I plan on looking back at a few of the trees worked on over the weekend, as does Peter on Willowbog Chat. As Peter didn’t get a chance to work on this one, I thought it was safe to share.
This was a beech group that Ben had in a pot for 4 years. They are young trees but even still they can make a nice image. Ben had brought the group to a meeting and I suggested that they would look better on a slate. It just so happened I had one lying under a bench that was big enough, and gave it to Ben. I also suggested that a few thicker trees would greatly improve the image as well.
Ben took me at my word and brought it along on the Sunday along with a few Beech that were recently liberated from a garden.
If it was just a matter of lifting the existing planting out of the pot and popping it onto the slate, it would have been easy. No tie wires even needed as the trees were all meshed together after a few years in a pot already. Our problem was that a few new and bigger ones had to be added. I had 2 choices, split the whole group up and start again or fit the new ones in around the existing trees. I opted for a bit of both. I liked the positioning of the original trees but I split the group in two creating a gap for the new ones. I drilled the slate and wired these in place and also added a few tie lines for the original trees as well. The whole lot where then covered in keto and then moss.
Ben was pleased with the result and I feel the slate works far better than the pot in this sort of forest planting. Now he just has to keep the birds away from the moss 🙂
Here are a few photos of the action. Sorry no starting shot of the original group. I honestly thought I had one somewhere from the meeting Ben, ah well.
Ben me and Ovidiu doing a little manoeuvring.
My secret technique of using the force to position the trees 🙂
Ben checking that the work is up to standard.
Adjusting the heights of a few trees to make a better design.
The finished forest at the end of the day. The new trees are slightly darker bark for now but this will even out with equal exposure to the sun.
Ben emailed these photos taken in 2007 when he put the original group together. I believe it was his first attempt at a forest.
We had removed the old needles last Friday night and most of the prep for wiring had been done.
And after wiring.
Hugh was happy with the result. I would consider a few alterations at some point. As they say, there’s always options 🙂 The bottom branch may be optional, a choice for Hugh at some point down the line. Once the image fills, there are several other branches that can be removed, but, as it sits, I think it’s a good start.
Bonsai Eejit 