I was asked to work on this Korean Hornbeam and on Wednesday I managed to grab a few hours to get it wired. As is common with hornbeam, many branches had crossed or where curling inward. This was a reset for the tree to get structure back on track.
Tuesday was a first session with a new customer. Paul has been doing bonsai for a while but has decided to up him game. I spent the day helping him with a few projects and some repotting. Paul’s garden is pretty special too. Here’s some photos of the day.
I only wish I was young enough to go actual clubbing! This time it was a study group session with Leinster Bonsai Club in Dublin on Sunday.
We looked at repotting Theory, how, when and why we repot and what substrates to use. We then got hands on with a few trees to cover the practical side. A big thank to the LBC for supporting my endeavours in this the 5th of 6 sessions.
Last weekend I was invited as a guest of Munster Bonsai Club to attend the Peter Warren two day workshop hosted by the Cuan Mhuire Garden Centre in Bruree. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to watch and listen to Peter at work so popped down to road to Limerick to see the action. Peter flies under the radar in the bonsai world, a self confessed self deprecating personality with a unique but practical approach to bonsai cultivation and design, always putting the tree first over the owner. A true tree lover, you could almost call it Budan love 😉
We had two glorious days in the Limerick sunshine and even had to move outside to stop melting at one point. With 6-7 participants each day and a few added observers we had a pretty full house. It was great to meet up with a few people who to date I’d only texted with prior. More bonsai friendship in action, what it’s all about and makes for a fun weekend.
Congratulations to Munster Bonsai, especially Mark and Michael for organising and hosting the weekend. Your club continues to push bonsai learning and September marks 5 years from the point where we started this journey together in a Hurling Club in Cork. A long way in a short time.
Below is a gallery of some of the photos taken included before and after pics for the overly curious and many shots capturing the days activity. Some are a little out of order but you’ll figure it out.
When I was in County Clare on my travels I did a Kusamono workshop in partnership with Ray at Bud Garden Centre. Being a bit of a passion for me and also catching on fast with the folk down there we thought we’d give it a whirl with limited numbers due to space available. We even had sign ups from people outside of bonsai which was great. Here are a few photos of the planting created on the day.
This was A first Bud/Eejit collaboration and watch this space for future events in the Bunratty area.
Back in the Heatwave, remember those days lol, I was on my travels in Munster province of Ireland working with some of the bonsai folk in that area. I did a school day with the Munster Bonsai Club one of the days and then toured around a few gardens working on trees. Here’s a gallery of a few of the trees and gardens visited. Agreat 9 days on the road but I was glad to get home and see my dogs and unwind. A big thank you to all the guys Munster group for continuing to support my road trips. See you again in November.
I’m delighted to have been invited back to the Leinster Bonsai Club to run another 6 group sessions starting in October and running through the Winter to March 2019. These sessions are being tailored to the requests for the club members and will include hands on workshops as well as an in depth look at repotting, wiring, design etc.
Session are being held once a month on a Sunday starting at 10am in Mounttown Community Centre, Mounttown. Dates below:
21st October /18th November/16th December/20th January/17th February/10th March.
This fast growing club is open to new members and welcomes new faces at meetings. If you are interested in signing up for these 6 sessions, CONTACT THEM HERE.
Here’s a few snaps from last Winters sessions.
I had hoped to be more prolific in my posts this year but there’s been a bunch of eejits keeping me busy. It’s not slacking off either so I thought I throw up some random photos taken over the last week or so by way of catch up and avoid actually doing any real thinking about what I’m posting. 🙂
This is meant to be a kind of online diary after all so adding some pics helps me look back at what I’ve been up to and with who. A big thank you for those who have been keeping me busy. Long may it continue.
Happy New Year to all those who follow this blog.
2017 was a big year for me with bonsai taking a bigger role. Ireland is a small place and we are isolated in many ways from the rest of the bonsai community and 2017 saw me covering a lot of ground teaching bonsai.
I’d just like to say a massive thank you to all the other ‘bonsai eejits’ that made this year so successful. To the 30 who took part in one to one sessions, to the 11 who took part in monthly study group sessions. To the 2 Irish clubs in Leinster and Munster who’s support and faith in my abilities has been massive. To the folks over in the Ayr Bonsai for inviting me over to talk back in March.
2018 will see a continuation of the groundwork laid in 2017. I have 10 days in January with the guys down in Munster Bonsai doing one to ones and starting a new Bonsai School set up following the years of success my own club had with this format with Willowbog Bonsai.
I’m continuing the Study Group series with Leinster Bonsai through until May 2018. If you are Dublin based and interested in taking part, contact the guys here.
I will also be expanding the study groups set up here at my home. These have been running for a year now and feedback has been fantastic. If you live local and want to know more, then click here.
I look forward to catching up with bonsai friends worldwide again in 2018. A happy new year to you all.
A big thank you to the guys at Leinster Bonsai Club for having me down to do a group workshop on Sunday. A great day’s craic. Great to see new faces as well. See you all soon.
Thanks for the photos Max.
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