My first ever Bonsai Tree was given to me for my birthday by my girlfriend. We had recently returned from vacation in China where we had both fallen in love with these amazing specimens. The plant was a Japanese White pine. The trunk was about 14 inches high and was twisted with about ten little branches.

It was quite expensive. With it came very specific instructions about feeding and care. Watering was apparently very important and the instructions were very clear that the tree should never be allowed to dry out. Also it was suggested that rather than use tap water, rainwater should be used.

I set up a small rainbut in the garden and used the water from that. In terms of feeding the guidelines suggested that any standard plant feed or fertiliser could be used, but we also saw that specific Bonsai fertilisers were available for not too much money so we bought a bottle of that and followed the instructions carefully. Although theoretically the tree could have been kept outdoors, we kept ours on the kitchen windowsill which is a nice sunny position. During really hot weather we moved it to a cooler location. It certainly thrived with all the tender loving care we devoted to it. After a while it started to grow just a little untidy, so we decided that it was time for a prune. We bought a Bonsai Care Kit which included a set of Bonsai pruning sheers and a DVD with detailed information on pruning procedures.

It was quite traumatic carrying it out, more like a surgical operation than simply pruning a plant. We initially thought we had overdone it. It looked like a Bonsai plant after a cheap haircut, but after a month or so new growth was apparent. It seemed to us that never before had a plant received so much attention. Every day we tended to it, checked the moisture levels in the soil, peered over any new growth, agonized over any browning of foliage or dropping of leaves.

That summer we were set to go on an extended vacation in Europe for about six weeks. Of course we could not leave our Bonsai to fend for itself, so I gave it to my brother to look after. I carefully explained to him that he need do no more than make sure that it did not run out of water. We had a wonderful holiday and on our return my brother picked us up from the airport. He was strangely silent all the way home. Then he told us the bad news.

The Bonsai was dead. Yes, he had made sure that the tree did not run out of water, but the way he achieved this was to fill the pot with water to overflowing every day. The plant roots could not breathe and he had effectively drowned the poor plant. I have another Bonsai tree now. I know what I will not be doing with it on my next vacation.