Following on from my last post about Roy’s Larch group and the comments made, here is a slab virtual that retains the rock element.
and with part of the rock removed for better lines.
The original pot virtual.
and the original
side by side…
Tag Archives: bonsai
Larch Forest Pot Virtual
Roy C brought this Larch forest to the club meeting on Friday. Roy has been creating bonsai for many years on his own, learning from books and his own experiences. About a year ago he heard about the NIBS and made contact through the Website. He has a bit of a drive to make it to the meetings but when he gets there, he always has something interesting to see.
This forest was created from young Larch seedlings that had self seeded into the guttering on a shed roof at his farm! When he put this group together, he added the white limestone as it reminded him of his local landscape. I quite like this sentimental idea but in it’s current form, the white rock over powers the image and the rocks are a little too angular.
We chatted about the group at the meeting and I made a few suggestions that in my opinion would make for a better image.
Firstly I felt that the stones should go. The rock to the left look as if they are holding the trees in the pot and are very distracting.
Secondly I felt that the height of the soil mass should then be reduced. It sits very high in the pot in its current design. This may be more sustainable in a wider pot.
Thirdly, a change to a larger, shallower oval pot would greatly improve the image. The current rectangle is too deep and inappropriate for a group.
Lastly, I felt that a few of the trees should have their height adjusted to give a more overall triangular over view. This could be enhanced by adding a further small tree or two at the edges.
I took a photo and said I would play about with a virtual to see if helped explain my views. Here is what I came up with.
A smaller tree could still be added to the right hand side during repotting. If Roy still wanted to include some white stone, a well weathered piece with a more worn appearance could be added in the space to the right as well. It would need to be low lying, mostly buried, just visible on the soil surface. Two trees to the right have been shortened as well.
With a few more years of ramification and a little wiring here and there, I think this will be a very nice little group indeed. Moss would be nice but the sparrows on the farm do major damage, but the less said about the sparrows and Roy, the better 😉
Phil’s Chamaecyparis Obtusa
Bar a few minor changes, that should be all the faffing about finished. Hope you like the different theme. I think it suits a photo based blog better.
To get the ball rolling again, here is a Chamaecyparis Obtusa that Phil collected from a garden a few days ago. I was at his place the other night and he insisted on getting the lamp out for a look in the dark. Plans are afoot to get it reduced in height and thinned out.
When he told me he had collected two Obtusa Chamae that where 6′ tall, I expected the inner branch structure to be bare. How wrong I was! Branches to the base on this one and foliage right to the trunk. Best of all, being a landscape gardener, he got paid for taking them out!! 🙂 The other one has been put in a flower bed for a year or so.
The faded original label was still attached. It states that its a Nana Gracilis. I always thought that this was the small variety and the label says a top height of 80 cm. At over twice that height, I think this may just be obtusa.
I love this variety for bonsai but have yet to find one worth keeping for myself. Phil has a decent start with this one, albeit limited style wise. If he doesn’t want it, I’ll take it off his hands.
Here are a few that appeared on Facebook and other online sources. I have searched a few times to see what can be achieved with this species.
This one belongs to Josh, a fellow club member.
Storm Damage
On my walk this morning it was obvious that the high winds from a few weeks ago had taken their toll on this particular trail.
An old Hawthorn stump exhibiting some nice deadwood.
The trail ahead.
Club Night January 2012
Had a good night at the club meeting last night. We had asked for members to bring Larch and we had a great turn out. As usual for January, numbers attending were up. Must be the post Christmas effect.
A few pics from proceedings.
Birch root over rock belonging to Hugh.
Roy’s Raulii
Phil pointing out how many more trees are needed in the forest planting.
First styling for Roy’s Larch.
Davy’s little shohin Yew
Larch Night @ The Club
I’m heading to an NIBS meeting tonight were we will be looking at some of the members Larch Bonsai. Our meetings are always workshop based and this year we have decided to theme a few of them on a specific species to allow for better learning. First meeting of the new year and I must admit, I’m rather looking forward to it.
I’m taking along this Larch group. It needs some thinning out where branch tips have become too congested with buds.
BSA 6th Annual Exhibit
As I sit here waiting for my trees to waken up in the Spring I can’t help but look forward to the forth coming British Shohin Association Exhibition. I plan to make the trip over to this in March and maybe even get a tree exhibited.
I have made many new friends through this blog and this will be an opportunity for me to actually meet a few face to face. To get in the mood I’m going to share a few photos from past Exhibitions.
This is a short View clip of the show display area.
Even More Videos!
There really is some great videos out there on You Tube if you look. I’m not really looking for long instructional videos, just something to fill a few minutes and lets you see some top quality bonsai.
Starting to think that a page on here linking all the good ones in one place might be an idea.
Journey to Japan Part 5
I believe this is the final instalment from Andrew Sellman’s trip to Japan.
The main focus is on the ASPAC Convention. He had made a grand job of condensing the multiple demos into a quick snapshot of before and afters.
Can Yew Help?Can Yew Help?
Phil called asking if I could help him shift and repot a Yew yesterday.
The Yew came from a club members garden. It was originally 12 feet tall but Phil cut it back and put it in a fish crate back in March 2011. The owner decided a few weeks later that it was too big for him and said Phil could have it.
Now, this presented a problem as it was too big to transport as it sits in a large fish crate. He opted to remove it from the crate and wrap the root ball for transporting back to Belfast, where it would be potted again. As it was big and heavy, he asked me to give him a hand. The plan was to repot and place it in the poly tunnel on the heat bed. Here’s the afternoon in photos.
The tree sitting awaiting collection by Phil.
The tree in the back of the car.
and in the driveway.
When we pulled it out, I was amazed at the new roots produced last year. It had been potted into fine tesco cat litter, finer than we normally use but it had worked well.
On closer inspection we could see the remains of the original burlap sack in there and even the sandy soil that it had contained. It was obvious that the tree hadn’t issued any roots into this old compacted soil. It was important that this was removed now. The best way to do this was using the hose to avoid damaging the new roots. The best way to do it without making a mess of Frankies Drive was to do it into a street drain 🙂
Frankie makes sure all is in order!
Washing out the old soil.
Clear to see the hole left when this is removed. No fresh roots had even tried to fill this area.
A quick check that the mica training pot will work out.
A mix of grit and cat litter, heavier grade, was added and the tree was watered in.
The hose is kept on until the water runs clear. This required two watering sessions before it worked. You can see the murky colour here.
Here’s the tree potted up with Phil standing to attention 😀
The next step was to remove the branches that were never going to be part of the final design. No point in energy being wasted on growth that’s going to be removed. A few of the heavier branches were roughly jinned as the will be deadwood in the final design. This stops the tree from issuing new growth on them in the meantime.
These will be reduced greatly in the future.
After thinning out.
A second watering to get the clear running water.
Next space was created in the tunnel to allow it to be placed onto the heat bed. Not an easy task!
A mild day.
I took a few other snaps in the garden while the sun was out.
Cotoneaster
Korean Fir
Frankies Chinese Elm Hedge!! Full leaf out doors.
and that was me for the day, I buggered off before the clear up started lol.
Bonsai Eejit 