dogwood restyling

See the whole story of this dogwood here:

dogwood nr. 3


Since we have the warmest February ever I have started to work with the trees outside. The drastic deadwood work that I had done last year looks pretty impressive only 12 months later already. But the tree is too high and the main trunk too straight. Let's see what we can do here.
The very last image is a virtual, of course.


















e.

Kokufu Ten notes

At IBC Bill Valavanis writes about this year's show:
he notes:

"I have been attending this exhibition since 1971 and each year it is different. Last year I noted that there were many more medium size bonsai and tropical species. This year another change. A great number of the evergreen species were NOT wired, indicating a trend towards displaying bonsai in a more "natural" style."

Very interesting! How about this piece of news.

larch gallery

All European larches, Larix decidua; all collected in the Alps.
The very last image is a virtual with smaller pot.

Hornbeam broom form #2

Here the result of two hours work. This is the informal broom form, the style is naturalistic style. It is typical for the naturalistic style that the tree looks credible from all sides and it is kind of hard to decide about the best front. It is also typical that during development one works with rather drastic artificial means to achieve the finaln natural look. The aim is to create a bonsai that looks like it was found in nature, only much smaller than a real tree. It's all an illusion.
Pick your front. And, yes, it is not for sale anymore! And the pot will be changed in spring 2009 to a much flatter one.

Hornbeam broom form

This is a European hornbeam, Carpinus betulus, collected in Germany in 1990, 50 cm high, around 30 years old, training pot, China.
Lena has cleanded and cut this tree which is, or was for sale. I took a long look at it and decided to play with it. How about a decent informal broom form? Is it not a broom form already. Yes sure, but it can definitely be improved.
So what exactly would this be? Well, see the last virtual to get an idea.

winter pictures part 25

deutzia, Deutzia gracilis, from garden plant
Europen field elm, Ulmus campestre, 40 cm high, this will go to the 'offer' section

olive worked over

Wild olive, Olea europea, collected in Spain, Mallorca, 50 cm high (live crown), much older than 100 years.

I can smell spring already

We had an unusually warm January again. Quite a few trees are showing their buds already, among them many flower buds.

garden lilac, Syringa vulgaris
dogwood, Cornus mas
honeysuckle, Lonicera
Japanese maple, Acer palmatum
wild cherry, Prunus padus
Japanese hawthorn, Crataegus cuneata
wild cherry, Prunus cerasifera
Chinese quince, Pseudocydonia sinensis

The Art of Bonsai Awards

This is really for everyone who has a good photograph of a good bonsai. Please participate and/or spread the word. Post this on your forums.
artofbonsai.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=66&sid=edc916ef634864e566797ad6777e0bb8



After careful deliberation, the staff at AoB has decided to focus on one contest only each year. It is our hope that by doing so, we can bring together a larger representation of quality bonsai from around the world, while continuing to offer a respectable prize list and maintain our high standard of professional judging.

We have taken all of our groundbreaking and record setting contests and incorporated the best ideas from all into one single photo contest format. This new design includes multiple categories, while creating a format where other categories and subdivisions can be easily added to meet the needs of our members and sponsors in the future.

We have also decided to offer additional awards, in cooperation with other bonsai organizations and our sponsors, such the American National Bonsai Exhibition Award, and the ABFF award. These awards are in addition to our primary awards, which are designed to reward and recognize the very best bonsai in the world.

We have eliminated our previous sub-categories dividing professional and non-professional entrants. It is our decision to hold contests that reflect the philosophy of the Art of Bonsai Project, namely that all content here be of the highest caliber.

We sincerely hope that you will help spread the word about this contest and participate yourself. Please see the contest area here for more infomation.

Good luck to all!
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The Art of Bonsai Awards
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