I lifted this little willow out of the grit tray for trimming. I think a better pot next year might be in order 🙂
Before a light trim.
and after with the other side selected as a better front.
Tag Archives: Northern Ireland
One Flower Will Have To Do
Looks like it could only manage one flower in this little pot.
Try Try Again
I saved this cedar from the chop back in 2008. It was growing as a tall tree in the middle of a lawn. The owner wanted it removed as it was ruining the lines created by his lawnmower! There was 4 of them but this was the only survivor from collection. They had strimmer damage and very poor roots.
I wasn’t sure if it would even make a tree and to be honest the jury is still out on that point!! It is very straight and resembles a fence post. I don’t have the photos from the first shaping back in 2009. It was just branch selection and some primary branch wiring done to drop the branches.
A short time later I wanted to practice my carving and decided this would make a good practice piece. I wasn’t too worried about it and I thought that carving might add interest to the trunk and take away from the straightness.
You can see that I need the practice!! I then wired the tree to replace the branches at the right angles. This all took place over a 4 month period.
I wasn’t overly happy with the result. I considered lowering the height of the tree and perhaps creating a jinned apex like the virtual below. However, I wanted two tall trees that would eventually sit either side of a gate into the bonsai section of my garden. I have another one of a similar size and style and decided to keep it the full height. This meant keeping the cheat of an apex.
This is another virtual done back in2010
Yesterday I brought it into the garage and started to tidy up the weeds in the pot and and remove old needles. Before I knew it the wire was out again! Lots of growth in the last year with enough extension that I could hopefully improve the image. Branches have sprung up and needed to be brought back down again.
Me for scale.
After four hours this was the best I could come up with. I had to take it slow and steady with my dodgy shoulder but I got there in the end. I was able to use foliage to hide the bad apex.
Still a lot I’m not happy with but perhaps some day it’ll be worth all the effort. I do have a soft spot for that lovely blue foliage 🙂
Happy Bonsai Day
My surprise and delight when I checked in for a look at a new post on Nekotoban ‘Bonsai Days’ blog to find this birthday display just for me 🙂
Thank you so much Yumiko 😀
Cotoneaster Tidy Up
Should have taken a before photo of this one to show just ow vigorous it’s been this year. I air layered the apex off it earlier in the year and am now filling out the new apex. This was it after the tidy up.
Happy Birthday to Me
Another milestone comes and goes today. No intention of saying how old I am as there are a few cheeky beggars on here that will only take the hand out of me 😛
This page on our Club blogsite was drawn to my attention by a fellow bonsai blogger last week. Alberto kind of stumbled across the page and enjoyed the story. I thought I’d share it here. It’s the story of how I got started in bonsai and shows my garden over the early years. It’s kind of embarrassing really, it’s shows that I really have aged !
NIBS – Ian’s Profile
Dwarf Allium
This dwarf alliuim was gifted to me this year. Not in an accent pot for now as I’m growing it on with the intention of splitting it. It’s just come into flower which are very nice indeed.
Japanese Black Pine Wiring
On Friday afternoon before the rest descended on my garage, I decided to test out my should with a little wiring. I opted for this shohin JBP. This is it before wiring.
Option 1
Option 2
I opted for option 1 to hide the chop wound to the back. This is the tree after wiring.
Shohin UK Exhibition 2013
Thought I’d share this here for all those UK based enthusiasts. In fact, that’s rather restrictive, feel free to attend from wherever you are!
I have cut and pasted the below info from the Facebook page recently set up. I have clicked the ‘Maybe’ button for attendance but I’ll have to wait until closer to the time before I know if I can attend. Seeing who is doing the organising, I can assure you that this will be a quality event.
On behalf of the organising team, I am pleased to announce that an exciting national UK Shohin Bonsai show dedicated to smaller bonsai, will be held on Sunday, March 24th 2013. This exciting national event is being organised by Mark & Ritta Cooper and Bob Bailey, with the support of the Bristol Bonsai Society, the British Shohin Association, and the Federation of British Bonsai Societies.
This will be the only UK national exhibition dedicated to Shohin bonsai in 2013 and will be a “must visit event” for all Shohin Bonsai enthusiasts.
The venue is the recently refurbished Failand Village Hall, near Bristol, UK, which is located just a few miles from Junction 19 on the M5. The postcode is BS8 3TS. The nearby historic and culturally vibrant town of Bristol has a wealth of tourist attractions for those who may wish to make an extended vacation. Bristol airport is only 15minutes away from the venue.
This national show is open to everyone and is specifically for Mame, Shohin and Chuhin size bonsai only. It is our ambition to set high standards, both for exhibits and for the standard of display. We would be very happy to welcome visitors and exhibitors from continental Europe.
NB as a helpful guide for exhibitors:-
•Mame size guide is approximately 10cm from soil surface
•Shohin size guide is approximately 20cm from soil surface
•Chuhin size guide is approximately 45cm maximum from soil surface
•Mame size guide is approximately 10cm from soil surface
•Shohin size guide is approximately 20cm from soil surface
•Chuhin size guide is approximately 45cm maximum from soil surface
Facilities will be provided to display trees to a high standard. Exhibit tables will be covered in high quality black cloth. Background screens for exhibits will be provided, with the cloth being off white in colour with the facility to be able to use pin fixings to hang scrolls if required. Lighting at the venue is very good.
There will be a selection process for exhibits, so please do request details for an application to exhibit as soon as possible. The closing date for applications to exhibit is the 1st January 2013. There will be many awards and trophies presented and details of awards will be announced nearer the time.
Many Bonsai traders offering quality goods relevant to the theme of the event will be in attendance and further details will follow soon. Light refreshments will also be available.
Further information will be made available as plans for the event develop.
To request further details, or to express an interest in this event as a potential exhibitor, please contact Mark Cooper at shohin.uk@btinternet.com
To request further details, or to express an interest in this event as a potential exhibitor, please contact Mark Cooper at shohin.uk@btinternet.com
Tiny Accent
Not the smallest I’ve seen, but the smallest I have, this little Rhodohypoxis is just about to pop it’s first flower. I love the pot colour with that rare Irish blue sky!
Bonsai Eejit 