Rather than the usual flowers, vegetables and shrubs, Mrs Morton’s back yard and shed are home to more than 100 bonsai — miniature versions of usually giant mature trees.
An acknowledged international authority in bonsai, Mrs Morton has been working with bonsai trees for 54 years — and many of her trees are decades old.
She became interested in the extraordinary Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of penjing, after seeing images of bonsai in a book.
"I was fascinated, and decided that I really wanted to try it, so I found a book in Japanese and started out making my own bonsai trees from scratch," Mrs Morton said.
It was a bit rocky to start with, and some trees did not survive, but she steadily gained in knowledge and hands-on expertise.
A founding member of the Otago Bonsai Society and the Gore Bonsai Club, Mrs Morton grew to become a leading proponent of the art of bonsai in New Zealand.
In 2013, she was selected by the New Zealand Bonsai Association to demonstrate her techniques at the World Bonsai Federation Convention in Jintan, China, which she described as "an awesome experience".
At present, Mrs Morton is attending the ninth World Bonsai Convention, a virtual convention involving bonsai practitioners from all over the globe, and including lectures and panel discussions.
Through the Otago Bonsai Society and at exhibitions and events, she often advises others on training their trees into the artful, gnarled shapes of bonsai, using wires and careful clipping.
Bonsai trees come in a variety of sizes, including miniature (up to 5cm), shohin (10cm-20cm), medium (20cm-50cm), large (50cm-2 metres), and even larger.
"Bonsai requires patience — it is generally a slow and careful process.
"You need to be working on them all the time, and it can take up to 20 years to make a good bonsai."
A broad variety of trees can be made into bonsai, including larch, beech, pine, maples — all of which grow well in Dunedin’s cooler climate.
Mr Morton’s favourites are New Zealand natives, maples, pines, cedars, and pretty flowering crab apples, and she plans to exhibit some of these alongside bonsai from fellow members of the Otago Bonsai Society from this weekend.
The Otago Bonsai Society Bonsai Exhibition will be held from October 15 to 24 at Dunedin Community Gallery, Princes St, and will be open to the public from 10am-5pm daily.
Usually held every two years, the exhibition had been delayedby the Covid-19 pandemic, and society members were eager to raise awareness of bonsai and encourage new members to join the society, Mrs Morton said.
A judge will come from Invercargill to judge the dozens of entries in the show, and there will be bonsai trees for sale.
"Everyone is keen to come together, display our bonsai trees, and share our passion for bonsai with the public," Mrs Morton said.
