As a college student, I hesitate to spend much money on nursery stock. Though, that is where the grand majority of my hobby money goes. But I was raised to be thrifty, so I have become a regular visitor of Facebook Marketplace and Craiglist.

I connected with a sweet woman on Craigslist who had boxwood bushes in her front yard that she wanted removed. I thought, hey, boxwoods are great bonsai. She was even kind enough to send my close up pictures of the trunks. I was a bit confused as to why she wanted them removed though, but when I arrived at her house, it made sense. She used a walker and her mobility wasn’t great. She said it was just another chore to trim the bushes, yet she also didn’t want them to grow out and look bad.

This was my first lesson in yamadori, you could say, or collecting plants from nature (does a front yard count as nature?). I quickly, quickly found that this was more than I had signed up for. These bushes had massive roots and were in thick clay. She later said they had been at her house since she had moved it, which was 20 years ago. So these are big boys.

I tried for a few hours, but all I could get was the smallest bush. I felt badly that I couldn’t help her more, but I think she appreciated my visit and effort.

So I take my little treasure home and fiddle with it. There is a thin left trunk with foliage throughout and a right, straight trunk with foliage only as the top. Huh. I decided to focus on the left side, which was more workable. I kept the right trunk in hopes on backbudding, but I think that is not gonna happen. Maybe I could carve it up and do something neat with deadwood. That would require, however, the possession of a carving tool. Bonsai has so many specialized tools #christmasgifts.

I was able to create some neat movement and padding on the left, but the trunk is a bit thin for the height. I might do a hard chop in the spring. We shall see.