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| Go greener |
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| With a growing number of gardeners eschewing chemicals in favour of natural alternatives, we can suggest some effective products from our organic gardening selection |
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| Relax and refresh |
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| Good food freshly prepared daily, aromatic coffee, chilled wine and a grassy play area for the children. What more could you need? |
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| Food heaven |
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| Our Farm Shop is heaven for food lovers! Delicious handmade food, top quality groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and stylish cookware and gifts. |
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| The Discovery Walk |
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| As thousands of daffodils herald the spring, stroll or stride around our Walk while the youngsters enjoy the Nature Trail |
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Bonsai: small but perfectly formed!
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| Thursday, 31st January 2008 |
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IN THE GARDEN WITH PETA MARSHALL
A customer came up to me in the garden centre a few years ago and asked about bonsai trees. When I explained that the way to keep them small was to constrict the roots by growing them in small containers, she said: “Oh how cruel! It’s just like the little Chinese girls having their feet bandaged up to keep them small!”
I suppose she had a point in making the comparison, but I’ve never seen growing these miniature trees as ‘cruel’. In fact, there’s a real art to it that I’ve admired for many a year.
And I do call it an art, as there is real skill and talent required in growing them properly.
It all began many centuries ago in China first, and Japan later. The characters and meaning are the same in both languages: “a plant in a container”.
Many who view bonsai for the first time are often surprised by the age of the trees, for they may be hundreds of years old, yet still be just inches high.
The true definition of a bonsai tree is that it should conform in all respects to a normal tree except for its miniature size. The aim therefore is to produce, in miniature, a tree that gives the illusion, when set by itself against a plain background, of a fully-grown mature specimen. Plants that branch well and have small leaves, flowers and fruits make the best subjects.
In theory, any tree may be made into a bonsai, but some have characteristics that make them unsuitable or uncontrollable. Examples include those trees with extra large leaves, flowers or fruits. Sometimes it is possible to ‘stunt’ the sizes of leaves during the growing process, but flowers and fruits will always remain the normal size: large Bramley apples on a foot-high tree would seem a bit ridiculous!
Then there are those that naturally contort themselves in growth and have too much will of their own (such as the contorted hazel, Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’, or the contorted willow, Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’). Finally there are the trees that have brittle shoots, and are therefore difficult to train.
Most trees grown as bonsai in the UK are hardy trees that normally grow outside (as opposed to tender or tropical trees that are the usual trees in hotter countries). This means that our bonsai trees should be kept out of doors and, subject to the restriction of their containers, in as close to natural conditions as possible.
They should only, therefore, be brought into a dry, heated room in the house for occasional and short-lasting displays.
But bonsai trees, being in such small containers that are generally packed with root, can dry out incredibly quickly. If placed in full sun, particularly in summer, they can be killed by dryness in hardly any time at all.
Enthusiasts therefore tend to keep their bonsai trees in shade, or semi-shade even better. For this, benches under a slatted wooden roof construction make the perfect environment.
Beginners are advised not to aim too high and be tempted to buy a really large and important specimen – at least until some knowledge of methods of cultivation and training have been acquired. A really finely developed bonsai tree, perhaps of a great age, is a major responsibility.
You owe it to the tree – and your bank balance – to do it properly!
You don’t need to purchase a ready-made bonsai tree. It is perfectly possible to create your own from a tree seedling or cutting. But you’ll need to read up about this to make it a success.
Common trees suitable for beginners, easily found in the UK, include ash, beech, birch, cotoneaster, hawthorn, hornbeam, horse chestnut, ivy, juniper, larch, certain maples, oak and rowan. Even some types of fuchsia can make good flowering bonsai, but they will need to be trained into tree-like specimens.
Between all of the above plants there are many species and varieties, so if inspired you could aim for a quite sizeable collection.
Then there are the different styles that these trees can be grown into. There are six basic styles: formal upright (with a vertical trunk); informal upright (with a curved trunk); semi-cascade (with a trunk that comes out from the container horizontally); fully cascade (where the trunk hangs over the side of the container); windswept (where the trunk is set at a slightly sloping angle); and finally slanting (where the angle is more acute).
Unfortunately I haven’t got the space to go into this in more detail – and the art of bonsai is a surprisingly large subject. It is certainly worth having a look at some good books for inspiration – and to find out the fine detail of the cultivation.
Not so long ago another lady customer came up to me; she was a bonsai enthusiast, and when I told her about the first lady who thought it was ‘cruel’, she said that she considered the hobby so rewarding that she believes people are being cruel to themselves if they never have a go at it!
So, you’ve been told! Happy gardening!
This week in your garden
Ready for lifting this month are Jerusalem artichoke, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, winter cauliflower, celery, endive, kale, leeks, savoy cabbage, parsnips, summer-sown spinach, Swedes and turnips.
Plant winter-flowering heathers in gaps in borders where colour is lacking at this time of year.
If you grow alpine bulbs in pots, watch out for mice. They’ll dig up and eat the bulbs of crocus (their favourite), as well as many other bulbs and corms. Place traps between the pots or protect the bulbs by placing wire netting over the tops of the pots. Remove it when the bulbs are growing vigorously.
Peta Marshall is the plant centre manager at Priory Farm in Nutfield. Website: www.prioryfarm.co.uk
NEXT WEEK: Winter flowering shrubs
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