Today’s addition to the My Bonsai Tab is this Juniper.
The full story can be read and seen HERE.
This is the Juniper now.
and this is it in back in 1995.
The Bonsai Art of Japan Episode 9
The greatly anticipated episode 9 in the series has arrived. Looks like the guys have gone all serious on us! Bring back the female voice overs 🙂
Only joking, a fantastic episode with a quality styling of a raw material Sekka Hinoki Cypress. Even the day trip to Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto was interesting. What sort of eejit jumps off that building? Did the guys take the plunge? Did the three waterfalls come from a tap they turn on every morning? All unanswered questions….
Enjoy. Oh, click on the pic for the link to the video. I can’t embed on free wordpress gggrrr!!!
My Bonsai – Japanese Larch
I’m going to try and add a few more of my trees to the My Bonsai Tab over the next week.
Today I have added this Japanese Larch. The page can be viewed HERE
This is the tree in question 2002/2011
Another Milestone
41 years old today! The sun is shining and I’m [still] off work. Getting a nice Chinese meal tonight and as I am not a big cake fan, my darling wife made me a pavlova and stuck a candle on it 🙂 She made it last night so I have already had a sneaky slice. Does it get any better?
Thanks for the the birthday wishes I have received so far.Here’s what you are missing…
Sick Note
I have two more trees to pop into my poly tunnel. A mate brought these on Friday night and I offered to look after them for a while.
The Chinese Elm had nearly died during the Spring due to Frost damage. I had revived it and given it back a lush green colour. It went from poly tunnel to his back garden were a few months seems to have turned it red! No new growth is visible and the red is probably down to a change in environment. We decided that a return to the tunnel for the Winter was the best course of action.
The original post about this tree can be viewed here. ELM RECOVERY
He also brought 2 Japanese Maples. One was in a bad way and had lost several main branches. I was unsure of the cause. I guessed at a drying out but was worried about it being a viral thing so I advised him to pop it into a bigger pot of pure grit and take it home.
The other maple was a little deshojo that again appeared to have been dried out or had a total loss of leaves due to wind burn. It was now pushing out a new flush off tiny leaves behind the dried out branches. I offered to pop it into the tunnel for protection from the elements and to keep an eye on how it progressed in the next month or two.
Lavender Bonsai!
Who ever heard of bonsai made from lavender? Never crossed my mind either until Mario left me his collection to care for while he’s working abroad. He has created a lavender bonsai from an old pot plant, deadwood and all!
Before I went to Florida it was in good shape. When I returned, it was covered with extension shoots and flower heads!! This is the tree before I trimmed it back into shape today.
and this is it after a trim.
Of all his trees in my care, this is the one I’m least looking forward to caring for! Over Wintering could be a challenge and, as a garden shrub, they are not long lived. I would say this crosses over to bonsai as well.
I did a google search for lavender bonsai and only found 2 trees that are exactly the same species as this one. Too be honest this one was way better than the other 2 as well 🙂
On inspection, I wasn’t too sure about the lower hanging branch or the health of the first branch on the right either. I think these virtuals might be an option some time in the future.
Don’t panic Mario, I won’t being doing this off my own bat mate 😀
Bonsai Apprentice Programme
Anyone fancy a short term Bonsai Apprenticeship in Japan??
Peter Tea who is studying at Aichien Bonsai Nursery has discussed the need for such a programme with his teacher and has come up with the apprenticeship as outlined in the link below. Boy, I’m tempted, just no way to do this around family and work at the moment.
Updated Blog Bundle
As my Blog feeds Bundle has proved popular, I have updated it on the bloggers page and have added a link below. I now have 151 blogs listed from all over the world.
Click on the image below for the link. Enjoy.
My Usual Sunday Morning
Here’s a few photos from my usual Sunday morning walk. Starting to see many signs of Autumn fast approaching. Where did the Summer go?
Blackberries
Rowan
Buddleia
Speckled Wood
Red Admiral
One man (Stephen) and his dog (Rufus) My home town of Ards in the background.
Scrabo Tower.
Strangford Lough.
Mourne Mountain in the distance.
Mountain Ash Berries ripening.
Who says trees in nature don’t have one branch growing below another? This big Spanish Chestnut disagrees.
Morning sun in the upper branches of a beautiful Scots Pine.
Fuchsia growing wild below the tower.
A cottage in the country.
The North Quarry, long disused. This is where all the famous Scrabo stone comes from and the pink sandstone can be seen on many of the old buildings in the area. It was also exported all around the world. The quarry is now home to Peregrine Falcons and Kestrels.
Ben’s Berberis
Ben brought along his berberis on Friday night for advice and a trimming. Personally I think he would rather it was me getting spiked to death with all those spines!!
This is a cracker little clump that we had worked on back in the Spring. He has already had to remove the wire and we added a few more to pull a few new shoots into place. It’s a year or so off coming into shape but with the great care it’s getting, I expect this to be a cracker little tree in years to come.
Before trimming…
and after…
Bonsai Eejit 