I have three maples of differing varieties that sit on the same bench at my place, a Japanese maple, a trident maple and this field maple (Acer campestre) and I like the display that they portray.

They all need some work but when they sit up there side by side its like a family get together.

I have a trident maple growing in my yard as a landscape tree and this tree is a result of a stray seed that didn’t get pulled out, so that is a win for me and a win for the tree.

Currently it is showing some leaf damaged caused by summer but its not as bad as previous years as this summer has been mild in comparison to recent summers.

This was a gift from a lovely and very generous lady a few years ago and it has fitted into my collection perfectly. It has relatively small leaves and good autumn colour. The ramification needs to be improved and I have set myself a time frame to get that done but right now it looks good in leaf and therefore the photo.

I have had this tree for many years and I really like to view it during the winter when all the tight ramification can be seen is at its best. It also looks OK in full leaf.

I will work on this again at leaf fall with the aim of further improvement to the ramification and with some luck I might be able to show it without leaves one day soon.

A couple of hours work on the apex and this will be looking much better. This tree started life as a very long straight trunk but with some heavy bending a more compact design was achieved.

This tree was sold to me at “mates rate” by a good friend of both myself and the Goulburn Bonsai Society and I am most grateful to him for the opportunity to develop this tree. In time I hope this will be exhibited and naturally credit will be given.

This tree is ready for the next round of wiring and branch placement. The potting into this pot has made a big positive improvement and the next step will be made in the coming months.

I’m not sure if this is a Callistemon or a Melaleuca now but it was called a Callistemon subulatus and I will probably stick with that until I’m told otherwise.

There is no story with this one, I took the photo just because I like the tree and I hope you also like it.

I am a fan of cedar as bonsai, all sorts of cedar, and this has been with me for quite a few years now however it is in need of some major work, especially a re-pot this year.

The foliage pads need to be developed, major branches need some wire and consideration needs to be given to a new/different pot. All in all I need to get myself organised and start the process.

All that said it has potential and there are no plans to move this on from my collection.

This maple was dug from a garden in 2012 and spent about four years in a plastic pot before graduating to a bonsai pot.

It is not your standard style of Japanese maple as it has some shari in places but it still exhibits some beautiful leaf colour, and the size of the leaves is quite small. All good attributes for a bonsai maple. At present I think it looks better in leaf however I am hopeful that the winter ramification will improve over time.

I cheekily labeled this tree the best Hawthorn ever (that I have dug) some years ago and over time I have not altered my opinion. It is of course still a work in progress and there is a lot still to be done but it is on the way to becoming a presentable bonsai.

In November 2019 I had the enjoyable pleasure of attending a workshop with Peter Warren and with his assistance we set this tree on its path. The best feature of this tree is the hollow trunk and with Peters expertise we commenced the process of framing this aspect. At leaf fall this year more work will be done to continue this framing process to enhance this feature. Some more refinement of the foliage pads and compaction of the branches and then hopefully some increase in the flowering then all that is left is a new pot to match the beauty of the trunk.

When all that is done I might be able to exhibit it in a show somewhere, fingers crossed.