Had a long one to one session today with the main focus being on the Hawthorn species and a few Maples thrown in for good measure.
This one is really coming on since being worked in a session last July.
This was the tree in July last year. Coming along nicely.
British Shohin Bonsai are delighted to announce that the headliner for the Spirit of Shohin exhibition next April will be none other than Taiga Urushibata.
The son of Nobuichi Urushibata, Taiga is the second generation of Urushibatas working in Taisho-en, the family nursery in Shizuoka, Japan.
While Taiga grew up immersed in bonsai tradition and art, it was with another Japanese Bonsai great that he honed the skills learnt originally from his father. In 2000 he became apprentice to Mr Masahiko Kimura and in the six years he worked with the great master, Taiga went on to develop skills at a very high level. Indeed Mr Kimura always rated Taiga as one of the best apprentices he had ever had.
Taiga returned to Shizuoka in 2006 to work alongside his father at Taisho-en. Now an established bonsai artist in his own right, Taiga has done workshops and demos in Japan…
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On Sunday Phil and I had a flying visit through the Burren, an area of outstanding natural beauty just North of where we held the workshop. 75% of Native Irish plants and animals can be found here in what accounts for only 1% of the landmass. It’s a highly protected area for obvious reasons and it was great to see even just the small part of it we did. Sorry for the photos as most were taken on the move. This is also the home of father Ted for those who followed the series. I would love to go back and spend a few days here exploring.
The National Bonsai Hall of Fame has been established to identify and honor individuals who have achieved excellence in the art of bonsai and who have contributed to the advancement of bonsai in the United States. The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum wants to recognize those who have dedicated their lives to bonsai in the United States and to fostering a greater appreciation for American bonsai. This recognition is presented at the annual National Bonsai Foundation reception which includes a plaque and award.
Nominees must have been a resident of the United States and have made significant contributions to the art of bonsai in the country. This is an excellent opportunity to recognize individuals who have significantly contributed to American bonsai. Nominations for induction into the National Bonsai Hall of Fame may be made by anyone in writing and can get specific information from curator Jack Sustic at the National…
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Well, perhaps not new beginnings as the Munster Bonsai Club will reach it’s 2nd birthday in a few months time, but our visit to Bunratty and Bud Garden Centre was certainly the start of something good. Ray, the co-owner of the Garden Centre is one of the original Club members and has been a keen supporter of all their efforts to drive bonsai forward in Munster. We suggested that Bud Garden Centre, newly opened in March, might be a good location for a workshop, helping to spread the club over the whole Province so at not to become Cork-centric. Ray embraced the idea and Saturday saw us deliver a successful workshop in Bunratty not just to the regulars, but also three new faces. Great to see Steven, Lottie and Harry joining in for the first time. It was a busy session with lots of trees and we also had the public popping in to see what we were doing.
A big thank you to Ray and Andrew, Bud Owners, for making us so welcome, we look forward to another visit soon.
A few photos that capture the venue and the day. Not many of the trees sadly as I didn’t have much time to play with a camera on the day. First up some of the team, sorry to have missed out Lottie and Harry from this one, but it was taken at the end of the day. The others show the day and the amazing location in Bunratty.
Another lovely day with Ian and Phil, in lovely spot – Bud garden center , just next door to Bunratty Castle.
Displaying and sallying area.
Some lovely materials for sale
and accents with lovely pots
and as usually we started with trees critique
and then all hands on deck, get to work!!
Sorry I have been too busy so not many pictures. Even not pictures with trees after workshop 😦
And so it begins….
The girlie bag on the left is Phil’s over nighter 🙂
This is probably the longest I’ve gone without updating the blog (a whole 10 days!) Life’s been busy.
Today I’m packing up a few trees and accents to take along to a workshop with the Munster Bonsai Club being held tomorrow in Bunratty. A new location for us as we usually end up in the Cork area but we our being hosted by Bud Garden Centre in the beautiful town of Bunratty. This gives folk from the West coast a chance to come along on the day and take part in the workshop or just watch for a while and see what it’s all about.
Looking forward to catching up with the Munster guys and having some craic in the land of Father Ted. Reading this and live nearby? Come join us. I then have The Bonsai Experience to look forward to next weekend!
I have been working on this Atlantic Blue Cedar for a few years. I wanted one in my collection just for the colour and managed to salvage this one from a garden. It was originally 25 feet tall and it stall has a very tall feel to it but then those that know me know that I like tall trees. Not much taper, a bit of a fence post but I have always liked a tall tree with dropping branches.
This is it before I started work, branches had sprung up a lot since being dewired last year. The tree had fallen from a bench about 18 months ago and lost a large portion of the bottom branch on the right. This will take time to fil and now needed to be brought further to the front again.
This is it after wiring and styling. I added a few fine shari to the branches that had sprung the most. I’m hoping that this helps set them more permanently. I compacted the apex more and have used foliage to break the trunk line a little more.
Back on the bench adding that splash of colour.
For scale
I like the fullness of the restyled image. Almost shows the tree at it’s peak before it starts to go down hill, it happens to the best of us! It has put out decent growth since the last restyling and will hopefully continue to improve as an image.
Some older photos:
2009
2009
2012
I’ve been admiring the work of others in the last few years in the creation of kokedama or commonly known as mossballs. This year I decided to give them a go for myself. There seems to be a multitude of ways to create them so I tried a few different ideas but the best way I can find it to use fine bonsai wire to hold them together. Here’s a few of mine. Again early days as they’ll take a while to fill out but I’m happy so far.
Iris Gracilipes
Epimedium and unknown x 2
Japanese Forest Grass, creeping mint and unknown.
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