SPRING SERIES, MEET A LOCAL
Batemans Bay's Maureen Daniels is a proud parent, grandparent, and also proud plant parent to 68 bonsai trees.
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For Mrs Daniels, a garden space is where memories are made. With her children and grandchildren, "good times were spent outdoors".
Being in the garden was also a way for Mrs Daniels to feel connected to loved ones who have passed away.
Two years ago, Mrs Daniels lost her youngest daughter before her grandson died three months later. She often reminisces the moment her daughter danced around the backyard holding ribbons with her grandchildren.
"It was pretty special," she said.
Mrs Daniels grew up in a narrow terrace house in Sydney with no running water and a dunny outside. She would admire the size and colour of her mother's dahlias.
"As a little girl, I remember how beautiful they were," she said.
Mrs Daniels said there was no garden, however, some neighbours had pocket lawns which they cut with scissors.
When Mrs Daniels started her own family, she moved to "dodge city" in commission housing at Green Valley.
Mrs Daniels started her first garden when she she moved into commission housing in Green Valley Sydney's "dodge city", she called it.
"When we moved there my three year old said 'can we play in the park?' - she thought the backyard was a park," Mrs Daniels laughed.
"She'd never seen green grass like that in a big back yard."
The first thing Mrs Daniels did was plant roses, then more bits and pieces to create a paradise for her children. Her five kids enjoyed the garden she developed over 18 years.
Her interest in bonsai trees began when her first husband left. She needed something to keep herself busy.
"I saw a sign for a TAFE course - six weeks learning how to do bonsais," she said.
Now, 35-years later, she has created hundreds of bonsai trees with the help of her now-husband Martin.
When out and about, Mrs Daniels would catch herself gazing at trees and appreciating different tree trunks.
"I love taking photos of trees with an unusual trunk, and think 'oh I would like a bonsai like that'," she said.
Mrs Daniels puts a lot of concentration and care into her bonsai trees and loves watching them grow.
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"You can sit and do it and make something out of nothing - I love it," she said.
"They're also compact (when I had four) but I have 68 now," she laughed.
Mrs Daniels downsized from more than 100 trees before and was considering downsizing again: "They're too heavy; I can't re-pot them on my own anymore."
Some family members will be lucky recipients but will have to look after them, says Maureen. She said other bonsai trees would likely be sold to the right owners - "not someone who would neglect it".
Owning a bonsai comes with a lot of gratification, she says.
She was most proud of a Scots Pine she once owned. She nurtured it as it grew through an ironstone rock and was now more than 120-years old.
"I bought it for $80 then sold it for $600, because I didn't know what to do with it anymore,"she said.
"The pot was enormous and it took three people to carry it."
The new owner keeps in touch with Mrs Daniels via Facebook, sending photos when he can.
"He says it's his favourite," Mrs Daniels said.
"It's amazing."
She said it would be worth about $10,000 today. She said the bonsai would soon feature at the National Arboretum in Canberra with her name mentioned on its plaque.
"It makes me feel absolutely out of this world," she said.
"The garden club wants to go and see it and are always asking when, but he wont take it to the arboretum until he is satisfied it is in the right condition. He is saying it could be another year or two."
For people looking at creating their own bonsai, Mrs Daniels said Junipers were one of the easiest to train with wires: "Anyone can do it."
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