Stephen Cullum has over 35 years of bonsai experience and for many years has tutored, demonstrated and presented at clubs right along the east coast from Mackay to Hobart. He has a particular interest in the distinctive nature broadleaf bonsai aesthetics and is known for his adoption of the mantra that we should ‘make our bonsai look like trees, not our trees look like bonsai’. In 2016 he published ‘Bonsai Foundations’ to promote this message and also as an educational vehicle in support a teaching program of the same name, which he has run almost annually for 10 years Since 2014 Stephen has moved his collection firmly in the direction of Australian native species, seeing great potential in the diversity available to us and has trialed over 180 species, and presented widely promoting their use. In 2024 he published the book ‘Australian Native Bonsai’, the first new book on the use of natives in bonsai in Australia for over 40 years.