The art of bonsai and your chance to get involved

It is said that the Japanese are owed great thanks for introducing the world to the ancient art of bonsai.

However the practice of reducing trees to miniature scale actually originated in China and was only later copied and adapted by the Japanese who then coined the term ‘bonsai’.
The original practice dates back more than 2000 years.

Sharing and educating many people in the art of bonsai locally today is president of the South African Bonsai Association, Dr Caroll Hermann, who during her normal daily routine works as a clinical psychologist.

Dr Hermann created the Ballito Bonsai Club nearly four years ago following a successful once-off talk on bonsai at BBS Mica Ballito. The response from the demonstration, as well as the demand for regular meetings, was overwhelming.

“People wanted to learn more about bonsai,” said Dr Hermann.

Support continues to grow, as does the collection of members and their bonsai.

Discussing techniques used to make trees look weathered and old, Dr Hermann says she has grown trees from seed for as long as 26 years and these do not resemble the ‘age’ of trees which had been growing in her garden for 10 years.

“We either carve a tree using drills and dremels with special attachments to create the illusion that it has been weathered by nature or, we dig trees from nature which had been exposed to fire, drought or even ravaged by animals. These trees physically appear older in appearance.”

The practice of collecting trees from the wild is referred to as ‘Yamadori’.

As Dr Hermann explains, the club may be young, however some of its oldest members are 93 years of age, and the youngest comes in at 13. As for the trees themselves, Dr Hermann explains that she encourages members to tell stories with their trees.

“Most of my trees have stories: I made trees for my dad when he passed away and that is sort of my dedication to him. I also planted baobab seeds for each of my sons when they were born, as a celebration of their lives.”

Dr Hermann says she has had the pleasure of interviewing 40 bonsai masters from across the globe and has recorded their stories about their trees.

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She intends to use bonsai and its therapeutic nature as part of a project she is looking at starting in 2020 with the Department of Correctional Services. From the research gathered so far, Dr Hermann has also funded projects aimed at traumatised youth in Dukuduku.

Although Dr Hermann has had many run-ins with some of the famous bonsai masters, the club itself is yet to be visited by one of these masters.

“Getting the bonsai masters to come and do demonstrations is quite expensive. We are relatively new and hopefully, one day, we will. That said, we have some pretty amazing artists in South Africa.”

Mentored by one of South Africa’s internationally recognised bonsai practitioners, Dr Hermann says it has been a pleasure being taught by Pretoria resident and Bonsai Addict member, Antony Smith.

She has seen a huge improvement in her own trees and hopes to pass this knowledge on to members of the club.

The club recently celebrated their first exhibition at Mica on November 23 and hope that it was the first of many more.

As for which trees newbies to bonsai may be interested in delving into, Dr Hermann says that the trees best suited to the North Coast climate include ficus, olives, paperbarks and even banana trees.

Should you be interested in learning more or even perhaps joining the club, all that is asked for is a contribution of R20 for either tea, coffee or eats.

From the funds left over, soil and wire is bought for the benefit of the members. The club meets every second last Saturday of the month at BBS Mica at 9am. Newbies, beginners and experienced people are welcome.

Contact the club via the Facebook page at facebook.com/ballitobonsaiclub or contact Dr Hermann at carollhermann@gmail.com.

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