Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

This year, for one reason or another, I haven’t had much time for my motley collection of bonsai. I am allowed to call them that, for even though most of them are not perfect specimens, they do live in a pot and that fits the description!

I do try and visit them as much as possible, even if it’s for my benefit for a much needed breath of fresh air and a chance to escape the office. I haven’t needed to water as much either, as the weather has been very wet and they much prefer rainwater anyway, although  my ancient larch didn’t like being waterlogged and is looking very sorry for itself.

Over the years there have been some disappointments, like the time the frost was so severe it killed several of my charges. Or when some obscure tree disease strikes, and a tree sadly dies.

I was inspecting them all this morning, when my eye came to rest on one such afflicted tree that suffered badly two years ago. Only the disease hadn’t killed the whole tree, just half of it.

I bought this tree as a small shrub from a garden centre, attracted by the almost black colour of the finely cut foliage. I had never seen one quite like it before and although it wasn’t yet a bonsai, I was sure we could create magic together.

When the disease struck, I thought I would eventually lose the tree altogether but every year it grows stronger. It is a most unusual shape but its desire to grow and grow well somehow has me rooting for it.

I have some good trees, well worthy of being called bonsai but also a motley collection of oddities. I call them bonsai in training but in all honesty, will probably never be good enough for that distinction. They come from just about everywhere, from the garden or seeds dropped by the birds. Some I don’t even know their name but love the look of them.

I may be a perfectionist in other things but not where Nature and all growing things are concerned. As one of her biggest fans, I love everything she does, no matter how odd or unusual.

She does her best to be perfect and that’s good enough for me…

©Jaye Marie 2021