Tree Makers

A full service bonsai school, garden, and store in the Blue Mountains NSW. https://treemakers.com.au

18/05/2026

It’s been a big few weeks on the road. After working at the AABC convention in Tasmania, delivering trees and goods all over the south east coast, taking time to adventure with loved ones, and stopping in to say g’day to friends new and old, I am finally back and rested ready to get back into work at Tree Makers. No better way to ease back in than to step into our local wilderness and re-engage with the local landscape.

Pictured is a Flakey-barked Tea Tree, a common local species that often exhibits antiquity and a unique response to environmental effects in the landscape. This tree evidently has recently snapped under its own weight. Showing signs that its growth has reoriented, It is mid-process of morphing into a greater representation of age and complexity. This is such a unique moment to witness that reminds me process and resilience. We can reflect on this moment to ask how we represent age and story in the trees we work with an how this is translated to aesthetics that are of the space we make bonsai in locally wherever you are in the world. Seeing this tree I was provoked to again fall in love with the prosperous community and engaged individuals we are building in this country surrounding the craft of tree making, particularly after such an amazing recent journey surrounding the AABC convention in Hobart.

27/04/2026

An ancient River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) near the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai, NSW.

An old friend I like to visit when in these parts.

24/04/2026

A Trident Maple in full autumnal glory this week in the garden.
This is a client owned tree we have been developing for them for a number of years after a full trunk chop and structural reset.

23/04/2026

Really looking forward to being a part of this years AABC convention next weekend in Hobart Bonsai Society of Southern Tasmania

19/04/2026

Autumnal vibrancy at Tree Makers Bonsai Studio

09/04/2026

A legendary Monterey Cypress from the collection of Ian Gear in Wellington NZ, got its third working since I started on this design in 2024.

This tree has become a familiar face when I come to work in New Zealand. Having completed the initial restyling in 2024, and then doing a follow-up lighter styling in 2025, now at the end of the season in 2026 I had the pleasure to revisit this tree once again and start to refine the design.

The work today involved balancing the foliage and pruning in small amount of taper to some of the newer branches in the design. These are primarily the long rightward ‘wind directed’ branches that have length, which capture the essence of this design. I have been an admirer of Monterey cypress for a long time having seen them all my life in the countryside, particularly on the coast of Australia. It’s been a pleasure to instill this imagery into this tree and see it take a refined form with now no wire whatsoever.

I have included the profession of images from the previous 2 working in this series of photos.

08/04/2026

Find out first about our next Tree Sale by signing up to the Tree Makers mailing list.

It has been two years since our last online tree sale, and we are excited to once again offer a selection of trees available from our garden. The sale offers a diverse mixture of species, sizes, forms, and differing stages of development.

Get first access to details about the launch by signing up to the Tree Makers newsletter
https://treemakers.com.au/newsletter

07/04/2026

Another tree worked on with Scott Berridge in Wellington, New Zealand. This time a Hollywood Juniper.

This scope of work involved finding the tree within by reducing course lines and laying out the bones of the structure. Much of the remnants of removed branches were converted into deadwood, also creating a decent amount of deadwood on the trunk. This will be expanded on in coming seasons as the vascular growth increases.

Hollywood Juniper has a rather tall foliage type that does develop density on the tips, for the purpose of this working the focus was line development and so the foliage was reduced down to the strongest tips and the shortest lines to start to develop the core structure from.

This was a really enjoyable tree to construct particularly as the cascade form, and juniper as a genus, runs deep in my bonsai practice.

06/04/2026

First project of this seasons Wellington NZ trip was working with Scott Berridge and his Lodgepole pine.

This scope of work involved redesigning the tree to accentuate its unique characteristics and change its portion to feel grander.

We first found an angle that presented the trunk and the unique branch structure with the least amount of vertical or horizontal lines, which also increased the height. Stretching the trunk proportion out is a useful tactic when branches feel too heavy for the trunk thickness.
Additionally we created more secondary breaks in the foliage masses to aid in making the tree feel larger and having a better sense of scale within the design. I enjoyed the lift we created in the lower right branch which clearly is the most characteristic part of this unique and strong tree.

I really enjoyed the playful lift we created in the lower right branch which is the characterising feature of this unique old tree.

22/12/2025

The Summer Solstice is here in the Southern hemisphere ☀️

Soaking up the abundance and glamour of the season in the garden today at Tree Makers.

Address

Mount Victoria, NSW
2786

Telephone

+61429195514

Website

http://treemakers.com.au/

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