"How
safe are your Bonsai?"
There
are plenty of things to keep you awake at night when you have
a half decent collection of Bonsai displayed in your back
garden. You may worry about whether you remembered to water
them, whether you should report your Tridents again this year
or whether you switched on the security light and locked the
garden gate. This latter worry is the thing that tends to
keep our minds occupied for all the wrong reasons.
The
security of your precious trees has to take an equal priority
to all the other aspects of your care regime, especially given
the many potential outlets the average Bonsai thief might
utilise. It is now not uncommon for stolen trees from your
average Deshojo to a specimen Rigida to appear at Car Boot
sales or on web based auction sites. The nature of the latter
method to "fence" Bonsai has taken on greater popularity
over the past couple of years given the apparent anonymity
that comes with virtual selling. I would say it I know but
if you are going to buy trees over the web then make sure
you do so from a trusted source such as a well known web site
or someone you have seen to be an "honest trader"
on these new auction sites.
Some
gardens have always been subjected to the attention of the
specialist thief who may even uproot a whole row of expensive
Copper Beech, to order in a night time raid. However, a much
easier target are expensive Bonsai which are already nicely
potted up and ready to be taken away with little effort or
time needed. If you couple this bizarre situation where we
leave expensive goods in the open ready to be carried away
with little or no physical security protecting the entrance
to the garden and is it any wonder you can't sleep at night!
So
there are many places for people to easily "off load"
your prized trees, they command high prices and they are easily
carried away. Time to press the panic button maybe? Well not
quite just yet as the probability of your garden being targeted
is not huge and if you take some simple precautions the odds
of becoming a victim become much much smaller.
Top
security tips:
| 1 |
Adequate
physical security is probably the best starting point
when considering the protection of your property. If you
can prevent access to the back of your house through the
installation of lockable gates or new high fences then
it will be worth the expense. |
| 2 |
Check that existing
hedges and gates and walls are in a good state of repair
and are high enough to deter a would be intruder. If they
aren't high enough then consider adding some height through
the addition of a trellis to an existing fence. |
| 3 |
Don't advertise the
fact to strangers that you are an owner of expensive Bonsai
trees. Be cautious about where you site and display your
trees such that they can't be seen from the street. |
| 4 |
Buy a loud barky dog.
OK so its a bit extreme and you wont be the most popular
person on the street but at least you should deter most
unwanted visitors. |
| 5 |
Invest in a passive
infra red motion detector security light which throws
huge amounts of light onto your garden whenever someone
wanders through the beams. |
| 6 |
Probably the most expensive
option is to install a CCTV system. This might be relevant
to you if your collection is absolutely outstanding, but
for me I would rather plough some of that investment into
a lockable gate and a new Juniper! |
| 7 |
Finally, although not
a preventative measure, ensure you record the ownership
of your trees using photographs. This will also help if
you are ever the victim of crime as you can start to prove
your claim to your insurer and the crime itself to the
police. It will also help the police to track down your
trees if you can show them what they look like. |
At
the end of the day you can take control and you can minimise
the risks that you take in having a prized collection of Bonsai.
If you are in any doubt as to what you are doing ask your
local crime prevention poice officer for advice and check
your insurance policy to see what cover you have for "goods
in the open". It is usually between £500 and £1000
which affords you even more peace of mind assuming you have
also taken some of the simple steps outlined above.
Article
written by Adrian Spencer - Living Bonsai
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