Yesterday was a busy but enjoyable day for me with friends appearing both, in the afternoon, and evening to play with Wee trees. As well as Stephen in the afternoon I had Michael.
He brought a few trees but I was in the mood for his Scots Pine. The last time I had seen it in his garden, it was covered in algae. I suggested a bottle of Algae Remover from Kaizen. He took me at my word and boy did it work. No green bark anywhere on the tree.
Original Front
New front, give or take an inch and a slight tilt.
All 3 of us sat down and picked a front for the tree. I wasn’t too keen on it’s present front and not one of us picked it. Stephen went slightly off centre from the front which was a pretty decent option but I fancied the going in from the other side. As it turned out, so did Michael. It was an interesting tree to look at. Each option had faults and we discussed how to either remove these or hide them. Some of the bends where a tad man made looking but a angle change and a guy line or two would sort this. The tree was collected by Michael from a bog and the bark even on the branches was plating up nicely.
We decided to wire the tree. We knew we didn’t have enough time available to finish it but plans are made for a second afternoon next week..
Some of the foliage before wiring.
After some wiring. I was starting enjoy my self when our time ran out. 😦
second instalment next week.
In April after wiring…
In June with some new growth.
…and yesterday. You can see how the shoots have extended and are now strong enough to hold the weight. They are even beginning to point upwards. Stephen had pinched the apex a few weeks back as it was very over grown and the wire was cutting in.
and this is it after pinching and de-wiring. Some branches will need to be re-adjusted. The pinching wasn’t done too hard as we wanted to allow extra foliage on the tree for health and photosynthesis .
The very top bit of foliage on the Juniper is a sacrifice branch that will be made into jin to match the rest of the tree once it has thickened sufficiently.
Shohin Pyracantha
Brian lives in an exposed spot along the shore and has struggled to keep a few species in good health since he moved there I few years ago. He says ‘enough is enough’ and is now selling a few of them. This Beech is one of them. You can see that the leaves had been severely wind burned this year but the tree has put out another flush. Obviously a strong tree.
He has left them with me for care and to sell. A few others as well if anyone locally is interested. A beech group, a cascade juniper, Korean Hornbeam, Fuji Cherry and a Chinese Juniper.
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.
The tree is currently putting energy into growth that will not be used within the future design, therefore this was removed and a few placement wires added to direct new shoots. This is the tree now.
Considering that this tree was all but dead in Spring 2010, Stephen is happy with the progress.
and the site itself ..
We travelled onto Paul’s beautiful home and were ushered out the back to the pool area where Paul keeps his bonsai. This was a beautiful set up and Paul has done what I dream of having.. a compact collection of bonsai. They say that the wise ones do this 🙂
One of the first things I noticed was the variation in the types of bonsai that Paul had. Not just in variety but also in style as well. Ever the Ficus where of different varieties.
One of Paul’s smaller Ficus.
Some of these I just can’t remember what they are! I’m sure Paul with check and help me out. Being a talented photographer as well, I’m sure he has better photos as well.
A beautiful Bougie.
Spotted this fruit on one of them. Not sure what it’s called either! Should have taken notes!!
A big Literati Bald Cypress
There’s another one in the sixth photo down that has a sacrifice branch at the apex. Going to be a stunning tree. I just love their foliage.
Bonsai Eejit 