Bonsai at the Arboretum

What a blustery and dull Wednesday today has been. The coldness from the night seems to have lingered around, inviting some fleeting showers.

Despite the weather and having locked my car keys in the garage and needing to be rescued, Wee Man and I left for the National Arboretum.

A school holiday workshop was offered for kids which included a two hour Bonsai session, complete with a take home Bonsai, made by the kids themselves.

Heather, our guide and Bonsai expert spoke to the group of youngsters about the history of Bonsai, the types and reason behind the different styles of trees and plants.

The children were then given their own trees and shown how to trim their saplings, repot them and then how to add wire to the branches of their Juniper trees. Once everything had been decorated with coloured stones, grit and rocks the kids were instructed in the care of their new Bonsais. Their next step will be to remove the wire from the branches in a year’s time and then re-construct branches.

Wee Man was quite enthralled and extra excited when it came to beginning to create his own Bonsai. Everything was included : tree, pot, soil, tools, gravel and rocks.

The Arboretum is a huge 250 hectare section of land filled with over 94 forests of rare and endangered trees. It is quite an overwhelming site and beautiful panoramic views once you arrive into the Village Centre.

After wandering through the Bonsai and Penjing collection there are huge grounds to meander through, along with plenty of photo opportunities or even a hot chocolate or sweet treat at the café of restaurant located inside the Village Centre. It is a perfect area for kite flying too. There is the ever so popular Pod Playground which is perfect for kids and I promise you, you’ll need to pull out all the stops to get your child to leave.

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