An impressive olive Yamadori fingers crossed it survives .
How did you get started? My introduction to bonsai took place a long time before I took the hobby up seriously, in the 1990's a friend of my wife's bought her a bonsai tree for her 40th birthday, a tree in fact we still have today looking a lot different than it did back then. I retired in 2004 from full time work In education and immersed myself into building a Japanese garden with Tea House and welcome arch in my garden. In 2005 I attended the Wood Festival in North Wales and at this festival came across a beautiful display of bonsai put together by the Vale Of Clwyd Bonsai Society. I was immediately fascinated by the hobby and that same evening attended their club night hosted by the chairman Kevin Bailey and Alan Dorling. That was me hooked and I am still a member to this society to this day. Within 2 weeks of this meeting I became completely captivated by the hobby building myself display benches with 15/20 what I would call today 'sticks in pots'. Very proud of them at the time
Triple trunk Acer Palmatum Evidence of root thread grafting at the base of the tree.
How did you learn about bonsai? While attending a Vale Of Clwyd Bonsai Society meeting I met a fellow senior bonsai enthusiast who was kind enough to let me visit his home garden, this man George Mowbray became a good friend to me in my early days. With no internet as such in those days, the only other form of information available was borrowing books from the society library which I did on a regular basis.
Who was your teacher? The man I learnt most from in my early days and he became a bit of a mentor to me as well was George Mowbray, he was a retired nursery man and he always said to me 'you can do most things to a tree if its healthy and in good condition'. George unfortunately passed away several years ago but even at the age of 80 years he still had a 15 year plan mapped out for many of his trees.
Larch collected by Simon T many years ago. I prefer this tree in it's winter image.
What is the most important thing you learned from him? I am not a fan of instant bonsai, someone miraculously turning some raw material into an instant bonsai within minutes, it takes time and effort. A great lesson I have learnt over the years and it works well for me, is never work on both top and bottom of the tree at the same time and only then when its healthy.
Do you belong to a bonsai club? I have been with the Vale Of Clwyd Bonsai Society since I first took up bonsai in 2004 and in 2010 also joined the Wirral Bonsai Society.
Japanese White pine. Displaying on a table constructed by the late Doug Mudd and myself.
Your thoughts on bonsai or dreams? Up until 5 or 6 years ago my interest in bonsai was mainly studying the horticultural side of things and wrestling with the artistic elements of Bonsai something I have not found easy. More recently I have developed more of an interest in the spiritual side of bonsai and started to appreciate the journey one is on and not just the art and craft side of the hobby.
Do you consider bonsai an art form? Yes, but a very frustrating art form. A bonsai is not like a finished painting hanging on the art gallery wall to be admired forever by passers by, but an ever changing living form that moves with the seasons and never stands still, always needing a pair of nurturing hands and possessing an agenda that is often in conflict with the owners. Moving it along its journey, perhaps a journey with no ending.
Japanese Wisteria/Floribunda. This tree has been exhibited at Chelsea during its lifetime and been admired by royalty. Or so I'm led to believe .
Why do you do bonsai? Not the easiest question to answer, but often while working on one of my trees the total concentration required allows one to totally loose oneself in the moment and leave behind much of todays stressful world. The ability to get totally immersed in your trees is a magical part of the hobby whether for 2 minutes or 2 hours the rewards can be emotionally huge.
Do you have a favourite tree species or size tree? Over the years my favourite species have and continue to be White or Scot Pines and the bigger the better.
Azelea This prolific specimen displays between 750 and 800 flowers in a good year .
Do you have a favourite bonsai? Cannot be a straight forward answer, during the winter period Junipers and Pines are very much my favourite but come June every year my favourite would change to a spectacular Wisteria I have been privileged have in my collection, in full flower it has no equal.
Do you have a favourite Potter? I have several Favourite potters based in the UK that I admire, Andy Pearson, Gordon Duffett, David and Mark Jones, Graham Simpson and John Holroyd a jewellery specialist turned ceramic artist who brings his precision to a different medium, and last but not least, but not from the UK, Yannis Makris a potter from Greece with a great visionary freestyle interpretation of bonsai pots
Smaller Japanese white pine with an impressive spiral in the trunk . Pot by Gordon Duffett, scroll hanging by me.
What mistakes have you made? My bonsai journey has been littered with many mistakes, breaking branches, leaving wire marks, breaking pots you name it I have done it, but the important thing is I have always tried to learnt from my mistakes and move on.
Have you experienced bonsai abroad? I was lucky enough to display one of my trees at the Best Of British show in 2012 at Birmingham. At this show Tony Tickle introduced me to four gentlemen visiting the show from Cyprus we exchanged telephone numbers and it was not long before I was visiting Cyprus for my bonsai and my second passion bird watching. While on holidays in Cyprus, I would team up with some of the local bonsai enthusiasts and provide classes on most Saturdays. I learnt a great deal about collecting and growing Olives on these trips most of which of which fly’s in the face of what we understand in the UK. Cyprus is a beautiful island and my association with Savvas. Gregoris, Michaelis and others has enabled me to visit and enjoy the culture and scenery of areas I may never have visited on my own. Thank you File mou.
Can you recommend one or two bonsai books? I have collected many books over the years and opened my account with some early books by Harry Tomlinson, Peter Adams followed by a more up to date books by Harry Harrington.
What is your best achievement? I have two great achievements, firstly I have worked with the late Doug Mudd providing some help with the complexities of cabinet making. Doug generously acknowledged this input in an article in Bonsai Focus magazine high lighting Dougs work. Secondly, of having several of my trees accepted for the Noelanders Show or now as its known the Trophy in Belgium.
Do you have any future ambitions or goals? Nothing particularly related to bonsai . I am in a good place at the moment and propose to continue doing what I have been doing as it appears to be working To constantly develop new and existing material in my collection and move them further on. I tend to set goals with most of my trees, I constantly evaluate them over a 5 to 10 year period, ruthlessly selling on trees that look like they have no further future with me.
Elm, this is work in progress.
Over the years what has been your favourite bonsai show? I am not really a show person, I enjoy developing trees for my own personal pleasure at home but occasionally friends pressure me to show trees and then I sometimes give in. This may appear a very selfish attitude for someone who has been given so much from the Bonsai fraternity. There are still issues within the showing and judging of bonsai shows that I would like to see revised before I would feel comfortable. Don’t think this is the appropriate forum for this discussion
Me and my mate Eddie, not mine but a dominant member of the other passion in my life, Ornithology .
Do you have any other interests or hobbies? Like many of us I have been involved in many hobbies over the year, originally wind surfing, rock climbing and canoeing, but over a longer period the hobbies that have kept my attention have been bird watching and bonsai. Within the heading of bonsai I have also been interested in making bonsai stands and 2 years ago purchased a kiln previously owned by Petra Engle. Just hope some of her talent is lurking within and rubs off on me. I’ll be continuing to develop my pot making skills into the future.
David Yarranton Vale Of Clwyd Bonsai Society & Wirral Bonsai Society