which i dug out of a front yard because it was pushing their eves off. Most of my collection is free or were 5-20 dollar nursery stock however my trident maple was purchased for 280 dollars in a styrofoam box and is 23 years old.I defoliated wired and cut branches using all manor of research material and some common sense.I knew nothing about bonsai 4months ago It is powering along i must admit although i still made mistakes they will grow out or over in time im told.The fig is one of 4 that have been root bound in pots for more than a decade and i cut it back from 7ft tall too 2 ft 3months ago and some tip pruning along the way.Sorry the order is a bit mixed with the photos before and after but the bougie on a trolley was potted 6 weeks ago and is holding up well.I have also air layered 1 of the trunks to create a step up through the four main branch offs to eventually have four individual flowering pads starting at the very left base of the trunk finishing at the crown while leaving an exposed view of the trunk.Just my plan however who knows what happens in between.
The bougainvillea are simply dug out of the ground
. You can learn from them and it's not too expensive if you make a mistake. Just be careful - you will find all you "spare" space taken up by your new passion 
