Well the time for our first club meeting is fast approaching, and was long over due. There has been a lot of interest from all over the country and we have people travelling long distances to be with us. Just a reminder it is on this Friday night at 8.00pm in the Blackrock Hurling Club, Cork. Any questions or queries don’t hesitate to contact me.

It will be a great night and dont forget to bring a tree with you. Roll on Friday 🙂

The accent plants at this years exhibit keep getting more like Ikebana than an accent for a bonsai. Some of these accents truly take away from the tree exhibited due to the profusion of species mixing in the pots. Aside from that, the artistry used in the making of these accents are breathtaking. A little inspiration for your next accent potting day.

I thought these too were wonderful accents but have no idea what the purpose of keeping the tags in the accent is for. maybe placing the tag under the slab or matt would look better….

Back in June I talked about a visit to bali-hai nursery.These are the plants we arrived home with, we meaning my wife came along with Ian and I.

Most of the accents are Hosta’s, I just love these little plants,this one is Little devil. It’s already forming a nice clump/mound.

Ghost Master, a very eye catching Hosta.

This is one of the Mouse Ears, ‘Frosted’ Mouse Ears to be exact.

Good luck reading this one!

Ian’s Hosta jig!

So the time has come for our first club meeting on Friday the 20th of September at 8pm in the Blackrock Hurling Club,Church Rd, Blackrock, Cork. So now that we have the time and Venue confirmed, all we need are Bonsai Enthusiasts. You are more than welcome to attend and bring a friend who may have interest in Bonsai. The aim of this Club is to have fun with bonsai, learn in a group setting and most importantly make a bonsai community in Cork.

For our first meeting we will get to know one an other and if each person would like to bring one tree with them just for discussion. It doesn’t need to be a 100 year old White Pine (If it is please bring it 🙂 ) If its a well developed or just material bought from a garden centre, please bring one tree if you can. It…

This Shimpaku was once owned by a man named Oguchi, a famous Bonsai collector.  I believe it appeared in one of his books over 20 years ago, when I find the photo I’ll be sure to include it next time, old records are great informers.

I worked on this tree for last years Kokufu.  At that time only detail wiring and an overall balance check were necessary.  Here is how it looked last winter.

Its current owner brought it back to us this summer for work, it ended up needing to be completely de-wired, deadwood cleaned, and rewired.  When over half is cutting in its usually better to just take it all off and let the tree rest.  In this case, however, Mr. Suzuki had other plans.  I later found out that this tree now belonged to my teacher, and being the multi-talented kind of guy that he is, he…

Japan: It’s every Bonsai fanatic’s dream. While I’ve been doing Bonsai for 6 years, it’s only in the last 3 that I’ve become serious about the art. From the first images I saw of Japanese bonsai in Kokufu albums and online, it’s been a milestone pursuit to travel there and see Japanese bonsai in person. Last week I did, and it was everything and more that I hoped it would be. But let’s back up a little bit.
One of my closer bonsai and pot nerd buddies is Matt Ouwinga, of Kaede Bonsai En, and earlier this year he invited me on the trip he was planning to Japan, led by the illustrious and delightfully sardonic Peter Warren, Mr Saruyamahimself.
I was, of course, ecstatic, and still consider myself quite lucky as a bit of greenhorn to have been included on this tour with such a respected group…