Hi I’m Christine Taylor. I was given my very first Bonsai tree as a gift from my wonderful husband, Max. It was for our first wedding anniversary and he presented me with the most beautiful Japanese Green Maple and it had a card attached that read…

This small tree is a symbol of our marriage. As it continues to grow and flourish with nurturing and care, we will continue to shape and mould it throughout the years, to make it even more beautiful than it already is today. (Apparently they live a long time).

I know that may seem a little cheesy to some of you, but I thought it was the most beautiful and thoughtful gift I had ever received! (Isn’t he a sweetheart?!)

However, as beautiful as it was, on the inside, I was freaking out! Here I was, charged with the care of a not only, gorgeous, but very symbolic gift and I didn’t have the slightest idea of how to look after a Bonsai tree!

I mean come on…who hasn’t heard of someone having a bonsai tree and killing it within a few weeks?! And I have the brownest of thumbs to start with!!

At first it seemed to be going along okay. It still had all its leaves and they were green and I was very happy with my efforts.

There really wasn’t much in the way of bonsai information back then, not in an easy to understand format for a beginner anyway, so I mostly had to rely on ‘trial and error’.

My husband had spent $68.95 on that tree! It was meant to symbolise our marriage and I had neglected it and ultimately killed it! I was a bonsai tree murderer!

I’m also happy to report that I managed to avoid becoming a ‘serial killer’, as, the tree I bought him to replace our ‘anniversary’ tree (for about half that price, in case I screwed it up again!) is also alive and well and stronger and more beautiful than ever!

The reason for sharing my story with you today, is so that you can see that we all have to start at the beginning, but more importantly, it is so that you can see why I decided to write this guide.

I’d like to save you from having to go through the ‘trial and error’ that I did to learn the art of Bonsai gardening, and help you to learn the simple steps that can mean the difference between your new Bonsai tree growing and flourishing or wilting and dying.

I want to assure you that, you don’t necessarily need to be a Bonsai master just to keep your new tree alive and well.

Now these days, as you know, we have a wealth of information at our fingertips via the internet, which is great! But you know what? Even that comes with its own set of problems…

The thing is, sometimes there is too much information on the net and it can be very misleading. Other bonsai books want you to become a Bonsai master from the word go. Add to that, the fact that most of us are so much more ‘pressed for time’ these days, and you may not be any better off!

I mean, really, think about it…someone just gave you (or maybe you got it yourself) a Bonsai tree. That’s great…so now what? Spend countless hours surfing the net looking for whatever bonsai information you can find, only to realise after a while that so much of it is conflicting and you’re none the wiser?

Bonsai…