Bonsai for Beginners

Remove the mystery – create and enjoy your own bonsai! Discover its history and how easy it is to grow. Learn which types of containers, soil, materials and equipment are preferable. Find out which plants are most suitable and how to maintain, prune, shape, style and display them. Comprehensive notes are provided and places are limited.

About the Trainer

Judith Sleijpen graduated from Ryde School of Horticulture with distinction in Urban Horticulture and gained experience in the retail nursery industry for several years. As a Member of the Horticultural Media Association, Judith writes a monthly gardening column for “Peninsula Living” and has also published articles in “Landscape Contractor and Manager”, “Better Homes and Gardens”, “Gardens and Outdoor Living” and “The Garden Gurus”.Passionate about plants, gardens and bees, she is a Member of the Australian Institute of Horticulture, a former Committee Member of the Sydney Executive Committee of Open Gardens Australia and a former member of the Speakers’ Bureau of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Apart from conducting her garden design and horticultural consultancy business, “Gardens, Balconies and Beyond”, Judith is a tour leader for the David Jones Flower Show and judges garden competitions in Ryde, Camden, Campbelltown, Bayside and Randwick.

This course is delivered in one session.

• Introduction to the Course
• History of bonsai
• Chinese Penjing/Japanese bonsai
• Suitable specimens for bonsai: Australian, exotic
• Styles of bonsai: informal upright, Cascade, etc.
• Pots and containers: textures, shapes, sizes, colours
• Soil
• Equipment: tools for potting, wiring and pruning
• Wiring techniques – “hands-on” practical
• Pruning techniques: branches, roots
• Re-potting – “hands-on” practical
• Maintenance: light, water, fertiliser
• Organic pest and disease control
• Course review

This will be an interactive classroom environment with plenty of time for all your questions to be answered.