Top down view of group
In Winter the stunning new vibrant shoots of the Cornus or commonly known Dogwood shrub can brighten up your day as they are just radiant. They come in a range of colours and for fun I have created my very own rainbow bonsai group using Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ (Red), Cornus sang ‘Winter beauty’ (Orange), Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’ (Orange / Yellow), and Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’ (green) all planted in a bright blue pot.
Mark and Ritta’s Kaede (Trident Maple) at Noelanders 2014
Ritta and Mark have visited the Noelanders Trophy exhibition in Belgium many times, but they have only exhibited there twice, this year and last.
Scots Pine No 3. L 41 ins H 27 ins
Alan Harriman is selling his bonsai collection so for more details contact Alan via e-mail: alan.harriman1@btinternet. He can also provide further details about any of the trees shown in the photographs. Offers for individual trees can be made by e-mail to Alan or at the Open Days of March 22nd and 23rd 2014.
Takanori Aiba is an amazing artist who designs and creates some magnificent tiny structures and buildings on rock with bonsai trees.
Bag End recreation
Bonsai artists get their inspiration from all sorts of places and this bonsai artist Chris Guise, has re-created Bilbo baggins house Bag End using a Chinese Elm, ingenious or what!
This week, we’ve been designing displays for our upcoming winter show. Setting trees up in this way really makes you take note of the good points, but also the areas for improvement.
1st place – AW, Zelkova
2nd place – DM, Cotoneaster
3rd place – MP, Japanese Maple
Tree of the month was one of the closest we have had, not just in terms of tree as most were shohin sized, but also in points awarded.
Its the Noelanders Trophy next weekend, the 18th & 19th January, arguably the biggest biggest deal in the european bonsai calendar, we recommend you get there if you can.
When assessing bonsai trees whether to judge, buy or just reviewing your own, to develop them or set up a display there are a range of criteria that can be considered. Some may be conflictual and there may be many rules, but some rules are always meant to be bent a little or broken.
Tree roots are in general the art of simplicity, they have three key functions, to anchor the tree, absorb water and nutrients and store excess food for the tree for later. In bonsai they are essential to maintaining a healthy bonsai tree and are often over looked as out of sight, out of mind, but it is important to dedicate time to refining the root system of your bonsai tree to ensure its longevity.