Megumi’s Bonsai Art

Upon learning I would visit Australia last month, I wrote to a local Bonsai Tonight reader about which nurseries I might visit around Sydney. I received a good list of recommendations as well as a tour-guide for the adventure. On the appointed day, Scott, along with Craig and Bree, picked me up for what turned out to be a tour of greater Sydney’s bonsai and beaches.

The beaches were a bonus. As temperatures were in the 40s, it seemed natural to visit Sydney’s famous beaches en route to the nurseries. We started with Manly, lunched at Balmoral, and finished the day at Bondi.

Bondi Beach

The trip to Bonsai South Nursery was preempted by an early closure due to the heat, but the trip to Bonsai Art in Terrey Hills, NSW, was well worth the visit.

Bonsai Art is where Megumi Bennett, husband Brian, and son Alex run a bonsai nursery and school. Visitors to the nursery can enroll in classes for both bonsai and ikebana. Classes are taught by Megumi, who studied bonsai with Saburo Kato in Japan, and her son Alex, who studied bonsai with the Kato family at Mansei-en in Omiya.

Many of the trees at the nursery and in Megumi’s private collection were grown from scratch – some have been developed for the past 30 years. The following are photos from their collection.

Conifers

Pine

Spruce grove (back view)

The unique pot was a gift from Saburo Kato

Bald cypress grove

Large pine

Large pine – trunk detail

Satsuki azalea

Satsuki azalea – trunk detail

A common variety in Australia with which I’m not too familiar – Banksia serrata

Trident maples

Hinoki

Olive

Ficus

Maples

I can’t thank Scott, Craig, and Bree enough for guiding me through a pleasantly warm day, teaching me about bonsai in Australia, and explaining how cricket works. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

Looking east from Manly Beach