Sally Christmas spoke about Bonsai. She belongs to several clubs, her interest beginning in the late 1990s, when she bought her first small plant and attended classes by Tom Poynton.In 2003 Sally's club hosted the AABC Masters from Germany.Sally particularly likes working with flowering natives, including leptospermum vulgaris, and the object is to make the plants appear older and show a flowing movement and make use of space. Sally uses various types of aluminium wire and scissors to achieve shape. Bonsais can also be grown over rocks and mallee roots. Sally uses a free draining potting mix, Neutrog which is a softer, gentler fertilizer and Seamungus which feeds roots in particular.It was very interesting to see Sally demonstrate potential plant selection, the wiring process and subsequent shaping. Another club Sally belongs to is the Victorian Native Bonsai Club - http://www.vicnativebonsai.com.au NB: Native Bonsai symposium will be held Botanical Gardens 11-12th April 2015
