The art of bonsai

Was introduced to the art (and some say, science) of bonsai as a kid when I discovered a book on it, in my father's bookcase. It really fascinated me and I finally understood why my uncle kept pruning that small plant of his.

Bonsai comes from the Japanese words "Bon" meaning "tray" and "Sai", "growing" or "planting". It literally means potted plant and refers to plants grown in containers and miniaturized aesthetically.

You may ask what makes it different from other potted plants. One of my friends actually thought that they were genetically dwarfed plants when he found out that a small tree growing in a pot was more than 20 years old. They are NOT genetically dwarfed.

The Bonsaigardener.org, is a great site if you are interested in learning more about bonsai. Erik Olsen, the webmaster of the site, has written more than 200 articles about the hobby. I really liked one titled "Geeks Turning to Bonsai to Combat Stress".

He's the author of Bonsai Gardening Secrets, which you can download from the site. You can also sign up for a free bonsai email course.

Tags: bonsai gardening

Trips to the tip

I finally cleared up most of the junk in our backyard. You won't believe the amount of stuff that was lying there.

Simply can't understand why people would throw bottles, cans and other rubbish into your backyard when there is an excellent Waste collection service that comes every Thursday.

Anyway, had two make two trips to the Public Waste Recycling and Disposal Facility (the Tip)off London Road yesterday. It was back breaking work but it was worth it.

Related post: Getting the gardening itch

Self rewinding hose reels

Slowly but steadily, I am transforming our garden. It is proving to be quite tough as I have to deal with tough grass, lots of pieces of junk buried in the soil and deep roots of the brambles that the landlord cut down a few months earlier.

Right now I am using a watering can to water my plants, which is not very convenient. I thought about buying a water hose but I know of the problems associated with hoses, namely rolling up them up and storage after use. Just imagine the work if they are a 100 ft or more in length.

I was surprised when I read about the NO-CRANK™ range of hose reel. As the name suggest, these hoses are hands-free rewinding garden hoses. Intrigued by it all, I found out that Hydro-Pro™ system is a water piston engine that uses the water pressure to rewind up to 175ft of garden hose. In other words, it is like an engine and powered by water.

The hoses are available in various designs and different price ranges to suit every gardener. I am seriously considering getting one.

About Narcissus

You learn a lot of interesting thing while surfing the net.

Yesterday, I bought some daffodils to plant in our front garden. However, the tag said Narcissus and these were white, scented and smaller variety unlike the more common large trumpet yellow ones and I had some doubt.


A look at this site confirmed that these were indeed daffodils too. Both belong to the genus Narcissus. Daffodil is the common English name now used for all plants under this genus.

The variety I planted is called Bridal Crown.

The site had some interesting trivia. The daffodil is the emblem of Wales and Prince Charles is paid one daffodil annually as rent for the unattended lands of Scilly.

The name comes from Greek mythology from the guy who fell in love with his own image. Yeah! It sounds so stupid but looking around, it doesn't seem so stupid after all.

Getting the gardening itch

It's warmer now-a-days and you can feel that Spring is on the way. Seeing the barren backyard really spoils my mood every morning and I am thinking of doing something about it.

To tell the truth, it's 100 times better now as compared to when we got here. There were thorny brambles everywhere with all short of junk underneath it. To say that the backyard had been neglected would be an understatement. It was like a junk yard. We were so turned off by the sight of a jungle in the backyard that we were thinking of moving out after a few days. However, our landlord cleared up most of the mess along with his father.

You would be surprised to learn what turned up under the vegetation. Several empty bottles of beer, furniture, dustbins, carpets, bricks, tiles, toys and loads of other junk, even a traffic cone. My landlord had to make several trips to the tip and even after that I loads of junk turned up which I got rid along with our household rubbish.

I was able to salvage a composting bin which was in good condition.

We burnt off the dried brambles and grasses on Guy Fawkes day.

Anyway see the transformation of the backyard:

When we first arrived


Nov, 2006


Jan, 2007

Today I planted some roses.

Tesco is having this gardening promotion and today I bought a 6 pieces gardening set for £5. My first project would be to prepare a herbal garden. I prefer to grow something I can eat.