Ballito paramedic has a passion for bonsai

When you see the big, bald IPSS advanced life support paramedic Peter Kenyon you would never think that this hulk of a man spends his free time caring for delicate little bonsai.

“I got my first bonsai in 2011. I have my sister, Robyn, to blame for that. She likes growing trees and plants and had a couple of Acacia trees that we decided to try bonsai. Turns out I can grow them pretty well,” said the humble Kenyon, who now has about 30 of the tiny trees.

“It is addictive. I am not a bonsai master by any stretch of the imagination. Perfecting the art of bonsai is a lifelong pursuit that requires serious and intricate skill. I can pot them and they seem to to grow, but shaping is still a work in progress.”

Besides the joy and relaxation he gets from working on his little trees, he also enjoys finding new potential specimens.

“Turns out the trees are not actually so expensive, unless you buy a ready made bonzai. I usually wander around nurseries, looking for those forgotten trees sitting in a bag in the corner, not selling because they are stunted. Acacias are easy to germinate and grow from seed, they are very hardy and quite fun. The fire thorn is another easy one to begin with. Camphors and Baobabs also make beautiful bonsai. The quintessential is of course the Japanese Maple. I would love to get my grubby paws on one of those.”

Besides bonsai, he also has a collection of Orchids, Bromeliads and air plants that live in a little greenhouse which is bursting at the seams.

“I have Bromeliads coming out of my ears! Orchids on the other hand are so finicky, they drive me insane. I learnt the hard way, if you try coddle them, they die. If you ignore them and just feed them every now and then, they flourish. It is quite heartbreaking when they go yellow and die. Over watering is a big problem. If you can control the amount of water an orchid gets, that is 80% of the battle won.”

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