tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39050772277125917812024-03-14T08:34:17.622+00:00BritBonsaiBlog, what else?This is not a democracy, this is MY blog.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-88605055730700372172011-06-15T18:52:00.003+01:002011-06-16T18:38:03.979+01:00To Sphagnum or not to Sphagnum?That is a rhetorical question, for in no way do I wish to emulate the Bard. (Well, only a little :o)<br />
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Nor do I wish to make this a 'how-to' post. That was never the purpose of this blog. Loads of other sites on the interwebs for that, some with people advocating their way or no way. And they probably do it with a lot more brio and conviction than I ever will. <br />
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Once in a while, though, I will answer a question or tell you what we do and why. What you do with that information is all up to you.<br />
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This one is a result of a remark a friend made, when TOH said we top-dress our newly re-potted trees with chopped sphagnum moss. This protects the top layer from drying out, since this is the layer where the feeding roots tend to be most active. The contention is that, this would encourage the roots to grow into the sphagnum (i.e. up towards the surface) rather than down into the soil (i.e. towards the bottom of the pot). <br />
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The only time we've ever had the experience of roots growing towards the top of the soil is when we used to lay down the large cakes of rapeseed fertiliser. This acted like some sort of root magnet but we have long since gone for other forms of fertiliser, since the decomposing rapeseed cakes are a blackbird magnet as well as a root magnet. The blackbirds used to chuck the rapeseed cakes off the bonsai and go for the grubs that would inevitably come with the decomposition factor.<br />
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So, going back to the chopped sphagnum layer. What we do is blitz the stuff in a food processor, so that it comes out in relatively fine flakes. We first started out by grating it over a fine-meshed metal sieve, but ditched that for a more high-tech method. 'Cos I'm all about the user friendliness, y'know... :D<br />
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A thick-ish layer (about 5 - 8 mm) of this finely-chopped sphagnum is laid over our top dressing of fine Akadama, then tamped down and misted well so that the whole lot doesn't go flying off at the initial watering. The newly re-potted bonsai is then given a VERY thorough drenching, then left alone until the layer of sphagnum starts to show signs of drying out. Then it gets drenched again, then only re-watered until the sphagnum does its show-and-tell thing again. And so on ad infinitum for the rest of the life of the bonsai (or until real live moss starts growing over the existing sphagnum layer). Which is basically the same way we water every potted (or not) thing in the garden - accent plants, kusamono, et al.<br />
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To illustrate the sphagnum business, this is a 7-lobed Japanese maple (previously featured in <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/garden-wars-grapes-vs-bonsai.html">this post</a>) that was re-potted at the tail end of this Winter. The top dressing of sphagnum moss is lighter in colour before watering, thus making it easy to identify which trees are in need of a drink:<br />
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And after watering (check out the water mark on the bark of the tree), it goes a darker colour (and so does the Akadama; click to enlarge the photo). The moss also clumps together when it's wet:<br />
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Before watering, the top layer of akadama just beneath the sphagnum is only very slightly damp while the lower layers of soil deep beneath will still retain more moisture; hence the feeding roots will naturally find their way towards this source of water. Another person I know used to call this 'making the roots work'.<br />
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The sphagnum moss layer prevents erosion of the top soil layer, particularly for people like me who use a watering hose. Here is where we haven't bothered to replenish the sphagnum dressing on this exposed-root Trident Maple, which of course is not the most energised of bunnies at the moment:<br />
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I suppose, if I were less careful with the watering and kept the soil evenly damp all the time, the roots of our bonsai would probably work their way to the top layer of sphagnum moss. I would probably also have lost lots of trees by now. Still, we have been using this top-dressing method for the past 10 years at least, so there must be some merit to our madness.<br />
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Some people say the moss should be taken off after a time - I've never bothered as the birds tend to do that for me, either through boredom, foraging, nest-building or just the desire to cheese me off. If anything, we wind up having to renew the moss layer after a few months as it gets eroded by watering and bird activity. And it is fairly easy to tell if moss has started growing due to over-watering; it has this sort of manky look to it, plus the surface would always be wet to the touch anyway.<br />
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A word about the sphagnum-blitzing business, though: it really does tend to get blown away by the slightest breeze once it's finely chopped. And watering - either with a hose or by dunking - is another quick way to lose the lot when it's freshly laid. Hence our utter reliance on a good nozzle that has a 'mist' feature. Never say you haven't been warned...<br />
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BTW, did anyone notice the gratuitous pun embedded discreetly up there? Energised? Bunnies? Yes? Yes?BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-53507163915099812952011-06-12T23:06:00.001+01:002011-06-13T00:01:33.355+01:00Now WTF was that about?Well Blogger, you've locked me out of here for over a month, but I'm too relieved to be back in - and too knackered from the almost continual frustration - to even get worked up about it.<br />
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'Cos I has pics! And had nowhere to post them while Blogger was doing its nut. Other than Twitpic, that is.<br />
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So there. Don't blame me for the hiatus this time. Wasn't my idea, folks.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-19294622796610649292011-05-07T18:33:00.004+01:002011-05-08T00:03:51.353+01:00A Smattering of AccentsThese past couple of weeks have been so hot - and so dry - that I positively welcomed last night's deluge. And since today isn't really that much cooler, I look back with a bit of nostalgia to the days when it actually was too damn cold... yep, there's no pleasing some people :D<br />
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Despite the uncommonly hard winter we had - which BTW makes 2 years in a row - everything in the garden came out in a rush last spring. Or at least, everything that was going to come out, came out early. Anything else that didn't, was not going to cooperate for the rest of its natural life. <br />
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Among the precocious performers this year were a magenta-coloured Hepatica (seriously, magenta), Lily of the Valley that flowered weeks earlier than they should have, a Trident Maple that sulked after the hard winter of 2009 but didn't get any winter protection last year either, and a lot of Accent Plants that we didn't think would survive wearing a foot of snow on their heads for nearly 3 weeks. And the reality is that getting the garden geared up to face a similar hard winter will mean several weeks' worth of prep work. Actually we have lost more trees from drying out while we were on holiday in the summer than we have from a hard winter. And we have lost more bonsai pots to cats and birds going on the rampage rather than the ravages of the cold. In point of fact, our broken Bonsai & Accent Pot score for this year is Birds = 5, Frost = 0.<br />
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So here was one of our earliest flowering Accents this Spring - a blue Soldanella (possibly carpatica) from Poland which we have had since 2007.<br />
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This one self-seeds relatively well and we have also broken up the parent plant several times over. Being an Alpine, it may not be the easiest thing to keep alive in the wet winters of the UK. This guy has been in the same (Japanese) pot since 2008 and is planted in neat Akadama. It's probably also due a re-pot sometime, but at the moment it's still taking in water quite easily. It lives on the shelving right by an exterior wall, and this is all the winter protection it has ever had. I still check the Accent Plants almost every day in the Winter, but watering is done only when absolutely needful.<br />
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This second one started out as a planting of yellow Iris - possibly reticulata - in a 'dragon's egg' pot that Walsall used to make a long, long time ago. (David Jones has since stopped making them and we only have three.) I created the planting about 3 years ago and whatever was the companion plant to the Irises has since died; the Irises themselves have done absolutely bugger all, but 2 years ago, this Epimedium self-seeded itself into the mix. This is the first year it has flowered. The first picture shows the flower spike just coming out in February:<br />
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And these are the fully open Epimedium flower spikes, with the Iris leaves untidily lying around after having done bugger-all again this year. The Accent Plant in the background is a clump of Hakonechloa, also in a Walsall pot.<br />
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And I leave you with this image of the earliest Accent to flower this year - something like late January; a Buttercup with a posh name: Ranunculus ficaria 'Coppernub' in a teacup-style pot by Brian Albright.<br />
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We have had this guy for a while now, you can see what it looked like in the Spring of 2009 in <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/buttercup_27.html">this post</a>. <br />
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</div>BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-75155144984022425082011-04-30T01:43:00.005+01:002011-04-30T11:34:21.803+01:00Meon Springs - an Alternative to a Royal WeddingNot being wedding-y type people (although we do wish well to every couple that ties the knot) and certainly not street party-type people either, TOH and I decided to spend the day fishing at Meon Springs in Hampshire. Well, one half of this couple went fishing, and the other half chilled out with unlimited mugs of coffee and a laptop. Up to you to decide which one was which :o)<br />
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But...I took pics! Oh yes, 'cos it's really lovely country over there. Meon Springs is within the South Downs National Park and is adjacent to a working dairy farm. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get up close and personal with the cows, but as them heifers have two very big, very butch boyfriends, maybe it's just as well. <br />
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Here's one of the vistas from one of the hills, as you drive up to the fishery:<br />
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And views of the fishing lakes as the afternoon draws to a close:<br />
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</div>Imagine having something that looks like this tree but in a nice 12-inch landscape pot (with possibly a bit of depth in it for the roots, as I think this is an Oak):<br />
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And my personal favourite, with just the lone angler at the end of the day (double-click on the photo to enlarge):<br />
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A big Thank You goes out to manager Keith for treating us like royalty (or was I just a royal pain in the A?). Even if you don't know one end of a rod from another, the whole area is really rather pretty and I would still encourage you to discover the villages of the Meon Valley in Hampshire.<br />
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Oh, and TOH bagged a couple of four-pounders.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-66527457551678276162011-04-21T22:39:00.003+01:002011-04-21T22:44:58.804+01:00Then and Now: Larches on a SlabThere is a plus side to blogging, I suppose. While blathering nonsense to the ether, I've also wound up with an inadvertent photographic history of the development of some of our trees. Take this European Larch group, for instance. TOH created this planting using a bit of fake slate.<br />
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This was part of a <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/sum-moar-bonsai-trees-i-haz-dem.html">blog post</a> which dates back to the summer of 2009. Almost two years later and - wonder of wonders - the roots have stabilised enough that moss has started to grow of its own accord on the surface of the planting. <br />
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Which now looks like this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ng1Jia81GZpkpb8f1LyEC2oOlTVB4A9AHeCVxm0MONmHMHefPYsTAU-0c_JdlymkMhB_cGdD4NPX5ZK_980DUU9nkQWXjbBqygNHBzpDiWKOxYqhs-kKzg78L_hISXCwaGMQ8uO0zxM/s1600/LarchSlab2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ng1Jia81GZpkpb8f1LyEC2oOlTVB4A9AHeCVxm0MONmHMHefPYsTAU-0c_JdlymkMhB_cGdD4NPX5ZK_980DUU9nkQWXjbBqygNHBzpDiWKOxYqhs-kKzg78L_hISXCwaGMQ8uO0zxM/s320/LarchSlab2011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The slab is faux slate, so actually not all that heavy (not that anyone is carrying this thing around). The soil mixture is akadama, some organics (peat substitute of some description) and Keto to bind it all together. The planting was top-dressed with some chopped sphagnum moss, but the birds made away with all of that almost immediately, and we gave up fighting a losing battle after a couple of seasons. The Larches were some not-very-expensive saplings bought from one of the Bonsai nurserymen at a show, and TOH keeps threatening to add a few younger, thinner ones to get a bit of difference in trunk size (the close similarity of the trunk diameters make the planting look boring and a bit contrived, IMO). I suppose it will happen one day, when we find the right size saplings. <br />
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The curious thing about the whole thing is that the group is just sat on top of the slab. There are no drainage or wiring holes. Initially, wire was wrapped around the whole lot to keep the planting from falling apart. Years later and the roots have knitted themselves together, moss has grown naturally and the birds have (fingers and toes crossed) ignored all that freebie nesting material. Or they have decided that our nicer-looking, more mature trees are better objects for vandalism. And gravity just keeps the whole planting sat on top of the slab. Double-click on the photo to enlarge, you will notice the Larch roots sticking out of the bottom edge of the planting, just under the moss. OK, so some of it is dead Larch needles (so what if I didn't tart up before taking the photo; bite me), but most of it is roots that have given up any attempts of encroachment. <br />
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Had we been a bit more anal about clearing out the dead needles, I suppose we would have more moss growing in the centre of the group. As it is, I'm quite happy to see that what moss we have is thriving without any assistance on our part. I will occasionally pull out the odd weed, but that is only when my conscience actually wakes up and takes notice of the world around me.<br />
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And one can only hope a big, fat pigeon doesn't decide to land on one edge of the slab. Otherwise, boy will it be in for a suprise :D<br />
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The first photograph is courtesy of our friend Stef in the Netherlands, to whom BTW I still owe an e-mail along with a few hundred other folks. Join the queue, Stef...BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-38136476247794030952011-04-20T14:45:00.001+01:002011-04-20T14:46:13.361+01:00Red Japanese Maple - in flower, no less<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXLfauLLnUXgDcSo04Cbs0siLIOitvua1ITFxi-IiXyPgYcJjq0syumR8kG1Foccn2yFoicMt0lfKpFJLN_snw_1wyf2SIZqU8KyJ3LQt2cAB-N-rbjyEKWKvYeI3Kqz7g4ADh1Sro74/s1600/RedMaple1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXLfauLLnUXgDcSo04Cbs0siLIOitvua1ITFxi-IiXyPgYcJjq0syumR8kG1Foccn2yFoicMt0lfKpFJLN_snw_1wyf2SIZqU8KyJ3LQt2cAB-N-rbjyEKWKvYeI3Kqz7g4ADh1Sro74/s320/RedMaple1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Last week ended with a Spring re-potting and pruning session with Teacher-san. Almost a whole day gratifyingly consecrated to the trees - not just those that needed root and branch work but also those that just needed their top dressing refreshed; plus some weeding, clearing out dead branches, checking benches for pests, etc. Everything in a pot got looked at, Accent Plants as well as this ornamental red Maple in a very large patio pot. <br />
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Although this would be considered a patio plant rather than a 'true' bonsai (unless you are one of those nitpicking purists so PLEASE let's not argue semantics here, OK?), the lessons learned are what are of interest. 'Nuff said.<br />
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This is the first year where this Maple has produced so much flower - you'll notice the little dangly things running all the way along the branches, right up to the very edge of the extending shoots. Teacher-san took one look and said, 'pot-bound.' Apparently when there is that much flower, particularly when it goes up to the leader shoots, then that's a sure sign that the old root pruners need to come out.<br />
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Sure does look pretty, though - a bit like an ersatz Christmas tree. And when you think all that flowering effort is all about reproducing... oh yes, an oversexed red Maple. Oh my, oh my , oh my.<br />
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Swiftly leaving that topic... in the background, visible through the Maple leaves, are rows of Accent Plants on shelving propped against a wall. Although this gives them some protection during the Winter, the last couple of years have been pretty hard and we have lost a couple of the more fragile plants. Even among the plants we keep in the cold greenhouse, we've lost some Shohin bonsai and Accent Plants. This coming on after a holiday taken during a very hot May in 2010, where a lot of the smaller trees had dried out. Lesson learned: when you have someone come to water your trees, make sure they REALLY REALLY understand what it is to water bonsai properly. *sniff, sniff*BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-64377656765521915072011-04-20T11:27:00.000+01:002011-04-20T11:27:36.141+01:00The Return of the Prodigal BloggerUh, that would be sort of me, I guess. But more disappearing than prodigal, really.<br />
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So yes - another hiatus come and gone. My excuse is that I was busy learning a trade. Seriously. <br />
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But, in the background, I took loads of pics - stuff done over the summer last year, a visit to a Yamadori collector's place in the Alps, a couple of shows... the trouble will be remembering what I did so long ago, and finding the photos in my archives. Especially as I have officially defected from the Sony Ericsson camp and am now iPhoning my way around the planet. Sort of. Am I happy with the change? Sort of. I could wish for better Alarm Clock apps (being one of those people who want to be able to set a snooze for 04 mins & 26 secs for example. Don't ask me why I want that level of exactitude - I just do). And I am still on the hunt for a good app that will let me download my Lotus Notes diary onto my phone. I did get me a business card making app that I plan to play with sometime soon (which means less time spent on blogging, but that's the way it goes).<br />
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So, going back to the issue of prodigality. Lots and lots of pics. Would that equate to lots and lots of posts? Guess I'll have to make lots and lots of time...BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-83261419962151103232010-04-25T11:00:00.004+01:002010-04-25T11:23:46.424+01:00WIPs: Pseudocydonia and a MalusWell... if you could see them, these are a couple of trees that TOH has been working on for years. Both of them sit side by side in front of our patio doors and are protected somewhat from the worst of the weather. Not that we think they particularly need the protection. It's more a case of finding enough space to fit them, as they both have quite a spread when they are in leaf (and flower, as we just found out). As it is, the trees don't look like much but their flowers do, so that's what you're getting.<br />
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The Pseudocydonia sinensis has been a Work In Progress for at least 10 years and last spring was only the second time it was re-potted since we've had it. The first time, it was planted into neat akadama, I think this time some black (Fuji) grit was added into the mix. It must have liked the root intervention work because it's never flowered so profusely before. Either that or it was thinking of flowering big time this year anyway and the root work just shocked it into doing something. Either way there are about 15 flower buds in various stages of opening. This picture was taken a week ago and the warm weather has caused it to move on a bit since then.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpRCtMI2LUx3ChnIzsha6NjBd28Ej-gTgY5lz5v63IsVm-K-_Hg-BCH5lp13ed-GR0vI5ZHsOm4hMKfGfxkyO7kSuWUI5WwAQWQcxw4PAvk2-WFKYh38d0G8cPUw8S9UFrYybnUEdlnE/s1600/Chinese+quince+flowers1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpRCtMI2LUx3ChnIzsha6NjBd28Ej-gTgY5lz5v63IsVm-K-_Hg-BCH5lp13ed-GR0vI5ZHsOm4hMKfGfxkyO7kSuWUI5WwAQWQcxw4PAvk2-WFKYh38d0G8cPUw8S9UFrYybnUEdlnE/s320/Chinese+quince+flowers1.JPG" /></a></div>It's actually a rather large tree (nearly 3 ft / 91 cm) from the base of the pot so you can understand why I didn't lift it out of its space to take the photo. When the branch work is looking better (which could take years so don't hold your breath) I probably will, as there is an interesting hollowed-out feature in the trunk. TOH discovered that when it was first repotted about 10 years ago, and finding tons of rotted trunk was not the best surprise at the time. We don't know much about the habits of Chinese Quince and this guy has sort of been our guinea pig for the species. <br />
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I can't say Pseudocydonia is the Speedy Gonzales of flowering trees but it does seem to be a fairly forgiving tree in terms of neglect (i.e. tough as old boots). The flowers take weeks to open, so you do get a fairly long display season. Getting good ramification is still a bit of a challenge for us, so I can only imagine how long it's taken for the guys who get to show off their Chinese Quinces at the Kokofu-ten, for example.<br />
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This Malus has been with us for about seven or eight years. It's possibly a halliana or something similar and is also what I would call a butt-ugly tree at the moment, so it could be a WIP for a looooonnng time. You can see the Chinese Quince's bright blue pot just behind it, and the legs of a couple of chairs as well, through the patio doors :D<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYX0xUSHOuBXfBM4A7eUG730Qvy1JHuwBuxpqjqniDhJ3ss5LsH0VjWWUfagS0FMNTxK1V6Y4xEwGqVe-0NjXIWOISrLwmOTHnQIQ3f9qCVCVS98IXTFBvSpTYg9ce_Md1bRZQPKlZC0/s1600/Pink+crab1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYX0xUSHOuBXfBM4A7eUG730Qvy1JHuwBuxpqjqniDhJ3ss5LsH0VjWWUfagS0FMNTxK1V6Y4xEwGqVe-0NjXIWOISrLwmOTHnQIQ3f9qCVCVS98IXTFBvSpTYg9ce_Md1bRZQPKlZC0/s320/Pink+crab1.JPG" /></a></div>As usual, we've lost the label so positive ID is a bit of a challenge. Similar to its neighbour, this is the first year since we've had it that it's flowered as heavily and the flowers are rather pretty (which is why we got the tree in the first place) and a slightly stronger pink than the photo would suggest. If only I could focus my phone properly.<br />
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I don't recall ever re-potting this tree, and it is in a rather boring unglazed dark brown pot which will get changed at the first opportunity as far as I'm concerned. Our focus for the past two years has been to get it as healthy as we possibly could, so I've been more cautious with the watering and it also got fed heavily (like way heavy) last year.<br />
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Apparently the flowers are scented as well, so I guess I can't focus my nose either. Hurrr.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-28099407276467400282010-04-18T10:29:00.003+01:002010-04-18T20:35:11.684+01:00Small Bonsai, Small Work?TOH and I were recently talking about the amount of maintenance needed for shohin and mame bonsai, and this particular case came to mind as being a good illustration. <br />
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This is one of our shohin Cotoneasters that has quite a history. It started its bonsai life as a cutting, given to us by a former club member around 1998. TOH put it into a shallow training pot in akadama and then... bear in mind that we were just starting to seriously learn about growing trees in pots back then.... horror. The roots had somehow rotted out and the whole thing fell out of its pot, practically rootless. Emergency situation: TOH wrapped up the whole thing - plant, pot and soil - in a clear plastic bag, stuck it in the greenhouse and left it there to recover. It was a much smaller plant then, the trunk measuring about 3 - 4 inches in length (8 - 10 cm) and already trained as a semi-cascade but sort of in a straight line rather than with the downward arc that you'll see in these photos.<br />
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Evidently the plant recovered, our watering skills improved and the Cotoneaster has even been deemed worthy of living in this Japanese pot with a vaguely celadon-ish colour and a lovely crackle glaze. This is one of the earliest trees I practised my wiring on, which is how the downward trunk arc was induced.<br />
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But this is one bonsai that still needs a skillful hand with the watering as it is prone to the annoying condition that I call frickenmossalloverthefrickentrunkandbranches-itis. And it is a right bugger to de-moss the trunk, believe you me. And conversely, it can be easy to underwater this one as well, given the shape of its pot. <br />
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For some reason or other we've not really paid a lot of attention to this guy's pruning recently. He's not gone out on show for about 2 years now, so I'd say the last time he was re-potted was at least either 3 or 4 years ago. Water still drains freely so he'll just have to let us know sooner or later if his roots are in need of a soil and refresh jobbie.<br />
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So anyway, here is said shohin before its first spring clean, note the moss growing on the trunk and rear branches. I think we also missed summer and autumn pruning last year, which is why the branches are rather overlong. The one good thing is the pot is a doddle to spruce up.<br />
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These photos were taken about 3 weeks ago; the new leaves had only just started showing themselves so I'd not pruned as heavily as I would've liked, erring on the side of caution. I did thin out quite a few branches and had shortened the rear considerably. The moss was removed with a dry single-tuft toothbrush, which I get from a periodontist (and is also available online). Here we are about three-quarters through the moss-removal + pruning process, the birds-eye view giving a better look at the branch structure:<br />
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We are still going to have to work on improving branch lines and acquiring tertiary branch structure. Hopefully the long branches can be shortened even further by this autumn. And I will have to get rid of the old leaves at some point. I'll either be lazy and wait for them to fall off, or I give it a couple of days and see if I'm feeling industrious. Hmmm....<br />
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Now I may have implied that this shohin is larger than when it came to us, and indeed today it stands about 6 in / 15 cm high from the feet of the pot. But getting a toothbrush, much less a finger between branches is still not a job for the fainthearted, as sometimes the gap between branches is practically millimetric. And it requires a relatively steady, un-rushed hand to remove the moss without damaging any new shoots. No shoot casualties when this was done, I'm happy to report. <br />
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So despite being a small-ish shohin, the little bugger still took over an hour to prune and clean up:<br />
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Again with the ubiquitous moss thimble accent plant to give an idea of scale. The sticky-out branch on the upper left will go once I'm sure there are more shoots that have backbudded behind it. I tend to leave a minimum of 3 shoots (not leaves) when doing spring pruning. <br />
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At some of the shows in the past, people have judged this tree in the mame category, but really TOH and I think of it as a shohin. I suppose it is smaller than a lot of the shohin that go on display, but it is still way larger than the stuff we grow and consider as mame in our heads. (Please let's not get into the sizing debate here since that is just an old, boring story as far as I'm concerned.)<br />
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Because the point I'm trying to get across is that, for all that they are small trees, shohin and mame do require a lot of attention to detail. The upside of their small size is that they are easier to lift, carry and display. They take up less room in the garden. On the other hand, they are a bugger to transport over long distances unless you are kitted out properly. Losing (or having to retouch) your top-dressing can be a nightmare. Cleaning limescale off the smaller pots is not a fun job, particularly when you have a lot of them to display. Then there is the daily maintenance - keeping them alive and watered properly throughout the year does require a keen eye. Over the 10 years or so that we've been growing shohin and mame, we've developed a rhythm and a system that seem to have worked for our lifestyle and growing environment but that has also meant a lot of trial and error. Possibly more of the latter. <br />
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Our bonsai are checked twice a day in the summer; on really hot days I will arrange to work from home so I can water thrice in a day if necessary. Most of them are in pure akadama, except for some of the fusspots that like a bit of organic matter thrown in - big trees or small. The shohin, mame and thimble pots are placed in the shadier parts of the garden or greenhouse but on the other hand, I don't run out there to check on them specifically during the day. The day job has to come first, unfortunately.<br />
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TOH started growing tiny trees after seeing one of Gill Taylor-Duxbury's displays in the late Nineties, and took it on sort of as a challenge rather than as a desire for respite from bigger bonsai. I sort of picked it up by default. But if ease of life is the primary moving factor, I'm not convinced that specialising in very small trees is the way to go. My choice would be the medium-sized trees as the simpler compromise.<br />
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So. Fast forward to yesterday. After a bit of warm weather, this is what the cotoneaster looks like after another clean-up. It's still hanging on to a lot of last year's old leaves, but it really is too much of a pain to remove them all as there isn't a lot of space between branches to get cutters in there.<br />
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Now I don't hold any of our trees up as shining examples of bonsai perfection. As a matter of fact I showed these Cotoneaster photos to TOH, whose first words then were, 'Still got to work on that branch structure, but we'll get there....'BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-15210232067224678272010-04-13T20:23:00.003+01:002010-04-18T20:40:21.941+01:00Moar Pleiones? O yez, moar!Pleiones have started becoming popular among the aficionados of accent plants in recent years, and several members of our local club have started growing and showing them in bonsai pots. When we were members of an Orchid Society over 10 years ago, I got the impression that Pleiones aren't as popular as the epiphytes (or the equally showy Cymbidiums), but perhaps that has changed over the years as well.<br />
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For some reason, <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/pleione-tongariro.html">last year's Pleione tongariro post</a> is one of the most visited on this site, but so far the lazy bugger still hasn't fully come out of bud. Saving grace is that this year I've managed to lay slug protection down before he got munched. Fingers crossed. So this spring, we get piccies of other Pleiones. These two varieties were purchased last year but we had to wait until this spring to get them into these pots by John Pitt. <br />
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This pink-flowered one with the red spots on its frilly yellow lip is Pleione Shantung, although we are unsure as to the exact variety. Possibly 'Ridgeway' - but I'm no expert.<br />
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We don't know which variety this white Pleione is, unfortunately. It was also supposed to go into the green pot that the Shantung is in, but it was a tad too big. Luckily I had picked this brown one up at a recent show. Unfortunately the splashes of aqua and other shades of brown on the pot aren't visible in this photo.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKbG1r3KMqul-MMQA-_sLUFuaLnA6kHow3gRDss4wJ5K8Q7RdzvK-4G1mWEMfY2desHKYf8n__Fk_vlpBwmgzyl6maFZXQZdbC3aiFuYdkQe1QblIpCMG0PzUibqfes48G3_WSBMhI4o/s1600/Pleione+White3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKbG1r3KMqul-MMQA-_sLUFuaLnA6kHow3gRDss4wJ5K8Q7RdzvK-4G1mWEMfY2desHKYf8n__Fk_vlpBwmgzyl6maFZXQZdbC3aiFuYdkQe1QblIpCMG0PzUibqfes48G3_WSBMhI4o/s320/Pleione+White3.JPG" /></a></div><br />
TOH uses a mix of akadama, gravel and wood bark as potting compost for the Pleiones. We have one variety that lives outdoors (for no good reason other than we keep forgetting to pot it up and bring it into the greenhouse), has now completely outgrown its pot and is in no growing medium whatsoever. It's doing relatively well given its circumstances, but it comes out in leaf much later than the ones that get mollycoddled in the cold greenhouse. Maybe this year it'll hit the jackpot....BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-77187562811302520922010-04-13T01:38:00.004+01:002010-04-15T00:38:43.314+01:00Red, White & Blue... well, -ish.I have bazillions of pics floating around in my Sony Ericsson just waiting to get downloaded onto this blog, so you'll have to excuse me if the next couple of posts read a bit like a text message.<br />
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Here are some pics that I took earlier in Spring but never got around to posting on this blog.<br />
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This Japanese Quince (Chojubai) is one that we've had for several years but rarely goes out on show, simply because it's rarely been in flower at the right time. It's one that can go out on display as a shohin (it stands about 5.5 in / 14 cm high) but it can also double up as an accent plant for a larger tree. I've seen Chojubai used in Japan as a companion (or shitakusa I believe is their term) planting to great effect.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5jkWY2fux7sxFPbYq5NHQ6RMP4Msz21Kn93XCkB55Dt6luaXsDw5-2-fH0ZM-HQ7b6WsSHm4QuSJNAo-D1Zgmu4cg6QcV0U5asZaIlNxa8mT6CJXGhaiL1kW9440m9yU2Qc1c3ihVSY/s1600/Curly+Chojubai6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5jkWY2fux7sxFPbYq5NHQ6RMP4Msz21Kn93XCkB55Dt6luaXsDw5-2-fH0ZM-HQ7b6WsSHm4QuSJNAo-D1Zgmu4cg6QcV0U5asZaIlNxa8mT6CJXGhaiL1kW9440m9yU2Qc1c3ihVSY/s320/Curly+Chojubai6.JPG" /></a></div>Pot is generic Japanese, I believe. <br />
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Okay, not quite red. Sort of red-ish (hence the title).<br />
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And although most people would say this Japanese Quince is a white-flowering variety, it actually has a sort of a greenish tinge. Not sure about the pot of this one, I think it could be Northern Chinese. This one is still a WIP, and is intended to be used as a mixed accent planting rather than as a stand-alone bonsai. Again it would be in the shohin size, roughly about 8 in / 20 cm high.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyH7bj-tTry-G7Ulc_x_uyDYxj0hAp9fAPfAtMLEfOPo-ofMSFV4ZaguwfqW5GBRDzIgaSikiEuTIIn84gVXjcU_x3mE4X5AoY1xHtM5R-x9E2QFFpkcQST9kwcLiZ4hxJ-mylIWhJIwE/s1600/Chojubai+green1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyH7bj-tTry-G7Ulc_x_uyDYxj0hAp9fAPfAtMLEfOPo-ofMSFV4ZaguwfqW5GBRDzIgaSikiEuTIIn84gVXjcU_x3mE4X5AoY1xHtM5R-x9E2QFFpkcQST9kwcLiZ4hxJ-mylIWhJIwE/s320/Chojubai+green1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Here's a closer look at the white... er, green ... er, white-ish flowers. If they look yellow to you, don't blame me - I'd say it was the screen resolution! Are you saying it's my lighting? Nevah!! :D <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFhViRo6eSGQvnKkwb9TYSLnVVJbDK9hpZZX13Pyxde2Iz-dCAEYqD00GSfhYghhO9-X1ljwxX_W4914zjM-XYJ_WHNqlKT2XXIqelOcICbgyZD6I4nkTEcaZttly4Ag9Z5EG33Ic9E4/s1600/Chojubai+green3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFhViRo6eSGQvnKkwb9TYSLnVVJbDK9hpZZX13Pyxde2Iz-dCAEYqD00GSfhYghhO9-X1ljwxX_W4914zjM-XYJ_WHNqlKT2XXIqelOcICbgyZD6I4nkTEcaZttly4Ag9Z5EG33Ic9E4/s320/Chojubai+green3.JPG" /></a></div><br />
This one is a Veronica that came out of a local garden centre; it's a variety commonly used as ground cover for borders. IIRC, the pot is one that I made at our local bonsai club night; we have Reg Bolton over every year to do 2 sessions on pot making. At the first session he brings over the clay and helps us shape the pots; then he takes them home to fire. During the second session, we glaze our pots and he takes those home again to fire. Just a bit of fun, and one thing I'd highly recommend as a club activity.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcEZk27I5pMAYslFyFqsyah1XuLCpyfQO_1DdOSLSH4s9yJlwE1jlba1KBBB8XS77M2rCjkzTTZ0qanDSudz042IHTxyDUczQmujhALt3TzmkLHwl5apAZaOb80lcET3a4-nC83hHGM4/s1600/Veronica2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcEZk27I5pMAYslFyFqsyah1XuLCpyfQO_1DdOSLSH4s9yJlwE1jlba1KBBB8XS77M2rCjkzTTZ0qanDSudz042IHTxyDUczQmujhALt3TzmkLHwl5apAZaOb80lcET3a4-nC83hHGM4/s320/Veronica2.JPG" /></a></div>What is nice about Veronica is the length of the flowering season. I took this pic way before Easter and it is still in flower today.<br />
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More on the blue (although I suppose someone would qualify them as blue-violet) are these Grape Hyacinths that TOH picked up for less than a quid several years ago. They completely filled out the pot they were planted in; I think I broke these up into 5 batches. This batch is in a Bryan Albright pot. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5Z4wsupTpjOX5UQA-Leh5q4DBn7i2wVoii9yTbmdiQ2t-m10rw964qeVq7KnQqgUf2CcqohHlzjV7gaVDbJ7WIbh-NoxqsovwuIZvubHOnE8a25O-UNGG5NNpWY8DlVPlMPWojgFra4/s1600/Grape+Hyacinths3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5Z4wsupTpjOX5UQA-Leh5q4DBn7i2wVoii9yTbmdiQ2t-m10rw964qeVq7KnQqgUf2CcqohHlzjV7gaVDbJ7WIbh-NoxqsovwuIZvubHOnE8a25O-UNGG5NNpWY8DlVPlMPWojgFra4/s320/Grape+Hyacinths3.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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And another blue-ish guy is a Soldanella carpatica which we bought in Poland in 2006. This self-seeds fairly freely and we had also managed to break up the original plant into two. This is one of the offshoots.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKELMj6UZQJ8iRhvvSx6ZZm-kPn3lcQCufwT-NnwnB0MZUelMmh29VTdPsGtGEv_RSBqCSMFCdWf5Xo0bsV8u9cEru2LrtrOx_1p4km8qxZbdtfPgxq-wCsNvCS8_M4c3tCMkokANwrR8/s1600/Soldanella+blue1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKELMj6UZQJ8iRhvvSx6ZZm-kPn3lcQCufwT-NnwnB0MZUelMmh29VTdPsGtGEv_RSBqCSMFCdWf5Xo0bsV8u9cEru2LrtrOx_1p4km8qxZbdtfPgxq-wCsNvCS8_M4c3tCMkokANwrR8/s320/Soldanella+blue1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Yeah, I know. He looks purple, doesn't he? So I got it wrong. <br />
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Oh well.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-9036126278198095382010-03-22T12:23:00.008+00:002010-03-23T16:51:14.349+00:00Trees, People, Bath and Rocks: My Day at the Joy of BonsaiRather than tell a story from the beginning, let me commence sort of a third through the way and wind my way back up to the start. <br />
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The GPS (AKA 'That Biyotch' to a friend of mine) took us to Bath via the A303 which led us through some lovely scenery, particularly when we got closer to Bath. Quaint cottages, woodland scenes - all very picture book English countryside, which made the opening vista of the city with its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_Somerset">straight lines of limestone architecture</a> seem extremely regimented to me. All the creamy yellow/gold Bath stone architecture under the morning sun as you drive down the hill is impressive - but I guess it is a 'you love it or you hate it' sort of thing.<br />
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In my last post I said that catching up with people was probably going to be the priority of the day (second to getting my morning coffee, of course) but actually - despite feedback I had heard on the Saturday saying the lighting wasn't very good - I did manage to get some pics of the trees and accent plants. I could've taken more pics, but to be perfectly honest I was more caught up with gassing with the owners of the trees. Especially as some of their stuff are bonsai that I probably already have pics of in previous posts on this blog.<br />
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I first saw this Willow by Simon Temblett at the Swindon Winter Image show two years ago, and he says it's now starting to look more like how he wants it to be. Pot is also by Simon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTBbDZmHpZRzvjNYUgvwk1wCksz5emVamOt3Et9qidWGDJsJYv2HZLWiQUahN7T8rhuYrghkpVewY0eNsM8vIobPtXKyFazEuiPeTiBAX0heVMj-BzvswpuA0OeU8y7fqHuPuQi7y05g/s1600-h/Simon+Willow2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTBbDZmHpZRzvjNYUgvwk1wCksz5emVamOt3Et9qidWGDJsJYv2HZLWiQUahN7T8rhuYrghkpVewY0eNsM8vIobPtXKyFazEuiPeTiBAX0heVMj-BzvswpuA0OeU8y7fqHuPuQi7y05g/s320/Simon+Willow2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Also by Simon is this composition entitled 'Blackthorn Juggling on a Unicycle', which is almost self-explanatory. You also get a fairly good view of the branch wiring in the photo.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjSymCRz2KWqbNRsYTyBXJ-Gvo5Wxa061YxSgdRpjy61R4yZKaKXfpm0QGkrtmBIcYcPKQxnGMtzxKt8aEytWYGCVJ9yp1UyW8LUhf0DowNTto6lZLbK_BJOeRRX5HmzO0EkBm6069xQ/s1600-h/STjuggling1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjSymCRz2KWqbNRsYTyBXJ-Gvo5Wxa061YxSgdRpjy61R4yZKaKXfpm0QGkrtmBIcYcPKQxnGMtzxKt8aEytWYGCVJ9yp1UyW8LUhf0DowNTto6lZLbK_BJOeRRX5HmzO0EkBm6069xQ/s320/STjuggling1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Framed in black and floating in space is John Pitt's 'Beyond the Moonshine'; no prizes for guessing who the potter is:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNxeXGMWQdEFl_0zpMqdL_igYxrQfqA6Raa9rWx1iS8pAoEO8ZA7_z_fJMjEpoKPq-7lDbqCM7FciXnmXU5Wt0v7BccNF-bD69AjU6CHINVcvOaSVzUCNvuIn5sWNr9SJD-pHPjevWGE/s1600-h/JPmoon2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNxeXGMWQdEFl_0zpMqdL_igYxrQfqA6Raa9rWx1iS8pAoEO8ZA7_z_fJMjEpoKPq-7lDbqCM7FciXnmXU5Wt0v7BccNF-bD69AjU6CHINVcvOaSVzUCNvuIn5sWNr9SJD-pHPjevWGE/s320/JPmoon2.JPG" /></a></div>However you can get a better view of the <a href="http://tweetphoto.com/15306245">entire composition here</a>, courtesy of <a href="http://twitter.com/ExtremeWork">@ExtremeWork</a>.<br />
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This one, called 'The Lightning through the Clouds', was one that people couldn't resist touching, particularly when they were told the tree wasn't real.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zk1tam3pZ2u9ObYyhvbKVZlcKs630NNBbC_i__3rZX6lgQzSQAzq-vTzOCoG3hUWGXFr5ha-ZiP1u-teUtXYx4kdwUDh104QuYXyhFxjPTawFebFYu2nHm5oMLDPgGeweMa7yHRfgRo/s1600-h/PFinch_tree_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zk1tam3pZ2u9ObYyhvbKVZlcKs630NNBbC_i__3rZX6lgQzSQAzq-vTzOCoG3hUWGXFr5ha-ZiP1u-teUtXYx4kdwUDh104QuYXyhFxjPTawFebFYu2nHm5oMLDPgGeweMa7yHRfgRo/s320/PFinch_tree_1.JPG" /></a></div>Paul Finch (UK New Talent Contest winner and UK candidate for the 2008 EBA NTC at Vienna) modelled this on one of Kevin Willson's trees. The woody bits are out of modelling clay and the foliage is from bits of fake Christmas trees. An excellent piece of work, IMHO. And in case it isn't legible, the notice to the left says 'please do not touch the exhibits'.<br />
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We oohed and aahed over this little accent Contorted Hazel by Russ Farley. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqDFby1tTOxvyxs-YGo75xBS5wGowJZcoH6XfFOx-K3eH34ld0ijZenYEZHiXphYhoX1_VjU1uazPY_1T-qrz_SF2OBUG2jykFuhIxdydQwGj02ph8ymjbZNpRb_8YYhMCreWOYn1bbI/s1600-h/Contorted+Hazel2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqDFby1tTOxvyxs-YGo75xBS5wGowJZcoH6XfFOx-K3eH34ld0ijZenYEZHiXphYhoX1_VjU1uazPY_1T-qrz_SF2OBUG2jykFuhIxdydQwGj02ph8ymjbZNpRb_8YYhMCreWOYn1bbI/s320/Contorted+Hazel2.JPG" /></a></div>I didn't manage to get the potter's name, but if you do want to know, then you have to ask this guy here. His wife tried her best to edge out of the picture but one day there will be no escaping my Sony Ericsson... <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvOJ4lBZGi-yRVJHi8DDiauB7SmgAN5lwmcXnmaPg3cvcHk7a2iNFbaR6AReMWNH5fnTJ_HFfPFgmWvxNENL14FXQTTBCUfQk_ss7jhRm6FU3Jh7XNUzxD1k7Ppm0f9nGAXaHX0IGiCU/s1600-h/RussF.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvOJ4lBZGi-yRVJHi8DDiauB7SmgAN5lwmcXnmaPg3cvcHk7a2iNFbaR6AReMWNH5fnTJ_HFfPFgmWvxNENL14FXQTTBCUfQk_ss7jhRm6FU3Jh7XNUzxD1k7Ppm0f9nGAXaHX0IGiCU/s320/RussF.JPG" /></a></div>We have been bumping into Russ and Julie at bonsai shows here and on the Continent for over 10 years now, and I've seen their son grow up, in almost a stop action punctuated sort of way, over a series of bonsai shows. Kinda makes you feel old, after a while.<br />
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Obviously these two take bonsai extremely seriously and the one on the left is Bob Bailey whose shohin and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHBkSLkqZVnrlXkHAUJ5ief11BVBnRw_f6wXgsKb0KhDe1Bw6ttf5W6dFh3eyBsBE11PVOWn5Rtg3MdBsWDg36kikqBQtlGyKKDe1amHDDKvBhOARvOMX7lhGz0_YENW4Rc9tc4oriSU/s1600-h/BBshinpaku3.JPG">mame</a> have appeared several times on this blog.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgSu6Tty2ROUEtjJII4Ts6GHtMK2aGBjQvh5sLc68sJYYXEGr1htF9wkBiy8pfIqo0cj4CezOMlPUVdZGWTtdeLMl4bBcDOMepDQwwJ_ZFPJmvVB5lsb9Zpdbk6M_VNCk4elACtqzI_M/s1600-h/BBcheeky.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgSu6Tty2ROUEtjJII4Ts6GHtMK2aGBjQvh5sLc68sJYYXEGr1htF9wkBiy8pfIqo0cj4CezOMlPUVdZGWTtdeLMl4bBcDOMepDQwwJ_ZFPJmvVB5lsb9Zpdbk6M_VNCk4elACtqzI_M/s320/BBcheeky.JPG" /></a></div>This display of bodily assault could have been a forerunner of the Karate demonstration that afternoon. And that is really all the innuendo I am able to spread on Mr Bailey, even though I have threatened to do so several times over the past years. That said, he has taken quite a lot of stick over the colour of his shirts....<br />
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More dirt was being dished about by the Welsh lads; here we have Chris Thomas showing off his moss....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSU64OifAdJbwS4N71W2V-cf1672hXSgAHX7qOxDbtmS-nBUvSzKEGvTZTwmV5uSJVFzDcHdD71g77lAw1pfTPq9l80HkmAfLOZ5YFv46YGMlttPUZ8mPKoWcOb5t87UCyOo0R2AoaWw/s1600-h/CT+moss.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSU64OifAdJbwS4N71W2V-cf1672hXSgAHX7qOxDbtmS-nBUvSzKEGvTZTwmV5uSJVFzDcHdD71g77lAw1pfTPq9l80HkmAfLOZ5YFv46YGMlttPUZ8mPKoWcOb5t87UCyOo0R2AoaWw/s320/CT+moss.JPG" /></a></div>.... and proving he can multitask by entertaining us with a lot of <strike>smutty</strike> hilarious jokes while finishing up a group planting....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVw-IeC4cbHhJcxuFF2LaKGzzmgeAqh-Gnq_qfA9xfmZc-Sk0cX-Zur0m8zLdYbvkTbbB53Hv6ieUW7cXEyOpp8d48em-CXrjfQFhppad13V-14hCsyek_P684sCA2zWwUIIMECQ-i-mA/s1600-h/CT+demo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVw-IeC4cbHhJcxuFF2LaKGzzmgeAqh-Gnq_qfA9xfmZc-Sk0cX-Zur0m8zLdYbvkTbbB53Hv6ieUW7cXEyOpp8d48em-CXrjfQFhppad13V-14hCsyek_P684sCA2zWwUIIMECQ-i-mA/s320/CT+demo.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>.... which eventually wound up like this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rMhyphenhyphenl-jwKMDHNLYS6HOcNyynI47BQkvv6Iu1THR-xGXh3GeR-JEKmboqAGZrJzsS87GNam7YDnYwz4Lgxzi9_DymTkjqduX4e8drRTJ9cKy7AvnGH0wE9W42SR5Pcsko0dTDku3xw7Q/s1600-h/CT+larch+group1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rMhyphenhyphenl-jwKMDHNLYS6HOcNyynI47BQkvv6Iu1THR-xGXh3GeR-JEKmboqAGZrJzsS87GNam7YDnYwz4Lgxzi9_DymTkjqduX4e8drRTJ9cKy7AvnGH0wE9W42SR5Pcsko0dTDku3xw7Q/s320/CT+larch+group1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Another demo here, possibly of interest to those who want to give the root-over-rock style a go: Simon Temblett taking a tube-grown maple (to achieve the long roots) which was destined to go over the red 'pebbles' on the lower right hand side. In the background you can see the other demonstrators at work.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyYjgoSOPiHhV2ukN779WXPUiwY6z7jYm2w_OEvAo4i30TphmOBlE-5chBdC99gTAzDPXPfx_wGflkcb6PPDF4VdLBZgCYH7icd8FYxv1LCGwHjPUFwNPmrgB88tk0gAFlhyphenhyphenhTdJg3b8/s1600-h/Simon+roots1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyYjgoSOPiHhV2ukN779WXPUiwY6z7jYm2w_OEvAo4i30TphmOBlE-5chBdC99gTAzDPXPfx_wGflkcb6PPDF4VdLBZgCYH7icd8FYxv1LCGwHjPUFwNPmrgB88tk0gAFlhyphenhyphenhTdJg3b8/s320/Simon+roots1.JPG" /></a></div>I missed the rest of the demo as I went to have lunch (my next highest priority to my morning coffee). By the time I had demolished a steak and complained about its size (on the small side) to an unsympathetic Mr Bailey, this particular demo was done and Simon had gone on to doing a Tanuki, achieving the bark colour with a solution of soot and water. The finished root over rock maple is on the lower left hand side of the photo, wrapped in sphagnum moss to protect the roots. Over time this will be removed once the roots have settled.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUvMOqztBDkxr2lwdLnuM2T0dJjQBOjreZ76zu2zckeDtmxAlosJKmHwh6GKCLDcFN5p7dW99tqG2F9Z5t7h3S4tl7S3_Vj9wj7ZU0PUAOF8RHxqcieqiDVu4isSxjmAWhVcWOdRs-S8/s1600-h/Simon+Tanuki1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUvMOqztBDkxr2lwdLnuM2T0dJjQBOjreZ76zu2zckeDtmxAlosJKmHwh6GKCLDcFN5p7dW99tqG2F9Z5t7h3S4tl7S3_Vj9wj7ZU0PUAOF8RHxqcieqiDVu4isSxjmAWhVcWOdRs-S8/s320/Simon+Tanuki1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Another of the demonstrators, Serge Clemence, here doing an illustration of what will eventually be the finished image of the tree he had worked on.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrluygrwbiCunn8xvB3xK5DiXkgyaAK6sq09hyphenhyphenE80uiCrHApun0EwfCDq5Y3mabhMnbTY-m_umJuaLgSp8BJ7zoZzH1UvYI00_4lphX8xPJdj1gcdKHXWWC7FRhWeTRUrwWEHO5b16eZs/s1600-h/Serge+Clemence.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrluygrwbiCunn8xvB3xK5DiXkgyaAK6sq09hyphenhyphenE80uiCrHApun0EwfCDq5Y3mabhMnbTY-m_umJuaLgSp8BJ7zoZzH1UvYI00_4lphX8xPJdj1gcdKHXWWC7FRhWeTRUrwWEHO5b16eZs/s320/Serge+Clemence.JPG" /></a></div>We first met Serge at the EBA convention in Poland where he had displayed a large <i>yamadori</i> pine that took the best in show prize that year. That said, Serge was still immersed in plans for refining the tree into the image that he had in plan for it. We saw the tree again at another show a couple of years later and it had acquired a more mature and finished look, aside from being a healthy specimen indeed.<br />
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Moving away from the demo area, I managed to grab these pics of the Pitt-boss John (and why is it all my photos of him are blurred? Is my phone trying to tell me something?)...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJsI39J8lYIyPJHK_F-dTThyphenhyphen908zyeyLdviVKsk6a7Dkbw34qzgtHOzBDVBUJJmZQ4bxnU8YuV6DWnl39TINOhNpBz6bEY_vKVjS5e9zgH3TNFwHrScMpp0ynAFzM00X7dLkZyw8tcTA/s1600-h/JPitt1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJsI39J8lYIyPJHK_F-dTThyphenhyphen908zyeyLdviVKsk6a7Dkbw34qzgtHOzBDVBUJJmZQ4bxnU8YuV6DWnl39TINOhNpBz6bEY_vKVjS5e9zgH3TNFwHrScMpp0ynAFzM00X7dLkZyw8tcTA/s320/JPitt1.JPG" /></a></div>and his wife Linda...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypbLryLLjt3lUn8u7z-GPv4-dd2G-fiaMCw5TEjmByUAA1HAPQYm2kxde-3WvbQGhuIBzHdEsMnVSqMSa3BnqGmoO2X87iWZHOWWKs9E9KDDu4goFcTxr1lyesyvZL2FHQj08jMf6ymA/s1600-h/LindaP.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypbLryLLjt3lUn8u7z-GPv4-dd2G-fiaMCw5TEjmByUAA1HAPQYm2kxde-3WvbQGhuIBzHdEsMnVSqMSa3BnqGmoO2X87iWZHOWWKs9E9KDDu4goFcTxr1lyesyvZL2FHQj08jMf6ymA/s320/LindaP.JPG" /></a></div>... who is my partner in hilarity at her husband's expense. Only sometimes. (Like at every show we meet.) But he's a great sport. And he gets his own back :D<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>And in reverse order (as this was the first photo of the day I took), let me leave you with a minute impression of one of the biggest piles of Suiseki I have ever seen in my life:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9dJyEfe86LGMdJFP2XRhzG1lm4ux6TT1l-4Ky9sDoxxCvSjCAmqIQ5LTWpUydW7CxdT6QWXRDE1ZOHXHJxfSGjanecEj7-dcfQadaXHug2M8y4UuGh52TYXfDukD6wDkFYc0Mn01PvY/s1600-h/Stonehenge1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9dJyEfe86LGMdJFP2XRhzG1lm4ux6TT1l-4Ky9sDoxxCvSjCAmqIQ5LTWpUydW7CxdT6QWXRDE1ZOHXHJxfSGjanecEj7-dcfQadaXHug2M8y4UuGh52TYXfDukD6wDkFYc0Mn01PvY/s320/Stonehenge1.JPG" /></a></div>Them grey rocks in the middle of the field. Click on the pic to blow it up. That's right: Stonehenge as seen from the A303.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-78406418113651070622010-03-20T17:24:00.003+00:002010-03-21T00:15:21.291+00:00Spring view of another WIPWorks In Progress, we haz dem. Big time.<br />
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This root-over-rock Forsythia has been WIPping around in the garden for nearly 10 years and has never come out on exhibit, as you can clearly see why. <br />
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I believe we purchased it as a bare-rooted item, then stuck it in a generic deep, round 'export-blue' coloured pot for the longest time. Almost two years ago, it got put into this shallow oval that shows the landscape off better.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbfz7tYQM0VdzUBvvWq9l4OK7iFmCyBQorz1xg8Usjk9m6XZvjt7Lbe6yd7ARGyyf2_ZH2vEtA8QroImCIGk4DyrKCgs-1fj9OXRi9I57IUA4jFHJh1RjD8YaM-45E2vjZoZp2BTReyI/s1600-h/Forsythia1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbfz7tYQM0VdzUBvvWq9l4OK7iFmCyBQorz1xg8Usjk9m6XZvjt7Lbe6yd7ARGyyf2_ZH2vEtA8QroImCIGk4DyrKCgs-1fj9OXRi9I57IUA4jFHJh1RjD8YaM-45E2vjZoZp2BTReyI/s320/Forsythia1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
There's still a major piece of work to do on improving the branches, the crown of the tree and the appearance of the trunk. On the other hand, it's flowering profusely despite the whopping winter it went through. Or possibly because of it? We did get a mega-lot of root growth, as there's a whole load of the little buggers trying to escape the edge of the pot on the right,<br />
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As usual the birds had a field day with the moss protecting the topsoil, so we will be back to re-mossing all the trees this spring, once we get a new food processor - the last one we got for chopping moss didn't quite survive a year. I guess like everything else, you get what you pay for...<br />
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And BTW, we will be off to Joy of Bonsai at Bath tomorrow, but I cannot promise pics. Partly because my recollections of the lighting in the hall do not inspire optimism, and more because we will be meeting up with loads of friends and socialising may just have a teensy-weensy priority. Or maybe I could do only people pics instead of tree pics? Now there's a thought - I could consider starting a new career as paparazzo, armed with a camera phone.<br />
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My chances of hitting the big bucks suddenly don't seem too high. Feh.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-13158278767652268882010-03-18T00:59:00.004+00:002010-03-18T01:10:14.576+00:00Better late than... even later?Well, in the last post I did say I would take pics at our club meeting. And I did.<br />
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And I did say that I'd post said pics if the light was good to my Sony Ericsson. And it wasn't.<br />
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So rather than put out some over/under/badly-exposed shots for you to go "huh?" over, how about if I make up for it with more pics of the accent plants that are starting to come out in the garden. Some of these were my earliest <strike>guinea pigs</strike> subjects for last year's posts, so to a certain extent it is interesting (for me at the very least) to see how they've come along since then.<br />
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This is a white Hepatica nobilis which first came out in <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/white-hepatica_27.html">this post</a>. It's only started coming out into flower in the past couple of days and there are at least two more flower buds waiting in the wings. Just to show that everything is late this year, my 2009 pic dates back to late February and the flowers were much further along. This planting is due for a break-up fairly soon, as the seedlings are now in their second year (you can see them in last year's photo). <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTpe41TfRFEstEEJTtaWD-WGaXguoBN2oBRwKkLRbz7tKX-I7KLNycxa7nv1wWxFuMYj6UiCyO2yHxsddUCJrS4N9A722ZY5HPQ_7B31PxcDljSihUVFejFY9ZG2HLXeGPbh2QsYCv-I/s1600-h/Hepatica+white3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTpe41TfRFEstEEJTtaWD-WGaXguoBN2oBRwKkLRbz7tKX-I7KLNycxa7nv1wWxFuMYj6UiCyO2yHxsddUCJrS4N9A722ZY5HPQ_7B31PxcDljSihUVFejFY9ZG2HLXeGPbh2QsYCv-I/s320/Hepatica+white3.JPG" /></a></div>You get a better look at the pot's colour in this shot, though. I'm not sure if the leaves should actually be there, as they are last year's foliage and are really rather manky looking. Despite the hard winter, none of our established Hepatica (and most of the seedlings) went fully dormant; they just hung on to every last bit of greenery they could.<br />
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And only just out by a day or so is what I believe to be a Scilla (possibly siberica), although its flowers are looking a little pale so maybe it isn't what I think it is....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKX0pPQpLgrmjRC7_K7Vkkrt2T2UEQdyOLiIrA2ICoCDDosvjsV7WekKe3Mb-iBpIn3oxSjNOR-NP0R3GFl5SLmquQmzQ6PxGOFfykHv2pUOh76b49bw_N18EXaTr08ff0ay-EOWE0Dds/s1600-h/Scilla1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKX0pPQpLgrmjRC7_K7Vkkrt2T2UEQdyOLiIrA2ICoCDDosvjsV7WekKe3Mb-iBpIn3oxSjNOR-NP0R3GFl5SLmquQmzQ6PxGOFfykHv2pUOh76b49bw_N18EXaTr08ff0ay-EOWE0Dds/s320/Scilla1.JPG" /></a></div>This is in a Walsall pot, about 2.5 in / 6.5 cm high.<br />
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Last year I wasn't so sure this plant would make it - the double flowered form Hepatica transsilvanica 'Mrs Elison Spence':<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2VrHaphHDICPXLIw1OT7-YpK7TzNuAaMvZTT0vpJj1IHyvvuYQMa5azdWFUq7gV1JdjqiIsIj8VqjPbX_EiP6dqdMhg3s2N4bd6hyTzzxUjnVQgl52ZqTEmlR4SfAuc0llGX-2_4mJY/s1600-h/Hepatica+MrsESpence2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2VrHaphHDICPXLIw1OT7-YpK7TzNuAaMvZTT0vpJj1IHyvvuYQMa5azdWFUq7gV1JdjqiIsIj8VqjPbX_EiP6dqdMhg3s2N4bd6hyTzzxUjnVQgl52ZqTEmlR4SfAuc0llGX-2_4mJY/s320/Hepatica+MrsESpence2.JPG" /></a></div>It was either vine weevil or the alpine mix which didn't agree with my plant. I now try to transfer all of our alpines into an akadama mix, which seems to suit our watering style (and our garden conditions) better. For the vine weevil, we use a mix of organic (nematodes) and chemical (Provado) control. Or I feed the buggers to the birds. Either way, I'm happy to report that I have managed to save the parent plant as well. This one apparently tends to flower before the foliage appears, but I will also have to say that it hung on to its very large and not very pretty leaves all throughout the very cold winter we just had. I'm not quite sure who the potter for this one is, so let me do a bit of digging first. In the meantime, if anyone recognises the pot, do give me a shout.<br />
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This is one of my experiments at making multiple-plant groupings for a longer period of interest. This is one of the first Snowdrops (Galanthus) that has flowered for me in a pot, so I'm feeling a bit more encouraged to try different plantings. The rest of the composition looks like it will need more summer interest.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRKB49PnVkdJjFdrDX-o6Jq7BPMDFB8VRMOiIXuFLatAvCiSN5b8FKCN_dU9v1_5Z97nzTZBwyMTYK6pcM7hyphenhyphensXMeFNytyY29PgqPle_gPSKOkf3dlm-gnL11yjEYQd8SVLlF1Aimrus/s1600-h/Galanthus+Grass4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRKB49PnVkdJjFdrDX-o6Jq7BPMDFB8VRMOiIXuFLatAvCiSN5b8FKCN_dU9v1_5Z97nzTZBwyMTYK6pcM7hyphenhyphensXMeFNytyY29PgqPle_gPSKOkf3dlm-gnL11yjEYQd8SVLlF1Aimrus/s320/Galanthus+Grass4.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Oh, and before I forget - here's the blue Primula from the last post, but just two weeks along and its pompom is all out. Well, almost.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5D3DcI__V4hNA2cEzpgB1eKWnvgW16tO22ZgEBVkKvnExJbx2kVsGJ73wksNY5Q6tR0oaSpf_TyS1QlvpjPkJSfQfAJy6yldF7hB4sAdsMCWkBgRTtcyJl8ab4oN8A0kErwd1XMlHkg/s1600-h/Blue+Primula+open2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5D3DcI__V4hNA2cEzpgB1eKWnvgW16tO22ZgEBVkKvnExJbx2kVsGJ73wksNY5Q6tR0oaSpf_TyS1QlvpjPkJSfQfAJy6yldF7hB4sAdsMCWkBgRTtcyJl8ab4oN8A0kErwd1XMlHkg/s320/Blue+Primula+open2.JPG" /></a></div>BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-57239904906100906562010-03-08T18:46:00.000+00:002010-03-08T18:46:25.345+00:00It's Partayyyy Time!!! Bonsai Club night tonight...And everyone's decking out in their finest - at least the bonsai and accent plants are.<br />
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And since we've been through an unseasonably cold winter for this part of the world, everyone in the club will be mad keen to show whatever has come out of hibernation. Of course I'm no exception, duh. But being the generous and giving (<strike>showoff</strike> - errr, wait, ignore that) person that I am, I thought I'd give you guys a sneak peek of what I'm taking to the club. And if the light at the club hall is kind to my Sony Ericsson, I'll take home some more pics to show you later this evening. <br />
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Here is a shohin Chinese juniper that started its life as an informal upright at least 10 years ago. It wasn't a bad-looking tree then - as a matter of fact, when someone saw it a year after we had acquired it, he suggested we enter it into a very prestigious national show. But we had already decided it would be better off as a semi-cascade, and since then the invitation to display the tree has never again been tendered. Heh. But we still feel it was the right thing to do - if a bit drastic. Achieving the change in shape also meant a lot of wiring (I did say I had gotten a lot of practice in an earlier post), and sometimes Junipers can sulk when treated this way. Because he did get the heavy metal thing going back then. Yo.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNzW-oqWEvUME9ESEg8w8VIb6NyFS5LNAhGoKdzZQb_4GM7C2cZ7ShlCQPRhTyDMIc-e-oH7w3boP7pWrKg-syT8zxw1JjBblPmvF1WUJdBmGiGXzmr9jf2QDXSZoXWrOyyjX9FimMeA/s1600-h/Cascade+Juniper+K4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNzW-oqWEvUME9ESEg8w8VIb6NyFS5LNAhGoKdzZQb_4GM7C2cZ7ShlCQPRhTyDMIc-e-oH7w3boP7pWrKg-syT8zxw1JjBblPmvF1WUJdBmGiGXzmr9jf2QDXSZoXWrOyyjX9FimMeA/s320/Cascade+Juniper+K4.JPG" /></a></div>He was also moved into this unglazed Walsall pot, which gives Teacher-san kittens every time he checks our trees, as the cylindrical shape is one that he feels is difficult to keep watered correctly. Walsall have since stopped using this clay, so I do regret not buying every single one of these that had come out then.<br />
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Here is the detail of the rear of the tree, showing 2 jins which are the remains of rather heavy branches. Had they stayed, we would have wound up with a pronounced lump in the middle of the tree, I bet.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZFAN8hzxqPxk_WJWu-eSfA4Gbba8C4zP2pp_hZmgMR15pnbid3RcouFI77l_XRaSCytDdA9KO-_zj3TWD0Gci1cOvRMKDcQe-0wY3nYqN3eR6qnj4Ezt_LWygfraI3IQ_NZjQ-2zWg8/s1600-h/Cascade+Juniper+Kdetail3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZFAN8hzxqPxk_WJWu-eSfA4Gbba8C4zP2pp_hZmgMR15pnbid3RcouFI77l_XRaSCytDdA9KO-_zj3TWD0Gci1cOvRMKDcQe-0wY3nYqN3eR6qnj4Ezt_LWygfraI3IQ_NZjQ-2zWg8/s320/Cascade+Juniper+Kdetail3.JPG" /></a></div>This is one of our larger shohins, measuring 8 in / 20 cm from the feet of the pot. I don't think it has ever gone out on public display - as it has taken forever for the juvenile foliage to sort itself out - but we have taken it out to the club a couple of times. Club nights are more like family to us, they don't really count as public, if you see what I mean.<br />
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And here's the detail of the Primula in a Japanese pot. I believe I have the plant's label somewhere, but there's bound to be someone at the club who'll be able to tell me what it is. It will look better when it's fully out in flower, and even better in 3 years' time when it will have filled out the pot a bit more.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7KHRxVVi57xI17xSXd-eKWf9el_YMTQsYM859y7ApIUIiOCU9X2F2hs1u3ubaasoRkYwsnHmngSk2mtar2cL_M3szPQPlUfLdJQh0SWlJJHgPk-xu7drapglBQ-7GeflzYbmTuKnyuM/s1600-h/Blue+Primula4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7KHRxVVi57xI17xSXd-eKWf9el_YMTQsYM859y7ApIUIiOCU9X2F2hs1u3ubaasoRkYwsnHmngSk2mtar2cL_M3szPQPlUfLdJQh0SWlJJHgPk-xu7drapglBQ-7GeflzYbmTuKnyuM/s320/Blue+Primula4.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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I did mention on Twitter that I would be bringing <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/anyone-up-for-guessing-game.html">the microscopic Aquilegias</a>, and I am. And on the other end of the scale, I am bringing this Kusamono which is a green Ophiopogon variety, a tall bronzey grass whose label has gone the way of the wind, and some other nondescript grass that is only kept within the planting on sufferance (I just keep pulling it out when I have nothing better to do with my time). Here is what it looked like in summer: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63PvC4eK4dWOLWxLHlEprUI89RRETFT_URlC7G79MnL8zGWZf0Dh8ZAxKKE6XFvTTpPPEY9GzXB93ryj6JY2vA1fM2P7BWxBzeib6H4ZgXGK1-_jVq-tRjIXQQjMeMqEAYy-8v3of3Cw/s1600-h/Tall+kusamono+grass1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63PvC4eK4dWOLWxLHlEprUI89RRETFT_URlC7G79MnL8zGWZf0Dh8ZAxKKE6XFvTTpPPEY9GzXB93ryj6JY2vA1fM2P7BWxBzeib6H4ZgXGK1-_jVq-tRjIXQQjMeMqEAYy-8v3of3Cw/s320/Tall+kusamono+grass1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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And these are the Ophiopogon fruit which have stayed all through the winter:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hir7gM1OvWmLXlk65QKP-LzBteYNLActVOWnMGJPcm6cNaYwXqSn2sh3k0KH95JDLSR__3Yi0KWiBvmIiC0SoZbpCPUwQtzxpVv2Fczc2giJHUmNQpfaup1ECD89jfyYFVRR1jb5c9Y/s1600-h/Green+Ophiophogon+fruit2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hir7gM1OvWmLXlk65QKP-LzBteYNLActVOWnMGJPcm6cNaYwXqSn2sh3k0KH95JDLSR__3Yi0KWiBvmIiC0SoZbpCPUwQtzxpVv2Fczc2giJHUmNQpfaup1ECD89jfyYFVRR1jb5c9Y/s320/Green+Ophiophogon+fruit2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
I took the Kusamono out of its pot nearly 2 years ago and it has spent all winter outdoors, albeit protected by a whole load of other potted plants around it. Still, it was covered with snow <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/or-it-could-even-be-for-popsicle-bonsai.html">like everything else</a>. One day I will find a suiban which will complement the colours of the planting better than this one. (In fact I do know of one potter who has this shade of blue... :D) But still, this one is the right size, so it will have to do for now.<br />
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Unfortunately my Hepaticas and Soldanella are not quite fully out in flower. My double Hepatica 'Mrs Elison Spence' is only just starting to come out and it doesn't look like anything much at the moment. What a bummer. <br />
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We are bound to have lots of accent plant lovers tonight, even some people from other local clubs. Will be great to see if they'll have brought their stuff. Maybe we can even start doing some barter. Because boy, do I have some nice stuff coming out... Any takers?BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-51192752597615865372010-03-07T19:57:00.000+00:002010-03-07T19:57:05.701+00:00Charcoal in the Growing MediumAt our local bonsai club meeting sometime back, a couple of guys had an interesting discussion on the merits of using charcoal as part of a bonsai soil mix. I can't remember what the outcome of the discussion was (probably more concerned about getting myself coffee and biccies, as usual) but this blogpost at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Yamadori Passion</a> may interest some of you:<br />
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<a href="http://yamadori-passion.blogspot.com/2010/03/carbon-carvao-charcoal.html">http://yamadori-passion.blogspot.com/2010/03/carbon-carvao-charcoal.html</a><br />
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Have a gander over there. Loads of great photos from his travels. My recent fave is his <a href="http://yamadori-passion.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-tools.html">series of posts</a> on the tools he uses for his yamadori. Good stuff.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-52440390782574789582010-03-06T23:43:00.000+00:002010-03-06T23:43:37.556+00:00Anyone up for a guessing game?Our friend Robert gave us several of these seedlings last year and they promptly went into these thimble pots. Think you recognise what sort of plant they are? No, they are not baobabs.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVX_-zrOgIp30MyRqMW-qE69FMYqdurRBlGCvonW5I6BcbSza094uEnC_4Ca8KMrkN52RmvJtU0yLaRpm6CJXiQLW6389uJZ5RnzQ3IpuCDpyQ1VxpgxpVsw-SYQKsucKV2021_kZTqqg/s1600-h/Small+A2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVX_-zrOgIp30MyRqMW-qE69FMYqdurRBlGCvonW5I6BcbSza094uEnC_4Ca8KMrkN52RmvJtU0yLaRpm6CJXiQLW6389uJZ5RnzQ3IpuCDpyQ1VxpgxpVsw-SYQKsucKV2021_kZTqqg/s320/Small+A2.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UqLQNnqlmkA67525Q84eekrzqlWv8UvqOXl7Af_v6_-pOJQ1dsfghwzMNV2fwINt2fj1Q4oOpvCJf4ONxhkUjfScznpvor1nj5WqfPC8XY8lLyMSNi04bfc3PEgvdCsWGv2BetowuKo/s1600-h/Small+AB2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UqLQNnqlmkA67525Q84eekrzqlWv8UvqOXl7Af_v6_-pOJQ1dsfghwzMNV2fwINt2fj1Q4oOpvCJf4ONxhkUjfScznpvor1nj5WqfPC8XY8lLyMSNi04bfc3PEgvdCsWGv2BetowuKo/s320/Small+AB2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Okay, here's their big brother. Does that give you a better clue? No, it's not a cabbage either.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGK31AblisXNEqFKUaQS3uUAihVt4GMTRFiB12SaZhrwd0uHzLUqt6vcS-wYP_DWeE7ttGtKR1zFwQQKqesyGU79z2dZSw9_6hgHbK8T33wyraMowwmDRquh-SN2xt7UQhByD_K1qOGA/s1600-h/Small+AC2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGK31AblisXNEqFKUaQS3uUAihVt4GMTRFiB12SaZhrwd0uHzLUqt6vcS-wYP_DWeE7ttGtKR1zFwQQKqesyGU79z2dZSw9_6hgHbK8T33wyraMowwmDRquh-SN2xt7UQhByD_K1qOGA/s320/Small+AC2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Just to give you an idea of scale, I've included the moss accent plant, which as I've mentioned <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/first-bonsai-re-potting-day-of-year.html">in a previous post</a> is about 1 inch / 2.54 cm high. So although the 'trunks' look chunky in these photos (and I suppose proportionally they are), the plants are really rather minute.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCkNLu7bHiBH6onUtUI9xstPk5gN5flp5AFfGN2Abxv-CmU70zQW5F_VyiTQ_WnX3OqZy_HceX8piMbFFv07xgRi6tXFy6BTEIxA4TjuTny6KaZg3EDeNQF-7YpTu4Pvz80R9czJwowY/s1600-h/Small+AC4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCkNLu7bHiBH6onUtUI9xstPk5gN5flp5AFfGN2Abxv-CmU70zQW5F_VyiTQ_WnX3OqZy_HceX8piMbFFv07xgRi6tXFy6BTEIxA4TjuTny6KaZg3EDeNQF-7YpTu4Pvz80R9czJwowY/s320/Small+AC4.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRk9jsUjDpltsJMR4LiQ3kLmaKDEIdUZv8-8UWBb_rUqmhU3arMm9T5RN9865YC72SiUpz2twlgZ9r0GuOmkC9KOfKRznB8RatWopB1XQvdX67wIW0LveqpZwb1ANLATySeEBMz7FaniA/s1600-h/3small+group1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRk9jsUjDpltsJMR4LiQ3kLmaKDEIdUZv8-8UWBb_rUqmhU3arMm9T5RN9865YC72SiUpz2twlgZ9r0GuOmkC9KOfKRznB8RatWopB1XQvdX67wIW0LveqpZwb1ANLATySeEBMz7FaniA/s320/3small+group1.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
I believe TOH got the two 'square' thimble pots from one of the potters at the now-defunct Southampton Balloon & Flower Festival, but cannot say for sure. The moss planting is in a Japanese pot that we got at the Green Club during one of the Kokofu shows. Absolutely no clue who made the larger round pot. <br />
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So a lot of our accent plants are starting to come out of winter dormancy. And a lot of the trees as well. Which will mean moving everything around in the cold greenhouse and making space for the more vigorous varieties.<br />
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Oh yes, I suppose you're still wondering what these plants are? They're not a dwarf variety so here's what they'll eventually look like one day; well not precisely like these ones as this is a photo of my flower bed:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGZPHygeMGhyphenhyphenfTE-rc8DJC5zqxRbusiWpNxi_zq46cF4HiQDvDRQGML4MSXWcSJ22Y7unM7FH9WP7_jBIAurdjEGeg-zbvfomte8MQaLlPKiqiMuQXrQI6xsXBDMpMUkGLv7z2Cle9v4/s1600-h/Pink+Aquilegia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGZPHygeMGhyphenhyphenfTE-rc8DJC5zqxRbusiWpNxi_zq46cF4HiQDvDRQGML4MSXWcSJ22Y7unM7FH9WP7_jBIAurdjEGeg-zbvfomte8MQaLlPKiqiMuQXrQI6xsXBDMpMUkGLv7z2Cle9v4/s320/Pink+Aquilegia.JPG" /></a></div>Yup, Aquilegias. Don't ask me what colour - I'll either have to remember to ask Robert or wait to see what will happen if they do eventually flower. Which will either be spectacularly great or spectacularly bizarre, as flowers or fruit don't reduce in size...BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-41946606371446975862010-03-04T12:10:00.002+00:002010-03-04T12:16:10.287+00:00Not Quite a Starting Line-up...Well, I actually did forget some of the other plants I had put on display at the Swindon Winter Image show in <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/bonsai-trompe-loeil.html">my earlier post</a>. Not that I could've posted them on this blog any earlier due to my recent monitor problems, but better late than never, I suppose. So here we go with the rest of my starting line-up of display trees and accents for 2010 - and then some.<br />
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Our accent plants are starting to wake up now and some of the compositions I put together last year are starting to show signs of rejuvenation. So more photos to come in the next few weeks, hopefully. But for now, this photo is the collection of accent plants that went with us to Swindon Show; all but one went out on display:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyz9JH8sIoazzvbyk1rmT_IvOUOth4CZoM0mN_CXTMNtWCSFpVwtv4pEUeL4p5Vh5rRXWrsZ3r4u9NW7jygcT62TJJE7_xVeqsMlsUSxUCH6v4LnAxLXIVgXMGMQAwrSP81ihqER0HO4/s1600-h/Accents2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyz9JH8sIoazzvbyk1rmT_IvOUOth4CZoM0mN_CXTMNtWCSFpVwtv4pEUeL4p5Vh5rRXWrsZ3r4u9NW7jygcT62TJJE7_xVeqsMlsUSxUCH6v4LnAxLXIVgXMGMQAwrSP81ihqER0HO4/s320/Accents2.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The Ranunculus ficaria 'Coppernub' (rear upper left hand side) is a slight disappointment to me, as it didn't flower any more profusely than it did <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/buttercup_27.html">last year</a>, although the plant has bulked out considerably. The other guy to the right of him is also a Ranunculus (another lost label jobbie, so don't expect a variety identification anytime soon from me) and still hasn't flowered. Leaves are funky, though. This second Ranunculus is in a pot by Alan Harriman. The lighting in this photo is brighter than last year's so the colour of the Coppernub's Bryan Albright pot is a lot closer to the original.<br />
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This picture of a Shohin cascade Cotoneaster frigidus 'Cornubia' was taken before clean-up and show prep:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9momiOBIg9lEql4qgkutyZL3yIXZETEDABZHux-ouOezvMZaXjgJbK2Z06T8dtax-_a12T-d01lt-zzS4wcc3FA7bS9Ml9ldzecWdDVGLCURiPtdWJ5v-p1dDf_ZFCTtc8tqkTQxT3gc/s1600-h/Cotoneaster+cascade1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9momiOBIg9lEql4qgkutyZL3yIXZETEDABZHux-ouOezvMZaXjgJbK2Z06T8dtax-_a12T-d01lt-zzS4wcc3FA7bS9Ml9ldzecWdDVGLCURiPtdWJ5v-p1dDf_ZFCTtc8tqkTQxT3gc/s320/Cotoneaster+cascade1.jpg" /></a></div>We've been growing this guy for at least 4 years now, and this Walsall pot is now its second home. It started out with quite a large rootball, hence the slightly over-potted look; however as it only has come out on show when either the flowers or berries are out, then it also has these over-long branches which slightly compensate for the whopper of a pot. Being a cascade, this is a difficult one to give dimensions to, so if I say that the pot is about 4 in / 10 cm high, that should give an overall indication of the size of the tree. <br />
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This isn't one in our collection that comes out in public very often (although I have taken it to our local club several times), partly because we aren't 100% satisfied with its ramification. Although the trunk is rather interesting. Here it is at a slightly different angle, showing the trunk line and the berries:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpJTpqeK4fE1uYMMChRq_rL8tKgKjpWAp0OQTJgrQTaeJ0nYYswOkZoAALMvWOk_R4b98UNvRsBHW29AjWKeQu_k-7RCIN2P-gWaB1crxI8bsfZawXtXJymgox4EIGgxvQvdLvJBTgaA/s1600-h/Cotoneaster+cascade+angle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpJTpqeK4fE1uYMMChRq_rL8tKgKjpWAp0OQTJgrQTaeJ0nYYswOkZoAALMvWOk_R4b98UNvRsBHW29AjWKeQu_k-7RCIN2P-gWaB1crxI8bsfZawXtXJymgox4EIGgxvQvdLvJBTgaA/s320/Cotoneaster+cascade+angle2.jpg" /></a></div> A little later in the year, I'm going to give this guy a massive prune. <br />
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As an aside, the winter colour on our cotoneasters was gratifying this year. However, we didn't get a lot of flower and fruit out of our shohin cotoneasters this time, although the larger ones did all right in that department. <br />
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Again another shohin that went through the popsicle stage this winter. Here is how this Picea looked on show:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zwXt_L8hCHUrj_84l3oZmfiXAoa26xv2tSKNdilOr6ArXRst5gSBh34WsYvHAgbSksFGw2kwaAQVLcs2H41KVJW2oZkS2cBe3z0IDyO1-H2bICNMqlnGYGpQNbbZCffkyJ8SgfDSf0o/s1600-h/Picea+Rock2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zwXt_L8hCHUrj_84l3oZmfiXAoa26xv2tSKNdilOr6ArXRst5gSBh34WsYvHAgbSksFGw2kwaAQVLcs2H41KVJW2oZkS2cBe3z0IDyO1-H2bICNMqlnGYGpQNbbZCffkyJ8SgfDSf0o/s320/Picea+Rock2.JPG" /></a></div>And <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhis-QYuAkvE-2aRQhekovEoY6mnjUtyZZn0LxA4fDnVyDRfgsKd5XATX6o2PzZBybPIGhMRBC5CAKJkOUfNR93EOXqBthoxX5Cqtf_dBU8z90eW09OXXGgeHNxmEfbjlNzVekZtgR2CW0/s1600-h/Frozen+juniper+walsall.JPG">here</a> you can just about see it on the left-hand side in all its frozen glory.<br />
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The pot is a Tokoname, apparently by Bigei. As I can't read the markings, I have no way of confirming this but I'm sure someone will give a shout if it proves otherwise. <br />
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And this last one is a shohin Japanese White Pine which will only go out on show if I'm really, really desperate as the branch structure still needs so much work done to it. Plus that trunk line sometimes strikes me as being totally dire.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitM0jdEZ9YTAccEGBx-acxkl19sX8AXnwtbJltbV7iK0iS9hNswxkGWtq_zBgbZxmer_oATX-jUDMAJ6TtdmJuZJTwO79wo0mndeVEJXmMlt7UdIW1KfFge3g6XwIdnr7iJ-Twnr2uhv8/s1600-h/Shohin+Goyomatsu4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitM0jdEZ9YTAccEGBx-acxkl19sX8AXnwtbJltbV7iK0iS9hNswxkGWtq_zBgbZxmer_oATX-jUDMAJ6TtdmJuZJTwO79wo0mndeVEJXmMlt7UdIW1KfFge3g6XwIdnr7iJ-Twnr2uhv8/s320/Shohin+Goyomatsu4.JPG" /></a></div>Another small tree that we've had for several years but really only a WIP for the past two. This one also went popsicle during the winter freeze, and you'll see it on the right-hand side of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhis-QYuAkvE-2aRQhekovEoY6mnjUtyZZn0LxA4fDnVyDRfgsKd5XATX6o2PzZBybPIGhMRBC5CAKJkOUfNR93EOXqBthoxX5Cqtf_dBU8z90eW09OXXGgeHNxmEfbjlNzVekZtgR2CW0/s1600-h/Frozen+juniper+walsall.JPG">this photo</a>.<br />
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The reason I've got this White Pine in here is to illustrate a couple of things. Rather than buy expensive trees, our bonsai acquisition strategy has been to pay for trees that - by our guesswork - will need about 5 to 8 years' work and fall into a medium (or more) price range for that type of bonsai. We have been lucky with some and they have literally only needed a couple of years before they've been deemed ready for show. We have also acquired dead cheap / unwanted trees that showed their potential in a relatively short space of time. Others, like this White Pine, will need both time and patience - in spades.<br />
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But if you are mad keen on getting a 'finished' bonsai to go out immediately into competition (and win), then expect to pay the full market value of that tree. Whatever that may be. Because - in bonsai just like in everything else - you get what you pay for.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-2396107853751040162010-02-28T23:33:00.002+00:002010-03-01T09:30:40.512+00:00Missed a Milestone, did I?Just realised something. As of the 26th February, this blog has been going on for a year. <br />
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And why I should think that's significant, I don't know.<br />
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Unfortunately I have no stats to show for this sort of thing, as I only started using a stat tool in October. So no Month-on-Month, Quarter-on-Quarter or Year-on-Year figures to show you. Which is no fun really. No Powerpoint slides. Hurrr. What would we do without Powerpoint slides to justify our existence?<br />
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What may have changed over the year is the <i>raison d'etre</i> of this blog. While I had originally started it to keep a record of bonsai shows we attend, the reality is there isn't always that much newsworthy (by my definitions) to say. Post photos of the trees on display? A pure line-up of bonsai tree photos is one of the most boring things I can think of to do, and if you're looking for these, then there are bazillions of other websites already doing them. For nothing am I going to run a blog to bore myself to tears. <br />
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And while it may be amusing and controversial to do a 'Hello' magazine type <i>reportage</i> on bonsai personalities, there really isn't anyone in the bonsai world that I can think of who is on par with Paris Hilton for this type of 'newsworthiness'. Underwear notwithstanding. (And please - if you do know someone who fits the bill, please don't tell me. Oh. Wait. Hmmm....)<br />
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So this blog has evolved into something a bit more like a personal record of events. What have not changed are the tools I use: all my photos are still taken on my Sony Ericsson phone, most of the staged photos are either taken in my kitchen or in the front room. I don't use any professional photographic equipment as I can't be bothered to do any complicated set-up. Little or no manipulation is done to the photos, the most I will do is try to enhance brightness or contrast; again as I have neither the time nor the inclination to learn how to use the software.<br />
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So to the old friends who have been on this journey with me for the past year, thanks for sticking 'round. To the new friends who have bumped up my stat numbers, thanks for dropping by. Don't bother looking for the stat analysis, do you really think I'm going to get up off my bum to look the numbers up? Hmpfh.<br />
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Looking forward to another year with y'all. Yeee-hah.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-83027486068249054722010-02-28T01:05:00.002+00:002010-03-04T14:08:46.257+00:00Bonsai Streaming by on TwitterOver the last couple of days, I've followed several interesting 3-way Twitter discussions on various bonsai-related topics: the use of colour and glazes of bonsai pots, choosing a bonsai pot, the position of a tree in the pot, soil contour in a pot to complement the flow of the tree, etc. Protagonists of these discussions were <a href="http://twitter.com/MoKusa">@MoKusa</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/bonsaibanter">@bonsaibanter</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/ExtremeWork">@ExtremeWork</a>. A minor and boring detail called the day job prevented me from joining in tweet streams that sometimes spanned a couple of days. Unfortunately I don't have software that allowed me to copy and archive the streams either. <br />
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But, Plan B - I haz one! Iz called a blog! Dis blog here, even! <br />
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So here is my version of coming late to the party, but sticking my oar in nonetheless. Mixed metaphors, I haz dem too.<br />
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One of the early discussions reminded me of a lively interchange between TOH and myself over the right pot for our Satsuki Azalea 'Kinsai'. We are pretty much agreed on the (approximate) shape, depth and other dimensions of the pot but where our opinions diverge (and boy do they diverge) are on what we consider a suitable colour and texture for Kinsai's new home.<br />
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So backtrack a bit to where we are coming from: TOH's visual composition background is rooted in photography; mine is in a traditional Western Art education, particularly painting and illustration; as for the Kinsai, it's coming out this pot:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7KVW3Ed3qz7ClVr9URThKe6clRpzyHXAqhhyOTnUmzrgdyQADLGMqUNpGpP3nR0A-4voyFi-haob9Yd2wWD8fgR0POFU0uKCQrHu6NpHpLwgW301PTrmQ0TworrpurnPtgey9Z9rhKMc/s1600-h/Kinsai1_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7KVW3Ed3qz7ClVr9URThKe6clRpzyHXAqhhyOTnUmzrgdyQADLGMqUNpGpP3nR0A-4voyFi-haob9Yd2wWD8fgR0POFU0uKCQrHu6NpHpLwgW301PTrmQ0TworrpurnPtgey9Z9rhKMc/s320/Kinsai1_1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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I'm also coming from the standpoint of a person who doesn't like the colour of Kinsai flowers. TOH utterly loves it. So my choice of pot colour is driven by a desire to mitigate an effect, TOH's goal is to emphasize and provide a frame to that colour. Damage Limitation vs Enhancement. <br />
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Most people would say Kinsai has red flowers (and that would be true); but I would like to qualify that this is a warm red, i.e. veering towards orange rather than towards violet. Whether you can see that from the photo will very likely depend on your screen resolution.<br />
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My point of view is that our interpretation of colour is very subjective, even though quantifiable (so to speak) definitions exist for various pure spectral colours, for example. So the definition of the colour 'red' in approximate frequencies (in terahertz) and wavelengths (in nanometers) would be a frequency interval of ~ 430–480 THz and a wavelength interval of ~ 700–635 nm. (Source: Wikipedia)<br />
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But that doesn't quite tell my brain and naked eye if they should be looking for the red of a postbox, the red of a child's crayon or the red of (fresh) blood, for example. So my brain tends to refer to the crayons of my childhood when I envisage the primary and secondary colours. Because really, who can see all of the 7 colours of a rainbow with their naked eye anyway?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDUTYPItHpcZFEHVKUpDZw8zoWUNS0Z-xahmkyONEJCfCC4uyo_sNrTu-BcGQc4eF65GturG-VXveTu6MEdeZIn7FO89TcPPoU4I3U5UgmOl7_Oe1YVL1FReJY3OgmuD-pIXWEzJzBio/s1600-h/Kinsai5+detail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDUTYPItHpcZFEHVKUpDZw8zoWUNS0Z-xahmkyONEJCfCC4uyo_sNrTu-BcGQc4eF65GturG-VXveTu6MEdeZIn7FO89TcPPoU4I3U5UgmOl7_Oe1YVL1FReJY3OgmuD-pIXWEzJzBio/s320/Kinsai5+detail.JPG" /></a></div>So back to our Kinsai and its warm-hued red spider flowers (because yes, the great majority of its flowers are the thin spidery kind - at least it's doing one thing right) and our colour choice for a pot. My damage limitation tendency leads me to balance off the 'orange-red' with its colour complements, i.e. a glossy two-tone glaze of blue-green. TOH, with a 'if you've got it flaunt it' attitude, is leaning towards a contrast using a matte black glaze. Our compromise? We asked the potter to make 2 pots, one in each glaze and we'll decide come re-potting day by holding each one up against the Satsuki. Not quite the dramatic flair of the wisdom of Solomon, but a practical solution that was arrived to in less than 5 seconds. We've obviously had disagreements like this before.<br />
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What we haven't agreed on either is whether a high-gloss glaze will advance visually so much that it would overpower a tree, no matter how strong the visual weight of said tree. My contention is that a balance can always be achieved, TOH feels that would be unlikely and the extreme gloss would always call attention to itself and overshadow the tree. But, until we have the physical evidence before our eyes, we'd never really resolve that one, would we?<br />
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Just to make things more difficult, the political question of who the potter should please becomes a tricky one: I paid for the Kinsai but I also gave it to TOH as an unbirthday present. So the tree is technically TOH's but I am also very likely going to pay for the pot. So as far as customer satisfaction is concerned, who is the potter's customer anyway?<br />
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That aside, if you are on Twitter and are inclined to follow more erudite discussions on the art, craft and science that is bonsai, then add these guys to your follow list.<br />
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PS: What's an unbirthday present? If you can't be bothered to read Alice in Wonderland, there's always Google :DBritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-60347217049852801982010-02-23T00:05:00.003+00:002011-12-16T18:29:14.699+00:00Bonsai Trompe l'oeilWe once had a prominent bonsai professional stay over during a workshop we were running during our club's Summer Show many years ago, and he did his utter best to persuade us to downsize on the number of trees we were growing. While he may have made many salient points, this past winter has also shown me that having a very wide selection of bonsai on hand means that pulling out a half-dozen or so for a winter display means neither headbanging nor panic.<br />
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So here is the line-up I dragged out of the garden for the Swindon Winter Image Show, warts and all. My first post on prepping a display for a show is <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/all-that-primpin.html">here</a>. The only thing that's changed for me in 2010 is that, due to the really hard winter, we still aren't able to say what trees (and accent plants particularly) will be likely candidates for future shows this year. So you could probably say that this is my 2010 starting line-up.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmy94DpLkt6cF4ipCGHAF3advmarM8LME_dzpeDinI5KVBgUwrj82pgsnKIAluwANnCiJEtcXyoMLyvZjrVyMIFaPpNdHbLI4V2irY8NLeyPmasfBCzp57r_vLoJmddq8W1usVMF-9AfE/s1600-h/Kiyohime+rock2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmy94DpLkt6cF4ipCGHAF3advmarM8LME_dzpeDinI5KVBgUwrj82pgsnKIAluwANnCiJEtcXyoMLyvZjrVyMIFaPpNdHbLI4V2irY8NLeyPmasfBCzp57r_vLoJmddq8W1usVMF-9AfE/s320/Kiyohime+rock2.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>This shohin Kiyohime maple on rock has been <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/kiyohime2.html">shown previously</a> on this blog and is in a shallow white Walsall pot; over time the white has faded to a very light grey, with a tinge reminiscent of celadon. The tree has come out of the winter without incident. The moss, on the other hand, is way more than manky. Prepping this type of composition is a real pain, as I try to use as much of the old, established moss as possible. <br />
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So I took 2 different types of moss, trimming off the back soil / leaves / crud to have as flat a moss 'sheet' as possible. Then I broke it all up into randomly sized patches, some of them maybe only 2 mm wide, others several centimetres in length. Then, using a toothpick, I 'patchworked' the pieces together onto the old moss. The effect I was looking for was an established planting rather than a freshly laid-on topping. The final result is this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc69QO5B7_kYLQmp2nsD-nVLo7YAwXuPKtXw1sJFNN80-oDqk_IJorHBH6xc-ROuJnp4FozqaHuPkfrhTLH5DkbrthVXC2M629Rmm8BOKIOGncRIl1dliZkSUuEsVfTY65HbRnCJtZd44/s1600-h/Kiyohime+rock+show2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc69QO5B7_kYLQmp2nsD-nVLo7YAwXuPKtXw1sJFNN80-oDqk_IJorHBH6xc-ROuJnp4FozqaHuPkfrhTLH5DkbrthVXC2M629Rmm8BOKIOGncRIl1dliZkSUuEsVfTY65HbRnCJtZd44/s320/Kiyohime+rock+show2.JPG" /></a></div>Work still needs to be done to this shohin to improve the trunk line and shorten some of the branches. <br />
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And <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/chojubai.html">in this post</a> is this Chaenomeles japonica just after Swindon show last year. Fast forward to 2010 and just a few days before this year's show, the moss decided to give up the ghost and crumble off the pot, leaving this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcsLg0whGA7vjApV0qnaKm-TkO2rm3ohvmChJpwutjocArgXhAIwGt2mn9jBzQ_iR6pGkAhyphenhyphenDEx5A09keGnRgb3b3RoFrz3LuR9NW0fo2jgY8L2ZBF51fLGIvayZRJ-12-z26BxzLXZE/s1600-h/Chojubai+cascade2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcsLg0whGA7vjApV0qnaKm-TkO2rm3ohvmChJpwutjocArgXhAIwGt2mn9jBzQ_iR6pGkAhyphenhyphenDEx5A09keGnRgb3b3RoFrz3LuR9NW0fo2jgY8L2ZBF51fLGIvayZRJ-12-z26BxzLXZE/s320/Chojubai+cascade2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Again out with the toothpick and the mossy bitty bits. A whole evening spent in a crate indoors brought out a bit more colour in the flower buds. And just so you know, the plant cost a fiver about 4 years ago:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNtaWX1pG-NFLOQ63x4xskCC2wVGVPDAvBhsTjvu3DPcQWc5pEwiieCTC_ZLiS8j2g8damx7D9W5bJBCRU9tihOUqDXJeI7dzEGPXIiicDOUZL5kagiHsUqdaXqlV3cd_Wp3dbiugFZg/s1600-h/Chojubai+cascade+show2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNtaWX1pG-NFLOQ63x4xskCC2wVGVPDAvBhsTjvu3DPcQWc5pEwiieCTC_ZLiS8j2g8damx7D9W5bJBCRU9tihOUqDXJeI7dzEGPXIiicDOUZL5kagiHsUqdaXqlV3cd_Wp3dbiugFZg/s320/Chojubai+cascade+show2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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Here's a close-up of the moss 'weave'. You can clearly see the 3 different types of moss used:<br />
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This Ivy was dug out of our last garden over 15 years ago and is planted in what we call the dragon's egg (potter is unknown, unfortunately). <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/studies-in-ivy.html">In this post</a> is what it looked like in the summer last year, and below is how it's come out of a winter in a cold greenhouse heated to 0 degrees Celsius. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiug-GLW-6Eb976cjrdYTTRZ5z-szQKrBywzYxcniZNfz57AQgtO3BFkOotcsda7qORwm1jKupU-b7g2BUkj6KJLMEPhcnHnjpHznytESkbi67HVEB5gbH1l_lue9RMXOQLbkwwzVqJ1hM/s1600-h/Ivy+Egg+winter1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiug-GLW-6Eb976cjrdYTTRZ5z-szQKrBywzYxcniZNfz57AQgtO3BFkOotcsda7qORwm1jKupU-b7g2BUkj6KJLMEPhcnHnjpHznytESkbi67HVEB5gbH1l_lue9RMXOQLbkwwzVqJ1hM/s320/Ivy+Egg+winter1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Later in the spring I'll try a bit of defoliation on the Ivy so I get some nice spring colour (and possibly smaller leaves). Again, some patchwork retouching had to be done to the moss on this guy.<br />
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This Satsuki Azalea (damn if I didn't lose the bloody label somewhere so don't ask me what variety) lives outdoors all year long and had its head buried in snow <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/or-it-could-even-be-for-popsicle-bonsai.html">like the rest of these guys</a>. It's come out of that with tons of new growth as you can see from its back...<br />
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...and from its front. How do I tell the one from the other? It's hard to tell from these photos, but the tree actually does 'bow' pronouncedly to you from this angle.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB73U-7vEXgjw8JSKKUfkf3OMn5hNvghXcsmACfYItjpXoN43-1u9ZJaPJM8EOY1rMERP_MaCGVooqfgY4eP14e28uPoghFjuFoFuftfRb4ZdLR2GzoQWN60qXMde9QIVdNYhwLI9sf7o/s1600-h/Satsuki+front1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB73U-7vEXgjw8JSKKUfkf3OMn5hNvghXcsmACfYItjpXoN43-1u9ZJaPJM8EOY1rMERP_MaCGVooqfgY4eP14e28uPoghFjuFoFuftfRb4ZdLR2GzoQWN60qXMde9QIVdNYhwLI9sf7o/s320/Satsuki+front1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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This is one of TOH's earliest Japanese White Pines and it started life as a formal upright. Unfortunately the wrong instructions in a bonsai book led to the loss of both lower branches and it is now a literati. It has also been knocked out of its pot twice in the past year, so it is now slightly overpotted. And in what to me is one ugly, clunky drum pot.<br />
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This view is not the precise front of the tree, but IMO it illustrates best how the trunk line runs up and 'bows' toward the viewer. <br />
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I'll also have to say that my fave way of prepping a tree for display is straight akadama as it is dead simple. I've now gone off the half-akadama (or soil) / half-moss look as I find it can look rather contrived. So I either go whole hog and do a full moss weave thing or I do pure soil (like when I'm fed up of prepping trees and just want to get it over and done with). I tend to let myself be guided by what the tree looks like before the blackbirds get to it. Hurrr.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-77522476265350238922010-02-21T23:07:00.004+00:002011-12-16T18:29:36.488+00:00Swindon Winter Image Bonsai ShowBy now there are probably lots of photos and write-ups out there floating on the Web on the Swindon Winter Image Bonsai Show; and a rather precise synthesis done by @ExtremeWork on Twitter. So I'm not going to try and duplicate any effort here. But I will share what photos I took. And tell you what I did (other than stuffing my face).<br />
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So of course I will mention the cakes at this point. Top of the list. Because anyone who is in the know will agree that Swindon Show is also about the cakes. As the show is a fund-raiser for the club, the cake sale is one of our favourite ways of showing our support. <br />
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After that show of team spirit, the bulk of my time today was spent catching up with people; some were at the Noelanders show last month but most of the local club people I hadn't seen since last year. So it was good to catch up with the Welsh lads again (nope, no karaoke this time) and the guys who got back from Japan, although not to the depth of detail that I would've liked. Also met up with @grumblemouse, and we had a good natter during the day. <br />
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I also need to mention that John Pitt got snowed in and didn't make it to the show, so I didn't get my dose of annoying the Pitt-boss which is also part of the show ritual for me. Snow nearly prevented the Walsall lads from getting there,which would've been a right freak-out as they had made the trophies.<br />
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Food in general (and Japanese food in particular), being one of the big loves of my life, I always used to spend a great deal of time talking to both Bob of Dai Ichi Bonsai and Ken of Windybanks about food. During this show, that important part of the ritual got chopped down so drastically I didn't even get to grill @AntiqueNetsuke about the nosh during his very recent trip to Japan (nor did we talk about the Kokofu show either). So if I didn't get to do all that bit, you can imagine that taking pics fell way down in my list of priorities today. <br />
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Lots more snowdrops in today's show than last year. Examples from the Phoenix Bonsai Group display and from Chie-san's Kusamono display:<br />
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An accent plant on the Artistic Bonsai Circle display. As the owner wasn't around, I wasn't able to ask what plants were in the composition but it looks to me like Ajuga, Ophiophogon, Equisetum and a rush.<br />
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Bulbs are big at this time of the year. A fine set of Irises was on display at the Phoenix stand (sorry, missed that opp) and some yellow Crocuses were on the Eastleigh Bonsai display.<br />
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Here is a Chinese Juniper (AKA Shinpaku) on a rather unusual display table. The owner got it in its raw state at the Westonbirt Festival of Wood - for a fiver. A bit of elbow grease (and just a little bit more dosh), transformed it into an unusual bonsai accoutrement. He reckons a total of 20 quid spent. Not bad...<br />
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And more from the same person, a mame Lonicera (about 3 in / 8 cm high) that was dug out of a hedge.<br />
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Going up in tree size, here is a Trident maple on rock. If you look closely, there's a dragon nestled in the interior of the cave. Over the years <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/trident-on-rock.html">I've seen this bonsai</a> displayed alone as well as with all sorts of figurines inside the cave, possible a tiny beer can even, if I recall correctly. Proof that you don't always have to take everything seriously. But you can if you want to. <br />
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And this is the winter image of this Alder. I have heard varying views on this particular tree at this time of the year, and I will confess to having a preference for <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/sneak-peek-rhs-chelsea-flower-show-2009.html">the tree with its summer foliage on</a>. Simply because I find it particularly impressive then.<br />
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And yes, I need to be impressed. So I'm shallow. Sue me.<br />
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But as I am of a generous and giving nature (coughing fits at this point) I will leave you with @ExtremeWork's beautifully compact summary that went out on Twitter earlier this evening. My thanks to the author for allowing me to use their text. And if you're not familiar with how the Twitter timeline goes, you'll need to start reading from the bottom and work your way to the top. Otherwise, feel free to read this synopsis backwards.<br />
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- Swindon & District Bonsai Society as always were excellent host & made all welcome. Cake was up to usual high quality and met expectations.<br />
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- Chie-san had a very nice selection of kusamono on display and was taking bookings for her workshop on 16 April <br />
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- Ken from Windybanks had some very nice material and small trees to show and is expecting new stoock imminently.<br />
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- Dai Ichi Bonsai had imported Japanese pots and stands on offer with a few very nice Satsuki Azalea. <br />
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- Chris Thomas had some fine Larix and his usual collection of accoutrements on offer.<br />
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- Andy Pearson had a range of his pots including some unusually large pots from his kiln.<br />
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- Paul Goff had a very nice range of scrolls and was gathering interest for the Bonsai Review that he publishes.<br />
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- David and Mark from Walsall Ceramics Studio made early calls to check weather in Swindon and arrived with some very nice pots.<br />
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- Weather up North seems to have hampered some from arriving. John Pitt (John Pitt Bonsai Ceramics) was redirected with heavy snow.<br />
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- Phoenix, Solent, Newbury, Cotswolds and the Splinter Group had good society displays. Artistic Bonsai Circle's trees to their normal high standard on display<br />
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- Dragon Bonsai and New Dawn Bonsai had some exquisite trees and some old friends on display to very high standard. <br />
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- British Shohin Association and ABBA's displays were well presented.<br />
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- A good show of very finely ramified Chinese Elms, Ian's Hornbeam group has recovered well from its trip to the Noelanders Trophy in Belgium <br />
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- Some of the really nice exhibits at the Swindon Bonsai Show were the mame There was a good range of varieties & the trees were small.<br />
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- Back from Swindon. Bonsai were of the usual high standard. Met lots of friends and caught up on the gossip. Great day of bonsai ...BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-69365691292636457702010-02-13T17:48:00.002+00:002010-02-13T17:51:14.835+00:00First Bonsai Re-potting Day of the Year....... and it was bloody cold. Whatever body parts that could've frozen off - did; or at least it felt like it.<br />
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Teacher-san came down and we worked on whatever trees we could. It should have been a mega re-potting day but we were slowed down by a lot of frozen rootballs. Several got started on in the morning, put into the cold greenhouse to thaw, then picked up again in the afternoon. <br />
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Never realised either what a funny sound a frozen rootball makes when you thunk it (to check if it's really frozen, not just for the sake of thunking, OK).<br />
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Anyway, here's one of the smaller guys that got re-potted. A Lonicera nitida (normally a hedging plant here) which is one of TOH's WIPs. This was bought at a club auction for a couple of quid last year. The horizontal jin was shortened by about 6 inches (15 cm) and I believe TOH has plans of re-working the jin at the front to make it look more naturally weathered. This is a shohin-sized tree, probably about 7 in / 18 cm from base of the pot.<br />
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The other bonsai we worked on yesterday are a bit too big for me to photograph at home, so if they're ever taken to a show later in the year, maybe I'll post photos here. The long cotoneaster cascade will have to wait until we find a better pot for it, though.<br />
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So, on to other smaller stuff. <br />
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This is an overpotted Cristata Davallia fern, which I got last year. I was told it goes dormant in the winter but it's held on to its one frond despite the cold.<br />
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Here is a group of cyclamen in flower, plus a moss accent. To give an idea of scale, the moss in the thimble pot is less than an inch (2.54 cm) high. The cyclamen self-seeded in the greenhouse about 3 years ago and this is the second year they've flowered. Their corms haven't grown much bigger, nor do their leaves get any larger, or any more numerous.<br />
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I'll tell you what I should've taken a photo of, though - TOH's Peach Cobbler, which was an absolute delight. We did linger over lunch with Teacher-san, talking about pots and going over the latest issue of the Nippon Bonsai Association's magazine. Anything to stay out of the cold, as far as my interests were concerned...BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-23147650047634574192010-02-10T17:31:00.002+00:002010-02-13T17:51:37.190+00:00Yes I Haz Moar Pot PicciesHaven't blogged for awhile, as I'm still having problems getting Firefox 3.5.7 to talk to Blogger. I can edit stuff, just can't see the finished product. Have been getting around it by viewing these pages in another browser, but that is just a drag. Trawling through Internet fora (forums, whatever) for an answer is also a drag.<br />
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So what isn't a drag? Possibly the thought of spring and re-potting? Despite the intermittent snow that keeps coming down my head whenever I go out to check the trees...<br />
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I have plans for the round black pot I purchased from <a href="http://www.morea.nl/">Morea</a> at the Noelanders show last month. She was kind enough to send me a better picture than the one I had, so here it is:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGa3tZJvXu2T7-rjzfaiDZKUYuPNv0S6kHX1FrR3lybSrvF8kEJHQ8ZUZFxJwLJiCVRSS2Nf7Wtf6HxZ5JXlMn_biqPprPAoCK8iLQHybPa-YgKCNuP4_Xn8U5_CvNdf7l1mc05WSdRbI/s1600-h/Mokusa+black+pot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGa3tZJvXu2T7-rjzfaiDZKUYuPNv0S6kHX1FrR3lybSrvF8kEJHQ8ZUZFxJwLJiCVRSS2Nf7Wtf6HxZ5JXlMn_biqPprPAoCK8iLQHybPa-YgKCNuP4_Xn8U5_CvNdf7l1mc05WSdRbI/s320/Mokusa+black+pot.jpg" /></a></div>... on the upper right hand side of the stand. I'm thinking a certain Satsuki Azalea could go in there, as its pot recently got trashed by the blackbirds. Well, the culprits could have been the neighbourhood cats, but for some reason I always blame the blackbirds. Heh. Go figure.BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3905077227712591781.post-11180249414841194422010-01-25T18:49:00.006+00:002010-01-27T16:39:34.094+00:00A Belgian Bonsai Weekend: Show....There are a couple of things that stick in my mind about the Noelanders Trophy XI this weekend; one of them would be the Saturday crush. The doors opened at 10:00 and we decided to arrive late to avoid any queueing. We got there at 11:00; all the convenient parking spots were gone, plus there were still over 100 people waiting outside to get in. Marc Noelanders told us apparently some people had been there since 09:00. I'm totally pleased for him, as they put in so much hard graft into this show. (More on that later.)<br />
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I mentioned on Twitter that the Noelanders show seems to have become the unofficial landmark opening of the European bonsai show circuit. I recognised Eastern European, UK, French, Italian, German, Spanish & of course BeNeLux visitors (you do see many of the same faces year on year) as well as the occasional Americans; I'm sure there were other nationalities there, I just don't know them all so apologies if I missed you. Lots of cards and show flyers were exchanging hands. What seems to happen is that people make a point of catching this show to invite enthusiasts from other countries to attend or display at their local shows later in the year. TOH got no less than 3 invites to display our trees on the Continent this year: fitting them all in will be something of a logistical - and financial - challenge. But I'd love to do it.<br />
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That said, I know you're gagging to see the trees. So here goes. But my usual caveat applies - these are my photos of displays that I found interesting, for all sorts of reasons; but this is not an indication of my personal preference for or an indication of merit (or not) in the trees, unless specifically mentioned. Most of the time I do try to refrain from any sort of technical or artistic critique; I'm sure the owners are already more than aware of the strengths and limitations of their bonsai.<br />
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</div>This is a very large Pomegranate: Punica granatum 'Neji-kan' in a Chinese pot, by Graham Potter. Notable of course were the fruit on the tree.<br />
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</div>And another large tree, Lino Pepe's Olive: Olea europaea in an Isabelia pot. <br />
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</div>I first saw this shohin Jasmine in a calendar about two years back. This was the accompanying accent for Udo Fischer's display of a large literati Pinus nigra.<br />
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</div>A shohin Itoigawa Juniper (about 8 in / 20 cm high from base of pot) by Mario Komsta, in an antique Chinese pot. This tree received a Special Mention. Note the evenness of the foliage.<br />
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</div>I think I may have seen this tree at the Swindon Winter Image show last year: a very large Carpinus koreana raft in a Gordon Duffet pot, belonging to Ian Stewardson. A very striking display, this also received a Special Mention.<br />
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</div>A Larix decidua - both pot and tree by John Pitt. This is a smaller tree, probably would be in the chuuhin size category.<br />
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</div>There weren't as many purely shohin and mame displays this year, from what I can recall. Most of the smaller trees that were there were often in accompaniment to bigger trees. In what I believe was the only mame display: a Lonicera nitida by Ruud Simons.<br />
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</div>One of the larger accent plantings: a Sempervivum and moss creation, which accompanied a Pomegranate belonging to Joerg Derlien.<br />
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</div>This is a very large Scots Pine raft in a Derek Aspinall pot, by Richard Chambers. Richard will probably remain in my memory for helping us out at the EBA convention last year with <a href="http://britbonsaiblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/now-about-what-happened-to-car.html">a whole load of wire</a>, but that is not why this photo is in here. He also had another Scots Pine in the show (a large literati I think) but maybe I just have a preference for groups of trees...<br />
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</div>This Silver Birch (Betula pendula) in a Tokoname pot by Hermann Haas had quite an interesting deadwood feature at the back of the trunk.<br />
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</div>A Japanese Yew (Taxus cuspidata) with prominent deadwood by Josef Valuch; pot by Isabelia. It seemed like there were more entries from the Eastern European countries this year, which I personally appreciate as we have so few opportunities to see what's going on over there. I remember the EBA convention in Poland in 2006 and it looks like things have moved forward in leaps and bounds since then.<br />
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And of course, I will always mention the Suiseki that Gudrun and Willi Benz go through so much trouble to bring out for our enjoyment. I could have photographed them all as the standard is always excellent, but taking down the details of all the photos is one heck of a drag.<br />
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</div>This one is a Colour Stone from Anhui, China.<br />
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</div>And this unusual (for me, anyways) piece of geology is a Chalcedony pattern stone from the White Water River, a tributary of the Yangtze River in China.<br />
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And everyone wants to know the winners. There were several trees that received Special Mention certificates, but I didn't have the time to go hunting them all down. Just because the attendance was lower on the Sunday didn't mean that it wasn't busy in the exhibition hall. So what I did manage to take were:<br />
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</div>Mario Komsta's Itoigawa Juniper in an antique Chinese pot. This took the prize in the Kifu category, which I understand to be a newly created size category, one up from the chuuhin size. (Let's not get into a discussion on category dimensions, I don't agree with precise measurements of trees when entering them in a size category. I will mention measurements from time to time on this blog, but that's just to give an idea of scale.) I overheard a 'big' bonsai artist commenting on this tree - and the detail wouldn't show on this photo - saying that the foliage was both very even and very green, a remarkable achievement given that Mario is currently living in a very hot and dry part of Spain.<br />
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</div>The winner of the Noelanders trophy: another Itoigawa Juniper, this time by E. Savini and F. Mantovani. My understanding is that this tree was a favourite among several showgoers. I didn't manage to take a photo of this tree when it was on the main show bench, so it was practically impossible to get up close for a detail shot. The tree is actually larger than it seems to be in this photo.<br />
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One thing I've always liked about this show is that there are no restrictions on the public taking photos. Not that Joe Public walks around with professional quality kit anyway, plus the light is really not ideal for taking detail shots. And you can't get far back enough without bumping into another person taking photos. If you are interested in purchasing the show book, go to <a href="http://www.bonsaiassociation.be/en/boek.php">their website here</a>.<br />
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(No, I do not take commissions for plugging things on this blog. Sod off.)<br />
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Four years ago, my mate Bob insisted that we come to the Noelanders show; his selling points were the lack of politics, the friendly atmosphere and the quality of the trees. The former is probably something you can never get rid of in a human congregation, but it has never affected me at my level; the latter two are very definitely true and I look forward to going back each year. I've already decided on which hotel to book....BritBonsaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428951515087614269noreply@blogger.com0