Ian and I have just arranged another visit to Bai-Hai nursery,so lots more accents to be had!

It’s been a busy month! And it’s nice to come back from tilting at windmills and other kinds of fun to see what’s been going on while away. I always look forward to see what’s blooming on the accent bench, and what’s getting ready to bloom. They’re a cheerful bunch!

I’ve shared photos of accent plants in the past when they begin to get showy, so it’s nothing new that I’m waxing rhapsodic at this time of year. This time I’ve also included a few paragraphs about their care, and some observations on the aesthetic horizons of these special plantings that my teacher Shinji Suzuki was so very fond of.

I’ve not yet fertilized any of these rascals this year, just watered. In early July I will fertilize. Most accent plants like a lot of water, even the succulents pictured here don’t mind it. But then they are from the…

So the time has finally come. Bonsai Ireland are currently looking for enthusiasts to join in Ireland. There will be a club in Dublin and in Cork. Me and Piotr are currently heading the recruitment drive for Cork.

If you are interested we will be having our initial meeting in mid September, date to be confirmed. This will be the Cork Club of Bonsai Ireland.

If you are interested please don’t hesitate to contact me at lyonsbonsai@gmail.com you can also leave me a message after this post. We will be hoping to start regular meetings and get a club established for the Cork region. It is badly needed to have a club in the Munster region.

Hope to hear from plenty of motivated bonsai enthusiasts in Ireland, we know ye are out there.

Wacky weather makes bonsai grumpy too. We’ve had, in the middle of the United States and in Europe, some of the oddest weather in years: Very cold springs in both places. These unusual weather patterns can result in seriously bummed out bonsai.

Even if you’ve only a few seasons of bonsai under your belt, it’s probably obvious that a bonsai is a very vulnerable plant. Because it lives in a pot, strange weather is a stronger version of strange to the tree. We might need to wait longer to bring our trees out of winter storage, which can result in tree weakness if they’ve been growing there for a while already. Pests and diseases can latch onto trees they normally would not have a chance with. Or, we can simply have hotter summers than normal which create other problems.

I remember very well my first year as an apprentice in…

Kusamono at the BCT

Enjoy a few more images from this year’s Best of British Bonsai at the Gardener’s World Live show in the NEC,  Birmingham.

I have just returned from a short break in North Wales from where we travelled down to the Birmingham NEC to visit the Gardener’s World Live show. As most will know, the show featured the Best of British Bonsai show this year and I am obliged to say that the display was outstanding.

For me it was a little bit special to stand up close and personal to trees of this caliber.  It was truly sensational. I took as many pics as I could and will feature them here over the next few days. It was a difficult task to photograph in the indoor lighting and get the colour balance and exposure right.  I only met with modest success and some of my images were disappointing to say the least. I did not want to use flash to avoid that awful background shadow that is so annoying so all the…