Aug 2 2012

Escallonia Frog

This fellow seems to have taken up permanent residence in my big, recently collected, Escallonia. He buries himself in the sphagnum moss that I’ve used for top dressing and when I water, he climbs to the top of the tree for a shower. Great to have him about.

Aug 1 2012

Renewal

This little Rowan has found a spot to grow. It has self seeded into the top of this rotting fence post.

Jul 31 2012

Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

When I attended the BSA Show back in March I was very impressed by some of the accent planting. My favourite ones included a bronze animal element. This first one was my pick of them, two fighting hares in the long grass, displayed by Ian Warhurst.

This one was also excellent, a kingfisher in the reeds displayed by Bob Baillie.

and this one showing a frog hiding in the undergrowth, I think this one was Simon Haddon’s but I may be wrong. Can anyone confirm?

Having seen these I grabbed bought a few animals from one of the Show Traders with a view to doing something similar.

Today I was bored, this broken wing is cramping my style. We have a show coming up in September and it would be nice to include my two animals among the accents, this is what I’ve come up with.

First up is my rabbit in the long grass.

I love this one. About 20 years ago I’d have had the shotgun out for this fella but I’ve mellowed 🙂

Next was a crane, or I think it’s a crane! I wanted to do a riverside accent similar to Bob’s Kingfisher. Not as convincing as his but I think the blue pot adds the impression of water.

Jul 30 2012

The Bane of My Life

Never seen a year like it for these buggers!!!

Jul 28 2012

Edilweiss Accent

My Edilweiss Accent reaching its peak.

Jul 27 2012

Hardening Off

I decided yesterday to do a little shuffling of trees that had been collected in the Spring. Well, when I say me, I mean my two sons working under my direction.

Most where still in poly tunnels and I wanted to get them out to harden off a bit. The foliage as you can see here shows that most have responded well after collecting. There was a mixture of Scots Pine, Spruce and Larch.

I’m running rather low on space!! Had to add a few temporary benches to facilitate them.

All squeezed in! With trees visiting on holiday care it’s a tight fit!

Jul 22 2012

Rose Show

I had the pleasure of judging the bonsai entries at the Rose Show in Belfast yesterday. I small local flower show held as part of the bigger Rose Week event at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park.

The bonsai aspect was small, our club supports the Rose Society by always getting a few entries in to fill the space and add interest for the public. As far as bonsai go, it’s not what we aspire too in our own displays with the usual low tables and cramped space. For that reason and the poor photos that resulted from inside a marquee, I’ll not bombard you with poor quality photos. I will however share some photos taken from within the park itself showing both the roses and some nice trees.

First, photos from inside the flower show marquee during judging. The rest from within the park Rose Gardens and Japanese Garden. When I show the Rose name it’s because is a highly perfumes variety that my wife is determined to add to our garden.

Jul 12 2012

Mouldy Old Spruce

Stephen and I took a closer look at the Spruce we collected back in February. They have been in a poly tunnel all this time and have been way in the back were it was hard to check. With me being rather indisposed of late, it’s been hard to keep a close eye on what was happening. All looked good from the front, but when we got a closer look, we found that one of the Spruce had a patch of bad mildew due to poor air circulation and high humidity.