Junior Bonsai Warrior
By Josh Christianson, age 12 on Feb. 27
Guest Columnist
Fun for Kids
One of the things I did was a scavenger hunt. It was a fun little way to see all the exhibits. You had to look for coconuts in each exhibit and write down how many there were. If you do the scavenger hunt, don’t be expecting a big prize.
Tools for Kids…and Grownups
Since my birthday is coming up, my mom bought me a hoe, which is a handmade tool by this one guy (Tuli Fisher of Fisher Blacksmithing) It’s used for digging holes and weeding. That way, I can weed my mom’s garden, which is probably why she bought it for me.
Kid-Sized Gardens
My favorite exhibit was the bonsai exhibit (Puget Sound Bonsai Association) where they had bonsai trees. My favorite bonsai tree was the yew tree. I like bonsai trees because they’re miniature little trees and I learned that you can customize them. If you put wires on them and bend the wires up, the branches will grow that way. They take a lot of work to maintain and grow.
I saw a bonsai tree that looked about 7 inches tall. The guy who owned it said it took him about 30 years to get it that big. I’m going to look into bonsai trees now. That way, by the time 
I’m 47, I could have a cool little bonsai tree. I think it’s a cool project that I could do for myself, and something to be proud of.
At one of the stores there was a miniature garden meant for bonsai trees (Two Green Thumbs Miniature Garden Center). They had little pots and miniature benches. It scaled down all the stuff for bonsai trees; that way, it would look neat. I’d probably get a bench and a really cool pot to go with my bonsai tree.
Overall, I think the Flower & Garden Show was one of the funnest things I have ever done.
About the columnist: Josh Christianson is a 6th grader in Snohomish. He plans to be an architect when he grows up…and hopefully, a bonsai expert, too.
Way to go, Josh! And you are a good little writer, too! ~Flora
good luck using that hoe!
Nice post Josh! I did not know about the scavenger hunt sounds like fun…how many coconuts did you find?
[...] Junior Bonsai Warrior An 11-year-old is enthralled by the Bonsai exhibits [...]
Way to go, Josh! Excellent blog post; I’m sure your mom is proud
. . . now where do I go to get one of those nifty weeding tools for MY kids?
It’s looking like a small bonsai garden with a Junior Bonsai Warrior.
My Bonsai site
A science in its own right is the watering procedures. One must strike a delicate balance between too much water, bonsai for sale which can leave the bonsai with root rot or fungi from water- logging, and under- watering, which can quickly result in dr…
It’s good to get into bonsai’s earlier on so you can actually get to see the befits of your hard work and devotion.
[...] out Flora’s guest columnist from last February – a Junior Bonsai Warrior- and his take on the bonsai exhibit at the ‘08 Northwest Flower & Garden Show. « [...]
[...] Bonsai Tree Floras Blog North West Flower Garden Show Junior Bonsai Warrior North West Flower Garden Show Blog Floras Blog North West Flower Garden Show Junior Bonsai Warrior North West Flower Garden [...]
[...] Junior Bonsai Warrior – our most popular post–ever–written by a 12-year-old! [...]
[...] My 12-year-old son guest-wrote the blog’s all-time most-popular post, Junior Bonsai Warrior, which has garnered over 5,000 page views so [...]
Planning Garden Water Features
Serene garden water feature
The first thing you need to do when building garden water features is to do some planning. Decide what you want out of your water feature and what your budget will be.
This might be the hardest part of your project, be…
How to Get Rid of Pond Algae
What is pond algae?
Pond algae is one of the biggest and ickiest problems you can face in your backyard pond. The microscopic plant life loves to live in stagnant water and oftentimes is what gives still ponds that slimy, green, slick coating. There ar…