SERIES 16 | Episode 23
My name is Tim Vivoda. I grow bonsai for a living. It started as a hobby when I was eight years old. I found a library book in a library at Huntingdale Primary School and was fascinated with this little tree that was on the front cover. I was just totally fascinated with the fact that you could actually work on something that is always changing - it's living sculpture.
I have a tattoo of the first bonsai I grew. It's a juniper tree. I was 10 years old when I grew the tree.
The word bonsai comes from "bon" which means tray and "sai" which means plant. It originated in Egypt thousands of years ago and moved to China and the Japanese perfected the art of bonsai.
There are five basic styles of bonsai created by the Japanese. The first is the informal upright, where a trunk line zigzags up into the top of the tree. There are branches on the externals of each bend. That's the most important thing. The second is the windswept or slanting style. The slanting style is basically a tree that's been blown by the wind, so the branches on one side are actually shorter than the other. The third style is the formal upright which has a straight trunk that tapers at the top.
The next style is called the semi cascade. Imagine the tree is on the side of a cliff, hanging over and this doesn't exceed the pot's limitations. And finally the last style is called the full cascade. The full cascade is actually a tree that exceeds the pot limitations.
A forest is normally a group planting of trees, planted randomly, so they are not the same thickness, there are no same distances, and no same heights so this gives a perception of depth.
Bonsai has a front and a back. The front of the tree should bow at you. The trunk should curve at you and actually embrace you. The tree should embrace you with depth. The best trees to bonsai are actually small leaf variety type trees. What I look for in bonsai material is tapered trunks, lots of branching throughout the tree. Try elms, maples, pines, or junipers.
My favourite tree would have to be a Chinese elm Ulmus parivolia. The Chinese elm is a very robust plant. It actually responds to a lot of pruning. Chinese elms are a good starting plant for anyone interested in bonsai. There's a lot of good Australian natives that you can use for bonsai. For instance, Port Jackson Ficus rubiginosa or Moreton Bay figs Ficus macrophylla. You can also bonsai the coastal tea trees Leptospermum laevigatum, plus a range of other tea tree. There's also a couple of eucalypts. Angophora costata is one that is good for bonsai.
Bonsai changed the course of my life. It actually is a hobby that takes you on a journey and working on the trees gave me the insight of life itself.
Further Information:
Australian Association Bonsai Clubs - Branches throughout Australia.