Bonsai Bench Plans & Improvements for 2024

The Bonsai Retreat is getting a massive Upgrade in 2024 and I would love you to be a part of it. I also took receipt 30 bags of Bonsai Soil this week! So join me to see what work has been done since September.

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God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier

— TIMESTAMPS —
00:00 My Bonsai Soil finally arrived!
01:10 Planning a shade spot for Bonsai.
06:18 Improvements to the Greenhouse.
08:51 My new overwintering area.
09:41 Ways to protect from wind. (Greenhouse)
13:14 Winter Insulation of the Greenhouse.
15:39 Bench Plans for 2024.
19:38 My Old Bonsai Shed.

Equipment & Acknowledgements:
I use a Panasonic Lumix DMC 330 Bridge Camera
All video production using AVC Video Editor Software
Sound equipment courtesy of: johnaronphotography.co.uk
Handmade Ceramics by: Dawn Isaac of deiceramics.com

Please be aware that all details of products used are given for your benefit only – I do not receive any financial recompense. I just think they are good value and you should know where to buy them if interested.

#bonsaiuk #greenhouse #insulation #garden #bonsai #bonsaigarden

[Music] hi yeah it’s Savor guess where I am I’m outside the Posh place the Swanky residence of Alex brunon he has done the biggest bestest thing ever organized a great big shipment of ibuku different soils pises all sorts of stuff thanks to Alex I’m going to have a pile of potting up mix for next spring but I thought what a great way to lead into my video all about the sort of yearly Renovations that have gone on in the greenhouse insulating it and the sort of garden plans and as I snuggle up to my 2.53 mm pomus lava Zite mix or whatever I think to myself I’m not only lucky for having this but guess what great news Rod proposed to Tammy so number two daughter is officially going to be wearing the white dress sometime in May next year so there’s a picture of their couple you didn’t know fire a big rock puts me to shame but anyway enough of that let’s try and do something that vely looks like Bonsai so let’s move in and find out what I was doing back in September what other plans have we actually got for the retreat well come down this way and I’ll show you obviously we’ve got the uh the greenhouse which is uh just 14t by 6ot um that’s going to be lined inside um Stone gravel and then I want to get some paving stones but that’ll be something we’ll see a little bit later the other thing I’m looking to do is this whole area here uh down the side of the greenhouse it actually gets quite a good bit of the Summer sun straight through uh and I was trying to find a solution for where I could easily put some shade cloth for the uh the more delicate trees and and I realized got this area here which in truth I very rarely walk up and down and in view of a plan I’ve got for a four-legged friend I’m also trying to find ways where I can sort of make my um bonsai trees a little less uh desirable as go fetch sticks boy fetch which should be very amusing I’m sure um but no so we’ve got this 1.5 M wide area couple of posts either the side of a fence across there and then uh I’ll put posts behind me lay down some anti-weed cloth some shingle or bark or something so this can be more of a walk area where I’ve got here the stand uh I want to continue all the way down so we can have bons eyes here so the Sun comes across this way and hits them then I’ll have the posts sort of six six foot up um nice and secure so then I can en roll shade cloth over at appropriate times of the year and hopefully that will uh that will look pretty good not that I spent the best part of a year getting all this grass section sorted out and then realize it spends most of its time covered in either Bird poo or um anything else apart from something desirable now as it stands right now this will all get covered over in in whatever r shingle or whatever so then I’ll be able to have all display benches up the side here supported by the greenhouse which will also keep the greenhouse panels in which is one of the uh usual problems and then I’ll have the uh pagola style up here for the um shade cloth here I originally put a Fen in here I’m going to open this up so you can walk all the way through uh and that will take you through to the uh one of the secondary work areas where I hope people might come down and work with me and then I’m going to bring it around here which is currently grassed so that you can walk then in through from this area into the greenhouse and again I’ll fence it off at that side then we come through here this is the front way obviously into the greenhouse still sort of a solution for the broken Greenhouse door but uh I’ll take back these uh growing beds a little bit cuz they’re just so shaded they’re useless anyway so this will all be cloth down shingle or bark or whatever so I’ve got a nice clear area to get into the greenhouse and where I am now bence this off either have a gate or fenced area so then I can basically enclose this whole area which I have all a lot of the Bonsai in uh and that may solve some of the problems I encounter or think I’ll encounter if I do have a four-legged friend four legs good two legs and for those of you who wondered in my previous life I’ve had two boxers and a border collie I tend to like big high energy dogs which do not go together well believe it or not with bonsai well I’ll continue clearing this stuff away I’ll get the ground sheet out and some blocks and then we’ll come back shall we okay so what I’ve done as you can see just laid down the uh the anti-weed material oh we bit old my bones aren’t good for this but I’ve been carrying these blocks and just using these as spaces to be honest for this I’m not so naive not to think that weeds aren’t going to grow up there but uh I just want to get this initially in place see if I can kill a lot of the lot of what’s under there anyway don’t know I don’t know how I’m going to do the benches I may do benches actually with uh with blocks looking at this and then uh what I’ll use is the uh the cuting baskets to just keep that part straight this will definitely be a really good area I think for wintering wintering stuff this year cuz I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to do the back part and then just to create that sense of the barrier little H thorns that’ll do for now so I think you can get an idea what I want to do is have that sort of fencing there and then I’ll have a bench there that’s probably how I’ll separate it so a continuation of trees along there bench down that side which also help keep the panels in all right so we’ve done the side bit I’ve cleared this out as just see the actual panels still need to be uh refurbished replaced where needed and still need to set up the insulation that I’m going to be doing but that doesn’t need to be done yet first thing we need to do is to get the weeds out of the way goodness knows what’s living in there and then I’m going to be pulling all the um all the PE gravel back then I’ll lay the um the membrane and then shovel the pig Rin back [Music] on I have every reason to believe that it was will still try and come up through through the base there cuz it’s pretty strong this stuff you want to watch anym or are you quite happy to wait until I’ve done it all cuz I have a funny feeling it take me three this will take me longer to the Japanese White Pine I think and then obviously with the membrane laid it’s just about getting a layer of Pebbles on it and then once I’ve got that nicely in then I’ll probably trim those back a little bit man maybe but uh that will at least help me reduce weeds half an hour later I’m pretty well 5 six of the way through I’ve got another two ft to doing so it’s the most difficult end where I’ve got to just take the stones onto this side and then lay the rest of it well you know it’s another one of those jobs do you know how many jobs you do where when you start that’s not what you were intending to do and you know you get to the end of the day ache like anything but you’ve done loads more more than you really thought you were going to and that is really satisfying okay well this is all done I’ll going to cut these rims down just a little bit further but all the uh all the stones have been leveled out got some nice wooden boards for me to walk in on and uh the next thing to do I will start taking these panels out and replacing them and then uh putting the tie downs in so I can actually keep them a lot better off but uh I have got a um an idea for putting a table at the far end as I’ve talked about and I have got a um a metal stand that’s going to come in here as well so that I can get more Bonsai in here but that’s brilliant that’s as far as I’m going to do right now let’s get a look at the side done a few things there now that uh have been updated oh think I’m going to get out my knees yeah i’ I’ve picked up some um Landscaping bark which only costs about £400 uh for every uh five gr but um I’ve picked up three bags and just laying it down here to be honest that’s going to be the mulch cover and as you can imagine I’ve got the cover from the Hedge on this side the greenhouse on this side which is actually going to have the bubble wrap insulation as well I’ve actually got quite a good overhang of tree that didn’t get cut down and then the uh the mulch base as well I’m really hoping that for an over wintering place this is going to give me that extra space that I need until I can get around touching I’m also going to have to build some benches but looking for the short term this is going to be absolutely ideal I think now one of the big issues with greenhous is certainly the ones that have got this um plasticky glass or this plastic um P Bey stuff is they’re constantly folding getting blown out and forever trying to find ways to keep them in including the garden rank and that’s really not very effective especially when we’ve got Cyclones and all sorts coming our way cuz we get that in England we must be up inide the side so I’m going to remove this panel and this is going to be used for something else cuz I’ve got some new ones put in there see I want to collect up all the old butterfly Clips or whatever that have constantly being blown around the garden clean this out cuz of course the other thing we do is we use putty and all that sort of stuff or rubber cement or anything thing to try and keep these things in place I’ll clean around there but I’ve got an answer well I think I’ve got an answer I’m going to try something different this year so the three different methods of keeping these panels in place um I’ve got bamboo bar going across exactly the right length that’s actually very effective but unsightly down here we’ve got the old um rubber sealant which again works but means replacement of the panels is nearly impossible and of course you’re always daming in bits of wood which again Works limit for short term but ultimately doesn’t look great in the garden so my solution this year involves a drill we all like drills on our hand punching some holes through here going to run all the way along there and then I’m going to do a similar thing there so I want to make sure is I get a nice firm fit when I put the new panels in and yes if I had the money I’d spend 6 and2 grand and get a fully glass Greenhouse but you know the pain still do fly out although that’s got to be a pretty decent wind I’ve had this up since 2015 when I put it there I put it on a a concrete blocks so it’s raised up a little bit so your my big head can actually get in there got new panels to go in but there’s the panel in place let’s get the last panel on this side on next let’s get the wire threaded all the way across okay well wire’s gone across I’m going to do the lower one and then we’re done that’s done on this side it’s been a long time since been actually see into the greenhouse with those panels and uh I’ll see how effective that is over the next week or so we’ve got some high winds coming if it’s effective then I’ll apply the same to the other side got a few panels that have broken that I need to cut some diamonds and stuff like that so that’s going to be the continuing of the refurbishment of the outside of the greenhouse and just looking at more ways of uh helping me not to lose panels and Brake panels and hopefully this will this will make a difference we’ll see so better get some insulation roll next I suppose well it’s the uh it’s the 6th of November and in 2 days time it’s going to be minus one so uh I’ve got to finish doing the greenhouse just behind me here is a box that’s got all the uh the bubble wrap which I’m going to be using for the um insulation and again this has to take priority over a number of trees that desperately need there a tunal pruning I think we’re supposed to have some sort of polar vortex or whatever that may mean exciting doesn’t it polar vortex wonder if we get any polar bears a polar bear stirs sounds Dar doesn’t it cleared the inside of the greenhouse out there’s already some of those green weeds growing they grow just beneath the rock soil it’s pain in the backside this is the insulation stuff as usual all always disappointed when stuff arrives in the post I just thought we’d get some nice normal bubble wrap insulation and uh I think this is used for waffin mints or something but anyway I’m going to wrap it around the sides here little plastic retainer clips that slip into the slots I [Music] hope [Music] don’t see the uh the securest of things I got a funny feeling he going to drop out we’ll [Music] see interesting I’m going to see how it hangs up to be honest um these ones now they’re through the double thickness probably going to be a lot better but uh yeah interesting I wonder how much mold and milu is going to build up on the inside I imagine loads it’ll be a nightmare I imagine in Spring dirty don’t even if know if I dry it out or what oh well let’s finish this off well that’s certainly well padded there will it make any difference see you next year shall we as you saw already a lot of these surfaces are pretty weak and uh and shoddy and they don’t come down this year they’re going to come down another year or two so it’s definitely time to build back better get I mean this this is a massive area two sheds I need to refurbish the roofing on the sheds I mean this thing absolutely rotten through I definitely want this area where I did the original filming I want this area to be undercover and probably a lot of work and a lot of expense that’s that’s the trouble cost to Wood these days W and that brings me to my next cheeky request because um I really have been this off cuz it’s the sheer cost of it but um it’s reached that point where I’ve got to start doing something and uh my daughter suggest that I send out an appeal he said why don’t you ask if um any of your subscribers would like to sort of go fund you not via the gofund you app but you know whether they might want to um thank you in another way and uh I know some people have done super thanks and I’m really super thankful about that but you know I thought I’ve named a few trees after people I mean we’ve got Susan’s um Wildwood and we’ve got Mark ru’s salvation although that’s not looking so great right now so I’ve named a few trees after people as a result of um their generosity and uh hey would you like a bench named after you I’m going to have to do right across here do some benches over there but there’s going to be at least five benches yeah it was my daughter who said don’t be embarrassed about asking because ultimately you’ll see the benefit see better videos and uh hopefully for those you are able to visit you’ll actually be able to see it and what I’ll do is I’ll even see if I can get uh a little carving tool and carve the your name into whichever bench it is that you’ve either part funded or completely funded but the first of the benches which will be built will be across this um I think that’ll also allow me a different background for filming so the first bench is going to be an 8ft monster that’s 1880 maybe have two benches of that length with uh a middle in there three benches definitely as I say this area these posts are still pretty good condition as is this I’ve just got to take off all the plastic stuff here that’s that’s broken now I’ve cut myself put tin on it so that means if any cats land on there I can have cats on a Hot Tin Roof in summer b boom that’s not funny you know I think I did cut myself get that defected imagine if it’s half either side means i’ only need one strut they need one post either side there to support that so that would mean I could have someone I could sit here someone could also sit on that side I think the background there thinking about filming opportunities I might add actually put a hardboard or something in on that one or something so that you can film against it’s a dark background okay so that’s another bench that’s we’ll call that bench four one there I have two coming down this side two long ones working one there for that I think is the starting point that’s a lot of wood but and then this will be pulled out and then I’ll I’ll think on what we do here I think the the main thing for this is leveling it a little bit but probably using bark as a as a a basic uh ground ground cover okay well I’ve got this also this corner area here which again is a good sort of 10×1 square um there’s room here to probably put more covered area now the shed itself is actually in pretty good Nick so if I sort the roofing out a bit of felting this will probably do me for another four five six years just paint it um inside it’s just full I’ll show you in a sec of all the Bonsai bits and pieces that I first used I very rarely use this now it’s amazing what a difference it makes with all that prec cut back now I mean we all have our sheds but got all sorts in there pots and and spiders we like spiders and a a moldy roof and then and of course loads more pots down there so um I throw it over to you um truth be told I’ll be doing this regardless I’ll just be biting into more of my um my retirement income but hey that’s what life’s for so if you want to be a part of this project if you want to have a bench named after you or if you want to be named after the the Hot Tin cat no the cat on the Hot Tin Roof or any part of that there’s at least to say four four benches definitely U maybe a shelter all depends and uh though I find it hard to ask ask if you’re enjoying what I’m doing and you want to be part of this journey with me and you want to have a bench named after you then either through PayPal or if you feel happy just going through the super thanks knowing that uh Google AdSense will take their Fair their fair share of that then please please I ask most humbly that uh you help me out and you know the best thing about it right now is it’s a blank canvas and uh all I can smell is squashed poo because I forgot just how much cats love this soft dirt and I’m literally surrounded by Acres that’s probably an exaggeration of cat poo who ordered the poo poo platter anyway thank you for watching this hopefully it’s not too long and boring all the best God bless happy Bonz [Music] cheers [Music]