Every entry, most recent first
Tree diary
Written up on the balcony or just after, while the soil is still under the fingernails. The first entry kept here is from 23 February 2025; the notes from the first few years went on seed packets and plant labels, and most of them did not survive.
2026
- BalconyWritten in summer
A year of native bonsai on a narrow balcony in south-west London
Growing hawthorn, maple, blackthorn and hornbeam on a third-floor balcony: sun, wind off the river, summer watering, winter frost and the neighbours.
16 Aug 2026 · looked at again 13 Sept 2026 · 8 minute read
2025
- WiringWritten in winter
Wiring blackthorn and hornbeam without leaving scars in the bark
Notes from several winters of wiring native trees: wire thickness and angle, the thin bark on hornbeam, brittle blackthorn, and when the wire comes off.
7 Dec 2025 · looked at again 19 Apr 2026 · 8 minute read
- RepottingWritten in spring
Repotting week on the balcony: field maple, hornbeam and the swelling bud
When and how I repot native bonsai on a small London balcony: reading the buds rather than the calendar, root pruning, soil, and the fortnight afterwards.
6 Apr 2025 · looked at again 24 Aug 2025 · 7 minute read
- CollectingWritten in winter
Lifting a hawthorn from a friend's hedge, and doing it lawfully
How I collected three old hawthorns from a garden hedge due for removal: asking first, choosing the time of year, digging, and the long first season.
23 Feb 2025 · looked at again 8 Jun 2025 · 8 minute read
When a tree does something that contradicts an old entry, the entry is changed and the second date moves. What gets changed and why is set out under keeping this diary honest.