap.

Now I remember (as I understand it) when so called “Parcelforce” didn’t exist, we used to call it Royal Mail* before some bright spark decided to split the parcels operation from letter post (1986). No doubt there were some handsome rewards for the creation of this new wonder of the modern age. However, following a spectacular ‘oversight’ someone failed to consider falling mail volumes and how the world was changing. That and some other factors led to Royal Mail letters division basically going broke because their remit is almost impossible to fulfil profitably without the parcels business, especially as bulk trunking services were also contracted out to third parties leaving the poor old RM with the so called ‘last mile‘. What we might colloquially call the shitty end of the stick.

Again as I understand it the gov’ has a legal obligation to ensure a daily postal service to every home. However they don’t want to pay for it but the money we pay barely covers operating costs (which of course are too way to high). The business had it’s hands tied by that same gov’ because people like the idea of cheap stamps leaving the RM incapable of controlling either it’s charges or to some degree it’s costs. And so the two are now merging again, as it turns out, with typical British incompetence.

Parcels are profitable, letters are not so here’s an idea…..why don’t Royal Mail do both…………………………………… as they used to. Like my mum used to say ‘Put it back where you found it!‘ The whole story stinks to high heaven IMHO.

The reason my parcels (there are 30 of them in total) vanished is because both companies are using different systems which do not communicate, nor do the people and there is no person to person contact in the system and nobody to call or mail. Catherine spent FOUR hours on hold calling these f***wits only to be told you can “do this online” WHICH YOU FUCKING WELL CAN’T!

Add to that customs randomly taking items out of the system for weeks at a time and failing to make contact. The whole system then seems to rely upon a little card dropping through our door. There was one for each box, only about 7 turned up, the rest were either never sent or lost. If the parcels were not claimed they are dumped (i’ve over a grand in each parcel). So far i am £980 out of pocket (we’re not finished yet) directly and then I have to add all of my own costs. Thankfully Catherine is brilliant, she knows how to get this shit done even if the folk doing it don’t.

The above account is accurate for my part, my knowledge of the actual events historical and otherwise is limited. Pissy comments will be ignored. I am quite simply beyond giving a Scheiße any more. Thank you for hearing me out lovely readers.

Now, i’m off to lay in a quite dark place. Enjoy the movie 😄

Graham.

*1516: Sir Brian Tuke is appointed the first Master of the Posts by Henry VIII, establishing the initial postal system for royal use. 1784: The name “Royal Mail” is officially given to the service during a period of increased use of mail coaches across the country. 

The post Another Bonsai Video! appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

Not Bad for an Oldun!

I’ll be brief today, the sun’s out, it’s warm and I do not want to be inside slapping this keyboard. It’s been an insane week here at KB world headquarters but as of this Friday morning it’s mostly worked out okay.

It all started so well, Sunday saw me off bright and early in beautiful warm sunshine, destroying the early morning peace of the county as me and my Softail headed to the flatlands of Cambridgeshire to do a deal on a vintage Harley. That went very well.

Back in the beginning of September we had a bit of an issue as the Plastic Hoop-house of Bonsai Dreams (my poly tunnel) opened up like the pocket of a cheap suit. We had a 20′ opening in the roof which, if you’ve any experience of such things, you’ll know is almost impossible to patch, even temporarily. I’ve been dreading the day but it finally arrived.

I assembled our tunnel way back in 2008. I bought the very best materials available, took my time and did a proper job and as a result the cover (known as the sheet) has lasted all these 17 years. Now covering a tunnel’s not hard but after all those years it was so completely packed inside and built up around the outside to the point it has taken Richard and I over a month to empty it out and remove all the surrounding benches, screens, fencing and undergrowth. There’s about 2 tons of concrete blocks and almost that in railway sleepers and of course everything has sunk into the ground a bit too. The undergrowth, ivy, bindweed, brambles were nearly 2 days work alone.

Then, as is the way with greenhouses, i had amassed hundreds and hundreds of used plastic plant pots and the like. There was a 1000L water tank and crap I had forgotten entirely. Almost all of that was given away thanks to facebook. Then I had to remove nearly a ton of bonsai pots that had been squirrelled away under the benches, found some utter shite alongside a few gems. The spiders were a force to be reconned with. Then the benches all had to come out and their blocks, even the famous green filing cabinets are on the move.

So after a month of being a sweaty dusty old man we were finally ready for the guys from First Tunnels to come and refurb’ the whole thing. They were booked for Monday but called to put me off until Wednesday. They arrived Wednesday lunch time and left Thursday late morning. If you need anything to do with poly-tunnels get a hold of these amazing guys. It’s NOT often i’m impressed but credit where it’s due. Incredible work, service and priced just right. It was a bit weird looking down the garden and not seeing my hoop house for a couple of hours there.

So now that sheet’s replaced (lets hope this one goes 20 years) the real work can begin, everything’s getting renewed, replaced or upgraded, i’m hoping to be done by Christmas. We’ll see.

 

With all that going on we have also been wrestling with Baxter the puppy (pissing machine). He’s a Patterdale and an instinctive ratter. That means he gets into every tiny crevice, sticks his nose into every hole, digs, chases, chews and generally makes an f’ing nuisance of himself and once he’s done that he sleeps. He’s loved the tunnel work and has been constantly covered in cobwebs and worse. Still, at least he’s not been in the pond again this week.

Catherine has been buried in VAT paperwork and I have been continuing to bang (literally) my head against a wall over a customs issue that’s been loosing me sleep for six weeks now. I have also been moving goods from all over and next seasons pots (at least some of them) are now on the water. I have been busy listing lots of new Japanese goods this week too after a troublesome time, again with customs reg’s and inefficient tossers in Broken Britain. We’ve also been busy getting your orders, for which we are extremely grateful, out the door in a timely fashion. This running a business malarkey’s not for everyone I know and increasingly I wonder if it’s for me either.

 

 

So, overall a successful week, at least the tunnel’s now secure and dry and the refurb has begun. And then, to top it all off I have a blog post and a new short video to share too. Not bad for an oldun i recon. Of course I could not do any of this without YOUR support. THANK YOU!

Graham

The post Not Bad for an Oldun! appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

All Good News!

Thought I would post a quickie just to keep you lovelies updated on what I have been up to this week. For a change it’s ALL good news.

Most importantly I have finally resolved a very serious issue with an import we have been struggling with since mid-June. The goods are now safely tucked up in my warehouse and last night I slept properly for the first time in weeks. The main stream media were mostly obsessed with inflation figures yesterday. I can tell you exactly why UK inflation is so high. We are absolutely and entirely dependant for almost everything we need to survive upon foreign imports. The burdens put upon that process by government have made it all but impossible in some cases and in just as many an unattractive proposition. That’s why we no longer import bonsai, it’s too complicated, expensive and risky for a little guy to touch. That’s now beginning to effect a lot more than our little world. The end result? Everything costs more.

In a rare upbeat moment I would say I am in favour of us living smaller lives. Many of us seem to have everything these days, the average Joe seems to have riches and privilege my parents would only have dreamed about 70 years ago. Folk today need a lot more respect for what we have been given. I think I would like to live in Great Britain in the 1920s and 30s. Life was a lot harder for most, dentistry was not what it is now and most everything was local.

Our village has a magazine, some glossy affair that appears on my floor from time to time. In a recent issue they featured an excerpt from a Kelly’s Directory from the early 1930s. Back then this village only had a few houses, nothing like today. However within the stretch of a decent walk I could obtain everything from a loaf of bread to a surgical operation.

Our little village was primarily a market garden area but we had a solicitor, a pharmacist, doctors, dentists, bakers, farmers and growers of almost everything including cut flowers. There were vets, school teachers, builders, a car garage, machine shops, a blacksmith and even a trucking company.

However today I want some bits and bobs for my poly tunnel rebuild and I have to go online and order everything up from some monstrous shed in the midlands for delivery tomorrow because these huge soulless companies have put all the little local guys out of business.The best old fashioned family owned hardware store in the world was just 3 miles from here. It had traded in the area since 1938 and spread across the county. The big store by me was doing great and had done for decades before Screwfix opened directly opposite.

Recently that hardware chain closed it’s last little village shops and is no more. Now if I want to buy a pair of hinges these faceless shops with virtually no employees don’t carry much of anything. I can go pick one up today and get the other delivered tomorrow because they only have one in stock. Sorry but WTF use is one hinge? I used to pop into that old store, it was called Coopers. I knew the folk there and they had time for me and my stupid questions. Now all i get is a blank stare from some poor kid who has no ability to connect with anything unless it appears on a screen. Ask him a question like what type of screw is best for oak wood and you’ll get those familiar two syllables so prevalent in our society today. ….dunno!

So, just a quick update on the tunnel project. This has turned into something more than I anticipated but seeing as it’s no longer required for the raising of large numbers of commercial trees I have appropriated it as my own. I’m reusing all the old materials and adding quite a lot of other peoples old stuff too. I’m hoping to create a practical, useful and somewhat more appealing space than what had become, if i’m honest, a bit of a shit-hole. The last week has seen a lot done both inside and out. For an old wheeze who spends too much time in front of a screen this has proven to be what shall I say…..? Hard! K’in hard in fact but I love doing this stuff. It’s been 17 years since I did this all first time around and back then my dad was helping which he no longer can and I miss our constant arguing and bickering plus everything takes so much longer now. Still I’ve not managed to break myself yet and progress is good.

On other fronts we have had a painter in these last couple of weeks which has caused chaos. We work from home and when we came into this house nearly eighteen years ago it was pristine. It’s not been touched since, running our business has been all consuming. As a result the place is trashed. There’s even places where the laminate flooring has completely worn away down to the underlay. Time to put that all right.

And even more good news. A new bike this week, in the spirit of living a smaller life I have been busy condensing my crazy collection of bikes into fewer but better examples. I’m losing my shirt on most sales, the demand for average bikes has collapsed though special and rare machines are in ever increasing demand and so that’s what i’m doing. The last deal of the year was this 1981 Harley Davidson Lowrider (FXS for those that know). It’s an original factory paint matching numbers bike restored with a light touch by one of the countries best classic Harley guys.. I own a hens tooth folks 🙂

Meanwhile outside the  autumn colour has been blazing and Baxter’s been sleeping between bouts of tearing the place up and finding clever places to crap. I love my life! Now, where have my boot laces gone?

Graham.

The post All Good News! appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

As we round out another year i’m sitting here in the gloaming of a late December afternoon staring at an empty text box and a flashing cursor. At this precise moment I have nothing to say though, i doubt that will last long. A little Rambling Flummery & Tidings of Comfort and Joy are therefore in order.

My last post in October was, for me, quite a positive one which many folk seem to appreciate. Following the year I have had it’s best I keep it that way, focus on the positives because the negative side of the scale is getting a little heavy of late.

I could easily ‘loose my shit’ over what’s going on in the world but I have come to the realisation that does me no good at all. I can easily rant and rave until I pass out, Kev’ and I regularly do just that over an afternoon phone call. It’s that old idiom, we’re just ‘blowing off steam’ which Google defines as…

“blowing off steam”  is a common idiom meaning to release strong emotions like anger or frustration, often through physical activity or energetic expression, preventing them from building up to an explosion, much like steam from a boiler. 

I have had a few of those moments this last year, times when I felt like doing a Mr Creosote. Running a small business is no longer the wonderful enjoyable and rewarding task it once was. It seems we are being assaulted on every front. Tasks that were once very simple have become tortuous, fiendishly complicated and invariably expensive. There have been moments this year when I have literally banged my head on the desk and cried in frustration.

From the day I was born my old dad instilled in me the importance of being honest, polite and above all else conscientious. For me, doing the best I can is more important than any profit, gain or acknowledgement. Doing the best I can at whatever I turn my hand to is more important to me than breathing. I am not remotely interested in being the best, having the best or the most. I have never given a thought to being the most popular or involved. The world of clicks, likes and subscribers fills me with abject horror. I was born into a world where folk kept themselves to themselves and as my lovely long gone Nan always said ‘mind your own business‘. She would be horrified to see me putting this drivel out there for some of the world to read. I don’t like it one bit either but here we are.

Way back when I started to uncover the world of bonsai and realise what was involved I made the conscious decision to do the best work I could. I have not had the opportunities some folk might have but all I really want to do is MY best and only I know when that’s happened. When it has I will probably vanish without warning. However, that’s unlikely to happen any time soon looking at some of the shite I turned out this year.

One of the very important things I learned about bonsai right at the outset was the importance of good, appropriate and skilled work. Good work consistently applied over a lifetime is what makes great bonsai. Walking around a top European exhibition back in the late 1990s with the great David Prescott I learned the difference between those big flashy impressive and popular bonsai that always steal the show and those oft’ over looked quiet little wonders produced by dedicated virtually unknown masters of our art. Even if we only have the most simple and basic materials to work with the patient, precise and skilled application of good technique over extended periods of time will always produce a tree of superior quality. Artistic merit is another thing altogether but that’s for another day.

Even though I have been guilty of putting it out there myself this modern need to dramatically transform the most unlikely scruffy and impossible material into an exhibition bonsai in an afternoon is little more than ‘Pub bonsai’. A bit of a lark, a bit of showboating and a lot of ego are the primary requirements and the result is largely entertainment. It’s better than it used to be thankfully and it is a buzz but as I have always said, the end of a demo’ is just the beginning.

My old mate Blacky always said “bullshit baffles brains”. I doubt that was original with him but wherever it originated, it’s still largely true. Folk look, but many do not see. ‘Pearls before swine’ was the summation of a demonstration I heard recently. We try so hard to give away our knowledge but so often I would say it just goes in one ear and out the other. Understanding how to apply the correct technique, combine different techniques and time that all correctly whilst adjusting for factors like weather and doing it with a flexible ten year plan consistently is all that’s required to turn the most mundane plant into a a notable bonsai tree. Falling asleep in the front row will NOT get you there, trust me!

Those of us with too many decades of bonsai under our belt have the privilege of being able to see more clearly. I am SOOOO glad social media was not available to me back when I was a feckless know all, cocky little shit. I have a massive box full of paper photographs of so much of my early work. I was so impressed with myself back then when everything was new. The good part about that is YOU will never get to see any of it. I feel for folk in that position today, knowing a bit (but not a lot) and having to put it all out there. I’m looking at it and quietly cringing. The internet has opened this all up for all to see and there are thankfully some incredibly talented individuals but for every one of those there seem to be about a million numpties posting roadkill and that’s all I have to say ’bout that.

Here at Kaizen Bonsai every year pretty much begins the same way. We take a couple weeks break for Christmas and new year because it’s the only time we ever get to not work. When we return in January there are literally hundreds of orders to get moving and by the time that’s done what we call soil season is upon us.

I’m not going to go into just how hard soil season is but we move literally tons’ of goods every single day until the end of April. There’s not a minute to take a breath. Thankfully each year it gets bigger but a lot harder. Reading it back that sounds bad but my point is we REALLY, REALLY appreciate and need your support. I desperately want to do the best job I can but that’s getting harder and harder thanks to outside interference but i’ll literally die before I stop working. Your orders make an old man and his ol’ lady very happy. You are keeping us both fit and active and I know for a fact Richard and Sarah appreciate the roof ya’ll put over their heads.

This year, right in the middle of the chaos of springtime I was, metaphorically speaking, hit by a truck. Entirely out of the blue and without a hint of warning I was faced with one of the hardest choices a modern man might face. My beautiful little dog of eight years suddenly and without warning lost his sight and a week later we had to have him put down. We got thoroughly rogered by thieving vets and so by the end of the week I had a massive hole in my pocket running to several thousand sheets and a dead dog in a cardboard box. Simply savage, brutal and an experience that has left me both heart broken and scarred. I normally shrug this stuff off, I seem to have suffered quite a few losses and setbacks of weight over the years but this one broke a part off me and threw it in the road. Even the arrival of little Baxter has not helped heal the wound. Guess i’ll just have to suck it up buttercup.

My summer went well all things being equal. The weather was good and the bikes were rolling, or at least some where. Often the weather was just too hot to be out riding but on those days I was busy watering anyway. Vintage Harley Davidson motorcycles (with the exception of a ’45’) are, at their very best, fragile and prone to sentimentality, delicate flowers. As a result one is now not working and needs tearing apart for the third time in five years and a couple others have been turned out into the cold world of commerce. However the net result was I got to buy a couple of stonking new rides but this is a bonsai blog so i’ll not get started on bikes.

At the end of August late one balmy afternoon and entirely unexpected we had rapidly darkening skies not unlike an eclipse before an absolute hooley blew through. Ten minutes later it was warm and sunny again whilst we stood there in three inches of water with icy hail floating in it wondering what the hell just happened.

Well, what happened was this little shit storm opened up the roof of my fabled poly-tunnel like one of those cheap shirts the Hulk always wore. An eighteen foot split right at the ridge. It was bound to happen but for a few years now I have been nursing an aging sheet attempting to squeeze every last day from it. I absolutely knew this was coming, i was dreading it but here I was staring at the sky where once there was a roof. Now this is important to me because the poly-tunnel is also my workshop. Having a workshop is much more important to me than having a telly, a phone or even a meal. In fact if I could live in a van and turn my house into a workshop i would, in a heartbeat but Catherine won’t have it and so I’m relegated to my tunnel.

As it happens I’m a bit lucky because I have four workshops. The garage is where bike work takes place, it’s got a lathe, compressors and chests of tools all suited to engineering work. I have a shed where dirty shitty work gets done. In there are welders, blast cleaning paraphernalia, fabrication equipment, pillar drills, chests of tools, paint spraying kit and a dozen little two stroke motors attached to all sorts of gardening kit (I have a big garden with lots of big hedges and trees). There’s another workshop for business where Richard and I (but mostly Richard) sort out all the stuff you order and finally there’s a bit of my poly-tunnel which gets used for everything from bonsai work to restoring/storing motorcycles, carpentry, painting and almost anything can happen in there. Most of the time it’s dry, well lit and spacious.

Way back in 2008 when I moved here I needed a workshop in a hurry, I had nothing else at the time. After just a few weeks my tunnel was in place. A massive task that required weeks of preparation and endless graft from my, then much fitter, hard working Dad and any other folk that happened to be nearby. Whilst the tunnel was constructed to last everything else was a bit rushed and temporary. My benches were cobbled together mostly out of piled up blocks topped with either old oak railway sleepers or decking.

As is the way with many small nursery businesses working long hard hours for small returns we just wore everything out and cluttered up the whole place, so fast forward seventeen years and i’m staring at the gaping harbinger of a massive task. I found a little crew who were going to come and refurbish the tunnel but there’s about a million tons of crap piled in their way. All my benches have sunk and there’s not a level pot in the place. It had been very embarrassing for a while and the only way to put it right was to completely rethink the whole place and start again.

Now I no longer need a producing nursery I decided to make a very practical and useful spot that would be nice to spend time in and also be very practical for how I work. I was also keen not be facing this dilemma again the next time I needed a new sheet so everything has been built around that consideration. Rather than spend five weeks breaking my back humping filthy heavy crap out the way, next time preparation for new cover day will take no more than a long afternoon. Also everything has been built properly even down to all stainless steel fasteners so stuff comes apart should I need it too.

If you do not have the pleasure of tunnel ownership it helps to understand the environment inside. A poly-tunnel is little more than a cold frame with bad ventilation. In summer the temperature can easily hit 60 Celcius (140f) and at other times it can freeze for days on end. The winter leaves a still and very damp atmosphere that will not fully dry out for about half the year. The temperature can easily swing 40 degrees in an hour. Materials that get used inside a poly-tunnel has a hard life. For instance a good few years ago I installed jigsaw style rubber flooring in the workshop. It’s now eight inches smaller than when I laid it.

Wood and metal do well in a tunnel environment but anything plastic will quickly fall apart. Wood must not be allowed to remain wet for long periods, warm summer temperatures can turn a tanalised deck board into sponge in eighteen months. So regarding choice of materials, experience has left me much wiser. By the time I was cleared away and the new sheet fitted I had so many piles of transient materials I looked like a bankrupt builders yard.

The project is still ongoing but I have posted some images below for anyone sad enough to be interested. I will be finished by spring which, seeing as I have done full days on this since September including weekends just goes to show I was either right to be concerned about what lay before me when that hole opened up or i’m just a fucking tired hands who needs to get his finger out.

My main run of benches sits right in front of my tunnel and it ALL had to be shifted. That included about half a ton of blocks and two dozen oak railway sleepers. Turns out these are impossible to get rid of these days so I used some of them to make a floor. The new benches are sitting on concrete foundations over 3′ into the ground, perfectly level and super easy to maintain and importantly…. move. I now understand why so many Japanese working nurseries use simple planks and plastic crates for benching. It might not be commensurate with some folks sense of bonsai aesthetics but it’s very practical. My tunnel sits on a hill and there’s just under a meter drop end to end. This time around I tried to incorporate that feature as best I could.

The reason for doing all this is because it’s high time I started seeing folk again. Since all that Covid malarkey I have been very happy to hide away on my own. To be honest that’s not been the best idea and so from next spring I will be getting busy with workshops again. I will be making more videos and hopefully be welcoming anyone who would like to visit what I can now, finally after too many years call my very OWN bonsai garden. In fact garden sounds a bit grand, it’s not Omiya but I have a big spacious garden with a shit load of old bonsai in it so i’m going with that. If at any time in the year you would like to visit just for the hell of it just get in touch. PLEASE DON’T JUST TURN UP!

Workshops are going to be a small personal affair. Whilst I am happy to do one to one sessions these will be a bit expensive. I will be hosting small groups of three or maybe four by mutual agreement. These will run from 10am to 6pm and be a mix of Friday and Saturday dates. If you would like to receive details and dates do get in touch. Drop me a line – [email protected]

One high point was the arrival of grand-baby number three. Little Elias was born in August, the first boy in my corner of the family since I came along way back when. Well done to Sarah who’s turned into a fantastic mum to her tribe. I’m told this is the last one. I’m fascinated to see how they are all going to cope as everyone gets bigger inside their tiny house. I’m mean that way 😉

So now you have the skinny on all that and so, in other news I have now finished listing our new shipment of Bonsai pots. There is another shipment arriving in January with by far the best high quality handmade pots I have ever been able to offer and I have new stock of a few old favourites still to come in. Have a good scroll through all those categories, we have a few absolute gems this year. I have also managed to get together a good range of very nice Extra Large Bonsai Pots Many of these are limited numbers so don’t hang about.

For next year we are now fully stocked with our whole range of soil products, fertiliser, wire and tools. In fact we have never held so much stock and thanks to a lot of grovelling and twisting arms most prices have remained stable. In fact most pots that we are restocking have actually seen a small drop in price thanks to some favourable exchange rates. Business continues to be intensely challenging entirely thanks to our atrocious ‘government’ attacking us in a way that, frankly, I never thought I would see. I’m not going into it all but if you run a little company or a strong side hustle you will know.

Be sure that as long as I draw breath Kaizen Bonsai will be here, fully stocked with everything you are likely to need direct from UK stock at fair prices which enable us to sustain our huge range of nearly 2000 items. If there’s something you need but don’t see just ask. If there are changes you think we should make drop us a line. Alternatively if it’s pissing and moaning that’s your thing be strong and suck it up buttercup!

Apologies for the lack of blog posts and other content this year. I have had a very tough few months since I lost my little Harley and with everything else going on I got into a very low place. A few visits to friends and some trips out to clubs and a couple of shows this year has lifted my demeanour no end. As always your continued support is absolutely invaluable, we feel so privileged to be supported by the bonsai community and for over 20 years now. God bless every one of you and we pray you have a happy Christmas followed by a safe, healthy and possibly even a prosperous new year.

Have a great Christmas everyone!

THANK YOU

Graham, Catherine, Richard, Sarah and the kids.

 

 

 

The post Rambling Flummery & Tidings of Comfort and Joy. appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

1 Day A Year Bonsai Trees

It’s a beautiful early spring day and the sun is shining here at Kaizen Bonsai world headquarters. Just finished watering my trees for the first time this year and the garden is ablaze with the beautiful and welcome sight of spring flowers everywhere. For the first time in months I find it a joy to be alive. It’s been a very long hard winter and I for one am pleased it’s all over (for now at least).

This is the first morning of 2026 that I have had a minute to relax and think about anything other than getting boxes out of the door. Richard can handle todays workload so I thought I would pen a quick note to let ya’ll know i’m still here beavering away. From our first day back in January we have been buried alive with orders for which we are all very grateful. The support of our lovely loyal customers keeps our little family afloat and we are eternally grateful to every one of you!

When I say we have been busy I mean it. On average we have shifted about 5 tons of goods a week (and up to 6 on a couple of occasions, that’s a 5 day week. For an old bloke like me that’s a lot. 60 to 100 boxes a day, every day. All we seem to do is lug huge volumes of materials and goods from daylight to dark. It’s back breaking work for all of us, even Catherine moves several tons a day whilst labelling all your orders.

This year has been unusually difficult, particularly in relation to keeping soil products flowing. As Britain continues to crumble before our eyes just the simple task of ordering new raw materials has become a living nightmare. Not a single supplier, transport company or freight agent can be trusted to do what they promise any more. Suppliers and manufacturers do not hold stock and they increasingly push us to take entire trailer loads of material rather than the few pallets we prefer. The stress of all this has made me question wether I even want to continue with these products and when we add up the ever increasing cost of warehousing etc’ my motivation to quit increases by the day. However my dad didn’t raise a quitter and so much to the chagrin of my good lady I just press on regardless.

Before I move on there’s something I have to get off my chest, a topical note if you will. Turn on any media in this country today and the only “story” in town is that of oil prices. SO all this chatter about energy prices. I notice on the news broadcast on NHK Japan this morning that their pump fuel is now 190yen per litre so about £0.90p and their government is about to reduce this by a good bit. So why are we taking it up the a** at approaching £2 quid. All the government needs to do is get out of the fucking way and stop stealing our hard earned cash under the auspices of a lie perpetrated by the “media”.

A neighbour up the road was moaning about the price he had to pay for heating oil and apparently this is a bit of a national emergency….they say. So our esteemed leaders have come up with a plan to give these folk millions of OUR pounds to help. Now here’s an idea, rather than spending more of our money why not just cut the taxes on that oil, it makes for grateful and happy (ish) consumers and costs nothing. This relentless need to take all our cash and then expect us to feel grateful for their measly handouts of paltry amounts in ‘personal aid’ makes me feel like some sort of Oliver Twist style begging peasant.

Oil has been up around $140 a barrel in the recent past so currently trading at about $100, i think we will survive but seeing as how half what we pay is tax it strikes me we have been bent over that barrel for quite some time now. Enjoy!

So, moving on what’s been happening other than humping boxes? Excitingly in January we received our first shipment of some very special bonsai pots by Chinese master Shi Ming Zhu. I’m sure this is a name means little to a lot of you but Master Zhu is considered to be the best bonsai pot maker in all of China and there is a great deal of competition for that moniker. I bought these to sell but once they arrived I was so impressed I decided to keep most of the shipment. About time my trees got some good pots I think.

There are a couple of these beautiful pots available on our web site. Bonsai pots by Master Shi Ming Zhu. I know these look expensive but do bear in mind that since January this year the factory gate prices of these stunning pots has literally doubled. The days of cheap bonsai pots are entirely behind us now.

Here is one example I have donated to be raffled off at Bonsai-Fest this weekend.

 

So, getting back to where I started, 1 Day A Year Bonsai Trees. It strikes me that a lot of folk expect their bonsai trees to be pristine all the time. Go to any show these days and the standard of exhibits is going to be pretty high. However that’s not how bonsai works every day of the week. At an exhibition a tree has likely had anything up to two years of preparation to reach a pinnacle of refinement and is displayed trussed up in it’s Sunday best. Not many folk put their trees up in workday Monday morning garb. Bonsai trees are just that, trees and for their wellbeing they need to be allowed to be trees and once in a while perhaps we can elevate their appearance to an artistic level.

That being the case I find myself happy with trees that do not look their refined best all of the time. Some species particularly do not look amazing very often. Those with big leaves for instance. Broadleaf evergreens are another type of tree that, mostly one either loves or hates. One particular favourite of mine is this elaeagnus. Not common in the UK, this tree came in from Japan a few years ago and I have been messing with it for a while now. It’s an absolute thug, grows like a weed and throughout summer is all but impossible to restrain. However come early spring it needs to be defoliated, this takes typically four hours of intense work. Last night I braved the cold and finished it about midnight and so today it looks good, a true 1 Day A Year Bonsai Tree.

Anyone else got any 1 Day A Year Bonsai Trees?

Graham Potter – March 2026

The post 1 Day A Year Bonsai Trees appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

A Bleary Outlook and a Thick Head

Here I am at first light Monday morning with a bleary outlook and a thick head whilst my ears are ringing. 9 hours after getting back from my big weekend out at Bonsai-Fest I have a very great deal to cogitate. Whilst I am doing that I thought I would let you see what I bought home.

Before I get to that I would like to say to everyone who took the trouble to ‘have a word‘ that it has always been and will continue to be an absolute privilege to serve ya’ll in whatever way I can wether that be through Kaizen Bonsai or sharing what I have learned in written word, video or face to face.

I will be eternally grateful for the support given to myself and our little family. Folk, taking the time to express your own appreciation for what we do means way more than the words alone. It spurs me on to do more than ever seeing as it is appreciated so much by so many of you.

I was infinitely amused by the notion that Kevin Willson (my good companion for the weekend) and I are being looked upon (by some) as the grandfathers of modern British bonsai. We are both grandfathers of course but, and I speak personally here, regarding bonsai, after 40 years of absolute dedication to the ‘art’ I feel i am only just getting started so buckle up young’uns!

As I was mooching around the bewildering array of trade stalls someone asked me what it was I was looking for. My response was ‘age‘. What I mean by that is the magic that age brings to bonsai. Age that is genuine, trees that have been in bonsai pots for decades have a presence that is absolutely impossible to fake and it’s very hard to find. Perhaps I can explain that in more detail another time but those of you who know, know.

First up I grabbed this hawthorn. Thorns are definitely not a favourite of mine for reasons i don’t have the energy to go into at this time but as a passionate yamadori guy I figured this would make a good project and the price was very fair. Expect to see this one in a future video.

My other purchase was this big privet. I spotted it early on but did not recognise it until I met the vendor who I have been friendly with for over thirty years. During my very first excursions into bonsai club life the guys at our local club were poring over this photo and i got a glimpse over a shoulder and was both awe struck and jealous all at once. At that time I had no clue what I was up to and material like this was just a pipe dream.

Fast forward a few years and I had done just that and in the very early 2000s I had the privilege of being able to spend a weekend with the owner where we begun the hollowing process and completed some branch work too.

Over the intervening years I caught a glimpse of the tree from time to time but when I spotted it across a crowded Fest it had changed so much I did not recognise it. Being able to buy this for a very fair sum absolutely made my weekend. To be able to walk out with a great example of bonsai skillage and a little bit of my own history is wonderful. I would like to thank GB for allowing me to buy this tree. You will be seeing a lot more of this one in the future as I refine it’s craggy old appearance. That’s ‘age‘ and just what I was looking for! Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Graham Potter – March 2026

 

 

 

The post A Bleary Outlook and a Thick Head appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

I spent yesterday on the road in process of buying and moving a collection of trees and a ton of pots. I don’t get out of Norfolk much, thank the Lord and I’m glad to be back home. To be honest i’m a horrified at what they are doing to our country, it’s quite shocking what’s going on out there. I had a long day and so find myself being a little Extra Grumpy Today!

I had planned to spend this morning writing a full on opinionated blog post about something or other that’s bothering me. At my age pretty much everything bothers me, things I used to take for granted often desert me. Increasingly I find the world a hostile and baffling place. Thank goodness I worked hard when I could which means that nowadays I have the luxury of passing stuff off to my minions (family). That frees me up to do what I really want, namely ride big bikes and tend bonsai trees.

So, I decided to keep my opinions to myself today. I turned on the news early this morning and it was saturated with politicians, experts and commentators farting in my face whilst telling me that’s how roses are supposed to smell. I shut it off and took the dog out and when I returned who was standing on my doorstep? A couple of pink haired JWs, hallelujah, that’s made my day (not theirs however).

Not long after that a guy called trying to sell me a phone system. If you know me well you will know how utterly absurd that is, like persuading me to set myself on fire. If he followed my advice I would guess he’s currently in A&E getting plastic components removed from is waste pipe. If hell froze over and I decided to add more phones to my life I’m sure i could manage that on my own.

At my age all I want is to entirely disappear and be left alone, I no longer need to be ‘influenced‘. Thank you for your concern, don’t say a word just go away or this will get ugly. I’m an absurd grumpy old git with outdated views, a cruel streak and an intolerance of ……………….im thinking…………………….Well………………………..pretty much everything really. It’s amazing how quiet it gets when one turns off the tech’. That’s where I want to live out my days.

But, i can knock out a half decent bonsai on a good day apparently and thanks to you lovely people supporting our little business I have been able to do a lot more of that than I once could. Our little family are infinitely grateful to y’all for that and here’s another video I have managed to squeeze into a busy week. Enjoy 😉

Graham Potter

 

The post Extra Grumpy Today! appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

A Cautionary Tale About Yew Tree Bonsai & Scale Insects

I’m sitting here on a sweltering hot Friday afternoon with two choices before me.

#1 Sit here for the next three hours putting together an informative article detailing what I know about the pernicious scale insect in relation to yew trees and bonsai.

#2 Shut this all down and go ride my beautiful Harley in the sunshine…………

What would you do?

After the week I have had i’m off, we’ll get back to this next week.

Have a great weekend everybody. Enjoy the sunshine if you have it 😉

Graham Potter

 

The post A Cautionary Tale……. Or Not appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

Today I wanted to share a recent experience. A cautionary tale that just goes to show we never stop learning. Even after all these years of diligent bonsai work and study I got caught out. I like to think I run a pretty tight ship here but I got caught napping on the job. I survived and so did the trees. The scale insects did not and I now have a 5-7 year project to restore a yew tree that I begun 35 years ago.

Before I get into the gory details I feel it’s wise to make one thing clear. Trees and plants suffer all manner of pest and disease (P&D). However in most cases involving infestations of chewing and sucking insects plants can very easily keep them at bay through various means. In bonsai it’s very highly likely an infestation is secondary not causative and indicative of an underlying and more significant problem, most likely down to something WE have done, or not done. Insects mostly do not CAUSE the problem they just exploit a weakened host.

These nasty little critters don’t just show up and rip into a healthy happy and well cultivated bonsai tree. Somehow pests sniff out weak and sickly, plants that for whatever reason are under par. In Bonsai that can be as a result of poor cultivation, situation, or intervention (the work we do). As a result the trees defences are weakened making the insects job a whole lot easier. If the feeding is good and the weather is warm these insects can proliferate at a staggering rate and within just a couple of days a tree can be absolutely inundated.

So I’m going to be looking at scale insects. I’m not going to show you loads of gory pictures, just Google ‘Yew scale insect‘,. look under images for a real treat! Had I been more vigilant and considerate I would not need to be dealing with this. I just turned away for a moment, let my guard down. That and some other unusual circumstances conspired to wreck my tree for the foreseeable future. I’m pissed because I know this stuff, it’s not my first rodeo.

What Are Scale Insects?

Scale insects are small, sap-sucking plant pests of the order Hemiptera. Named for the protective, waxy, shell-like covers on their backs, they feed on plant sap. Adult females are wingless and immobile, while the newly hatched “crawlers” are active. They can significantly weaken plants and excrete sticky honeydew.

The Two Main Types

Scale insects are generally categorised into two distinct groups, which determines the type of damage they cause and how they are managed.

Armored (Hard) Scale: These insects secrete a stiff, wax-like shell that is not physically attached to their bodies. Once they settle, they remain permanently in one spot, feeding on the contents of individual plant cells. They do not excrete honeydew.

Soft Scale: These have a leathery or pliable wax covering that stays attached to their bodies. They feed on the sap within the plant’s vascular tissues and excrete a sticky, sugar-rich liquid waste commonly called “honeydew”.

 

Common Signs of an Infestation

Because scale insects do not look like traditional bugs and often blend in perfectly with tree bark or stems, you might not notice them until the plant is already struggling. Key symptoms to look for include…

• Unusual bumps: Small, immobile, limpet-like bumps (1mm to 10mm in size) clustered along stems, branches, or the undersides of leaves.
• Sticky leaves (Honeydew): A sticky residue on the leaves or the floor beneath the plant.
• Sooty mould: A dark, powdery black fungus that grows on top of the excreted honeydew.
• Plant decline: Yellowing leaves, premature leaf drop, stunting, or branch dieback. Often spring growth will be weak, late or non existent.

Yew Scale

Yew scale is a sap-sucking insect (Parthenolecanium pomeranicum or Pulvinaria floccifera) that targets yew trees. It presents as small, convex, dark brown “shells” (3–6 mm long) on the underside of leaves and stems as shown in the image above.

Yew scale is similar in appearance to brown scale however, brown scale is found on a wide range of plants but not Taxus. Yew scale produces one generation a year and in early summer the adult insects can be seen on the leaves and stems. The eggs hatch in late June and July and the young scale nymphs then disperse and feed during the summer by sucking sap from the leaves. It is not unusual to find light populations of this scale on healthy yew plants.

Damage: While mild populations are harmless to naturally growing trees, heavy infestations cause yellowing leaves and reduced vigour.

Honeydew: As they feed, they excrete a sticky residue called honeydew, often leading to unsightly black sooty mould on the foliage.

Lifecycle: Adult females lay eggs in early summer, which hatch into young nymphs (crawlers) that disperse to feed.

A Long & Sorry Tale

Many of the trees in my garden these days come from other folks collections. Sometimes these arrive in less than ideal condition and require a carefully considered programme of actions in order to facilitate their recovery and restoration. It’s tough dealing with a very weak and compromised tree. Whilst some like Acers can be bought back to full vigour in two or three years others can take MUCH longer. Conifers in particular can take a long time to rebuild their strength. I have another yew tree here that has taken me nearly ten years to fully restore it’s vigour and full heath.

This tale has been ongoing for about three or four weeks over late spring (May) here in the UK but it has taken a considerable number of years to arrive at this critical juncture. The first yew pictured below is an untrained tree I acquired as a six foot high rootball. This had it’s foliage mass reduced by about 90%, was bare rooted and planted in the pot shown two years previous. The year after the work it recovered and started making new growth right out of the gate. However last year we had some extremely odd weather here which resulted in very little growth virtually across the board. Only pines did well, everything else either did very little or no growing at all. This yew was one such, hardly growing all year.

The second tree is a yew some of you may have seen here from time to time. It’s a tree I collected way back when I started bonsai. It was quickly added to the collection of my good friend Stu’ and over the years between us it did pretty well. It came back to me about 3-4 years ago now. It was in need of a very hard prune and a repot both of which I failed to do, assuming I could push my luck a bit and do it later. So last year I did do the repot, the first in many years, but didn’t do the cut back. Repotting a very weak yew can always be a bit risky but then we had all the wrong types of weather and so the tree suffered all last summer before a little rally at the end of the season.

This spring I was hopeful of a full recovery following the previous seasons poor growth. Spring comes late to the east coast and taxus rarely do anything before early May. This year was bright but the cold has been cutting. Following a mild wet winter I was not surprised both these trees were late to show signs of life. I kept a casual eye on them and by the third week of May nothing was happening so I moved the little one into direct sun and the big one went into the poly-tunnel where I expected the increased temperature to kick it into life. Taxus can suffer root rot over winter in wet mild conditions. Keeping the soil dry and warm will normally effect a full recovery. Not this time!

I knew the little tree was weak. It also had some sooty mould from the previous season. A sure sign of previous scale activity. The black sooty deposits don’t easily go away and can be on the leaves for a very long time. Sooty mould lives on the honeydew excretions of scale, not on the actual plant but it sticks like the proverbial to foliage preventing photosynthesis so effected leaves tend to yellow and then drop eventually. Moving it into an exposed situation with plenty of space and sun exposure gives the plant the best chance to recover once the scale is treated.

Following 7-10 days in the greenhouse the yew was showing very slightly better progress with weak but noticeable bud activity. One evening I was in there going about my regular tasks when I noticed my taxus had turned a funny colour, more of an odd tint than a full on colour change and a dulling of the leaves previously subdued shine. Healthy Taxus foliage almost sparkles in the sunshine, this looked like it was covered in a very fine coat of cement powder. Dead yew looks just like that, they can remain ‘green’ for weeks or even months just living on stored energy before eventually drying out and going brown in the second half of summer. I must admit I panicked a bit.

 

Nothing a big glug of JD’ can’t fix but what about the tree? Upon closer inspection and feeling the foliage in my hands told me everything I needed to know. Early evening and the foliage is both warm and slightly sticky, both extremely bad omens. The sticky bit was honeydew obviously, fresh wet and sticky. Peering tentatively beneath the foliage my worst fears were confirmed, the undersides of every branch twig and leaf were ABSOLUTELY COVERED with scale insects, huge fat females, crawlers, infants, juveniles, tens of thousands literally.

My thinking up until then, based on previous experience was to give the tree a little warm, allow the rootball to dry out a bit and kickstart it’s season protected from our up and down weather. When the tree went inside I did not see any scale to be concerned about. Most taxus host a few with no problem, just a small part of a heathy eco’ system. However I underestimated the poorly state of the tree which had nothing to fight back with after the previous years troubles. What I inadvertently managed to do was create the perfect conditions for scale to proliferate which they did…… and then some.

Without action, and I have seen this previously, this tree would have been dead in less than a month. Swift treatment has saved the day and both trees are now alive and beginning to grow but there’s a long road ahead which is both good and less good. A combination of factors, some within my control and some not, plus a lack of vigilance on my part led me here so, how to get back.

How To Treat Yew Tree Scale Infecting Bonsai Trees

First action involves getting rid of the pernicious scale. Hard but far from impossible though what’s required may appear a bit heavy handed. Try a ‘gentle touch‘ approach with these critters and they’ll just carry on regardless. Once the tree begins to show improvement it’s a rush to improve it’s health, build a root system and develop a healthy mass of properly functioning leaves before the fleeting summer gives way to cooler conditions. This isn’t just a case of a splash and dash.

Scale insect will flare up again and again with perpetual fortitude. Improving the trees health and vigour via good cultivation, situation and soil management is paramount and will typically take 2-5 years. I have a head start with this old tree because I already dealt with the repotting previously but it lost a lot of root over the wet winter and that’s really thrown a spanner in the works and the clang is still ringing in my ears. What a pillock!

So, here’s what we need to treat scale insect infestation of bonsai trees. This will work on every plant variety I have seen infected with scale over many decades. With care, it’s safe, effective and cheap. Here’s what we need……

 

Mix Magic

I use a spray to control scale insects of all types and it’s proven over many years. Lime Sulphur is a remarkable product, often mis-understood and greatly feared in some circles.  Used correctly Lime Sulphur is ENTIRELY plant safe at all times of year above and beneath the soil surface.

For the full skinny on Lime Sulphur and it’s uses see Lime Sulphur – A Miracle Solution

When using Lime Sulphur take precautions and wear appropriate safety equipment suitable for the spraying of chemical solutions, don’t breath spray or fumes, don’t get it in your eyes etc’.

For treating scale insects of all sorts I mix the following……

1 litre rain water – 20ml Lime Sulphur – 15ml Castile soap.

Use 20ml Lime sulphur per litre. This can be increased up to 40ml per litre where needed.

Add the soap to the water and mix until it begins to foam. The add the Lime Sulphur to the mix and pour into your sprayer, seal and shake the living daylights out of it to combine. Spray the tree from above and especially underneath the leaves. I like to get my hands in there, lift the foliage  and ensure every surface is literally dripping, spray the soil surface too. Spraying needs to be done immediately the solution is made, don’t let it sit. Lime sulphur solution loses it’s effectiveness when stored.

Spraying should be completed early in the morning before sunrise or in the evening after the sun is passed. It’s best if the tree is placed out of the wind and must be protected from rain obviously. Allowing the solution to dry slowly increases it’s effectiveness and seeing as Lime Sulphur largely works as a fumigant working in a sheltered and calm spot is a must.

Prior to spraying do bear in mind that Lime Sulphur can stain some surfaces. It’s rarely permanent but worth considering. Pots should be cleaned with a slightly wet cloth before the overspray dries. To remove dried residue from pots use vinegar, seems to work well.

Where a tree, like mine, is covered in honeydew this solution will help wash it away and will completely neutralise any sooty mould that may have formed though it will not physically remove the mould residue.

After 24 hours inspect the undersides of the trees branches and foliage. It may appear the insects are still there, most of the juveniles and crawlers will be gone after a single application but those pesky brown shelled females may still be present, possibly they’re dead but normally a few remain stubbornly hanging on. Where they are obvious or particularly dense scrub them away with a toothbrush dipped in more of the above solution.

After 48 hours repeat the application again. Personally I have found, in very bad cases like the one I have been dealing with, four applications should wipe out everything in sight. Bear in mind there may be eggs still hidden away in there somewhere so spraying every couple of days for a week will catch the critters at different phases of their development. When the tree is dry agitate the foliage with your hand vigorously and you should see dead scale falling out. These can fall into the soil where they will break down and provide a little justice for the plant as they become fertiliser.

And Finally

As mentioned scale insect is hard to eradicate. Following treatment keep an eagle eye out for renewed activity. The best form of defence is a healthy tree but this can take time to accomplish and whilst recovery takes place it’s always possible scale could flare up again. Don’t end up at square one again, be vigilant.

Where a tree has survived a significant scale insect attack, even if it’s clean I always apply a winter wash as a precautionary measure in late winter or early spring before new growth starts. In that case I make the solution as above but include 50ml of Lime Sulphur and spray in the same way as detailed above.

After spraying, especially with stronger solutions it’s possible the tree will be a bit pasty looking thanks to the lime residue. This will very quickly disappear and is of no concern.

P&D are ALL best avoided, treatment is the second best option. However, as illustrated here circumstances can go against us and  just aggravate a fairly benign situation very quickly. My advice with scale insect, particularly Yew scale, is just don’t F’ about. At first sign of trouble hit it and hit it hard and keep going until it’s gone. Then after it’s gone stay focused and ready to jump in as required. Meanwhile endeavour to maintain your trees health at the highest level possible so the infestations never happen in the first place, not easy I know but defence is the best form of protection because when this sort of thing starts it’s hard to stop.

Graham Potter
June 2026

The post A Cautionary Tale – Scale Insects & Yew Trees appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

Graham Potter Destroys a Privet – Video

Out here on the east coast the weather has been causing chaos so far this year. On the coast spring comes later than just a few miles inland and we are also very exposed to biting northeasterly winds. So after a very mild winter we have had weeks with no rain, my grass was all brown and crispy in April. We have had 30 degrees with twice that in my poly tunnel and now we are back into single figure temp’s. My poor trees just don’t know …… to quote a phrase as explained by Google  “whether to shit or go blind” is a colourful colloquialism used to describe utter confusion, bewilderment, or being faced with a difficult dilemma. The jarringly nonsensical, exaggerated choices highlight that there is no obvious or good course of action in the moment.

That’s put a crimp in my plans to produce a bunch of new video’s for ya’ll. This particular story started back in March. This tree took a lot longer than i hoped to actually get itself fired up. Eventually, after a long pause the life returned and it’s going off like a little firework now.

It’s my plan, God willing, to come back to this tree from time to time and show it’s development. If i’m as blessed as it would appear we might still be messing with this one in 10 years time. The longest journey and all that.

Enjoy!

Graham Potter

The post Graham Potter Destroys a Privet – Video appeared first on Graham Potter | Kaizen Bonsai Blog.