About Herons Bonsai 
Britains premier bonsai Nursery

Herons Bonsai, founded by Dawn and Peter Chan in 1986, is Britain's premier Bonsai nursery. On its extensive seven and a half acre landscaped site you can relax and enjoy all aspects of this fascinating hobby. It is literally a Bonsai heaven for anyone interested in the pastime. The sheer scale of the site and the range and selection of trees makes Herons a 'must visit' venue for both Bonsai tree enthusiasts and gardeners alike. It isn't surprising why we continue to be Britain's Number 1 Bonsai centre! You only have to look at this web site to see what we have to offer, and when you visit us - you will know why we are still simply THE best in the UK. 

Ariel views of the Nursery







A view of the pond in the Japanese garden area.



The Herons Centre is a beautiful and tranquil place to hold events such as Yoga, Meditation, Thai Chi and Other Workshops. 




 

Gardens around the nursery in Spring. We are specialist Acer or Maple growers, so we have thousands of Acers on site for you to choose from.

A view of some of our Acers/Maples in early Spring

Herons is more than just a nursery or bonsai shop - it was founded by bonsai enthusiasts for bonsai enthusiasts. We are more interested in sharing with you the love of bonsai than just selling you a tree or pot. In a word, bonsai is a way of life here and it shows when you visit our nursery. There is always a warm welcome awaiting you. We have visitors from all over the world who come here to view our famous bonsai trees and to meet Peter. And now that Peter has such a huge following on YouTube wth half a million subscribers and over 60 million viewers, YouTube fans from all over the world come regularly to Herons to meet Peter. ( If you are planning a visit just for that please check with our office to make sure Peter will be at the nursery first.)



Peter Chan is the doyen of bonsai in the UK and well known for his record tally of 21 Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medals, a feat no other bonsai specialist has ever achieved. Many throughout the world have been inspired to take up bonsai as a hobby after reading one or more of his nine books. His first book 'Bonsai-The Art of Growing and Keeping Miniature Trees', is still in print in eight languages. And just a few years ago, he was commissioned by the Readers Digest to write 'Bonsai Secrets' which is a world best seller and in Sept 2014, 'The Bonsai Bible' was published by Mitchell Beazley. Peter has appeared on British television since the early 1980's to talk and demonstrate bonsai. He was Chairman of the British Bonsai Association from 1980-1987; founder member of the Federation of British Bonsai Societies; honorary chairman of several bonsai societies and the bonsai collection at Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Wisley has been sponsored by Dawn and Peter since 1997. Peter was awarded The Association of British Bonsai Artists' "Most Prestigious Award" in 2004 for the 'futherance and betterment of British bonsai'. He is also on the Federation of British Bonsai Society's Roll of Honour.

Peter's bonsai journey started in 1967 when he began experimenting with ordinary trees and shrubs in his balcony garden in London. By the mid '70s bonsai had become an obsession. While still an amateur, he won his first RHS Gold Medal at his very first one man bonsai show in 1982 - again a feat no one in bonsai has ever achieved. He went on to become the Chairman of the British Bonsai Association in 1980 and by 1985 he quit his nine to five job to start Herons Bonsai Nursery which he still runs today.

Peter with HM the Queen in 1984 when he won his first Chelsea Gold Medal beating all the other bonsai professionals at that Show. Peter no longer shows at Chelsea after winning 21 Chelsea Golds in 2006, but the Herons Bonsai Collection is on permanent display at the RHS Gardens at Wisley.

Peter's professional background
A graduate from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur, Peter worked as a Chartered Electrical Engineer with the UK Electricity Supply Industry before moving to the UK Department of Energy as a senior adminstrator and speech writer. It was while writing speeches on privatisation and entrepreneurship that he was inspired to set up his own business.

In August 2015 IIT - Kharagpur confered on him their 'Distinguished Alumnus Award' along with other famous alumni such as Mr Sundar Pichai - CEO of Google in recognition of his many achievements in various fields.





Peter visit to India Dec 2022
On 24 Dec 2022 Peter was the Chief Guest and Guest of Honour at the Indian Institute of Technology's 68th Convocation when he awarded degrees and honours to over two thousand awardees. As India's flagship technological institute, this was a great honour normally accorded to dignitaries such as Presidents and Prime Ministers of the country. His visit to India and to IIT is on Peter's YouTube video channel.
Peter went on to teach and demonstrate bonsai in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Karjat on this visit.







RHS Gardens - Wisley - "HERONS BONSAI WALK"
Dawn and Peter Chan have been sponsoring the Bonsai display at Wisley since 1997. Set up originally in the Garden of the Senses, the Herons Bonsai Garden was completely remade in 2007 and most recently in February 2012, we set up the new 'Herons Bonsai Walk' in the former Monocot border. The new display was opened by Elizabeth Banks, President of the RHS, on 3 May 2012. Here is what the new Herons Bonsai Walk looks like.

Entrance to the 'Herons Bonsai Walk'​



Peter with Elizabeth Banks, President of the RHS on 3 May 2012

Guests at the Opening Ceremony enjoying the new display



Peter's YouTube Channel
Peter's latest contribution to the Worldwide bonsai community is his YouTube Channel. Started as an experiment in 2017, Peter's YouTube channel now has a mega following with over 461,000 subcribers and growing, and over 60 million views. Peter has been described as a YouTube sensation because of his massive fan base. Do have a look and you will get hooked on these videos!! You will of course learn a lot from them.
He has also been described by international educator Jed Stefannowicz as "one of the more gifted teachers I've ever seen in action, and I continue to learn from his talents as an artist, communicator and teacher regularly! "

Herons Japanese Gardens
Japanese garden construction is also part of Herons' expertise; you can see examples on the nursery and also at the RHS Gardens at Wisely which houses the Bonsai collection donated by Dawn and Peter in 1997. Many of our beautiful Japanese gardens are featured in lifestyle magazines the world over.

Peter's most recent project was the prestigious Islington Square communal garden completed in 2018. 

Peter has made many prestigious gardens over the years.


This is one he and his team made in  1999

The pond and waterfall five years later in 2004


Below is a picture of the same pond in June 2011

Islington Garden almost finished 2018









Promotional Work and Tree Hire Services

Herons' bonsai trees are hired regularly for film shoots by the famous film studios for their blockbuster movies.
They are also hired out for advertising and other publicity work.

Many top garden designers hire our trees for their displays at prestigious Flower shows such as Chelsea.
regularly borrow our trees for their gardens.

Our reputation for high quality trees has always attracted immense media interest. Many of our trees continue to appear in lifestyle magazines and other media. If you see any bonsai in films, they are almost invariably ours.