is up and running………………….he responded to a picture Clarina posted……..of the entire group…………unfortunately, I can’t find her post or picture………………….but the comment section works. rj
The year is 2010. A year after CFBC 40th aniversary. The day is June-27, the fiscal year end picnic. Before starting the party, we took group pictures.
More club members came later, but it needed an act of the president to get everybody together for the photos, so we may take another one at the Christmas. Get prepared for the photos. Marge we will be waiting you for the photo.
The party was fantastic. We had a great fun time!
I’m moving right along and changing the style of some of the trees in my collection. This buttonwood was purchased from Mary Madison 2 years ago. Betsy had affectionately named it “The Bird nest” because the trunk went round and round like a bird nest. It has a nice nebari but I could figure what to do with it. I took it to one of the Noname Study Group with Mary Madison as the visiting teacher. She suggested to make it into a full cascade. So since I’m in the mood to change styles I said why not.
So it went from this, the day I purchased from Mary:
To this last summer:
and finially to this:
or this, another front:
I think it’s much more dramatic. Those last 2 pictures where take over two weeks ago and it’s already growing. It needs alot more refinement but what do you think so far? Thanks Mary!
It was Monday but a lot of people came to see the demo, and on top of the great lessons about the bonsai styles we were privileged to have a wonderful snacks (if I can call snacks the delicious dishes brought by Diane).
The juniper at the start:
How to use the tape and bend the tree:
A bonsai tree is promising:
The tree which will be raffled in the club picnic (Jun-27).
The interesting side is that the winner will have the opportunity to do the final touch which was explained by Lindsay. We can make a cascade or eliminate the two bottom trunks for a more upright tree. The long branches are to allow the grow, and later cut shorter as the branches get bigger. The basic styling is done but the luck winner can develop the tree to their own taste….
I think bonsai and food go very good together. Thanks Diane!
For years I’ve been hesitant on trusting my gut feelings regarding making bonsai decision. I decided this year will be different. I’m starting with this buttonwood I purchased from Mary Madison in Sept of 2006 (see below).
When purchased most of the trunk was burried deeply. So I was pleasantly surprised on how nice the trunk was for a small plant. Even though it turned out to be a nice tree I was never quite satisfied with the the 1st large branch on the right (see below).
To me it always seemed to be 2 trees that merged together, particularly from the back. I always thought about seperating the 2 portions but was reluctant. So on May 16th I took it to the Mary Mardison demo/workshop to get opinions.
I first show it to Mike R. and he agreed with me to make 2 trees out of it. Then I got Mary’s opinion and she said not to separtate them. She said the 1st branch was too thick and to make it thinner.
Afterwards I decided to make 2 trees out of it. Even though it’s small, it’s a buttonwood and it was hard separating the 2 portions. However, I did it and now have 2 trees. I will only be keeping one of them. Can you guess which one?
Tree one
Tree two still needs some carving done on the back to get rid of the saw mark and I will probably make the 1st jin on the left shorter, but will wait until it recovers. So what do you think? Was this the correct decision?
Tree two
The nerafolia is about 3-1/2 ft high and the bougie is 14″
It was a beautiful day to be out in the sun and did I get sun…. my bold spot is red.
No matter how many times I go, each time is a wonder so if you have not yet taken the trip
do it you will not regret it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Diane submitted 7 trees for consideration in the upcoming State Convention. All 7 were approved by the Exhibit Committee. Whooppee! Now you are forewarned. If you show up at the workshop you may be handed a bottle of lysol and a toothbrush. Good job Diane…………………rj
PS…….If you haven’t visited Paul’s OrlandoBonsai.com site lately, you should. Paul is really, really good and Mike Rogers is Great!
section of our blog………….no one even posts anything for me to make a wise guy comment……………sigh………………I’m not even gonna tell them about our spider mites…………lets keep them guessing. Congrats on having your Dwarf Crepe Myrtle selected for the exhibit…………..it’s killer bad…………rj
For those that did not see the report on Bonsai that was on the CBS Morning show this week.
Bought a nice salicaria ficus at Jim Smiths. Nice nebari… a real beast to root prune…………………but worth it. Here is a picture from the front.
Here it is rotated 90 degrees and then from the same side after cutting off the short, thick back branch.
Here’s the tree wired and in the pot after removing most of the top.
That was fun….bet it looks really good in two years. rick
