There will be a great raffle at our 10th Anniversary Bonsai Winter Image Show and we have a few more raffle prizes to add to the list including two £5 gift vouchers for Golden Acres Nurseries ltd at West Parley, Ferndown. So thank you all for your kind donations to our raffle and we look forward to seeing you in two weeks time at our show.

During our recent trip to Holland, we called in at ‘t Veerle in Belgium which is a hidden gem of Japanese Bonsai trees in particular Pinus parviflora and Satsuki Azalea. They also have a large collection of Niwaki garden trees plus Koi too, all set in a great landscaped garden with adjoining resturant.

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Recently I came across the new phenomenon of Pop Bonsai, which is a freestyle approach to bonsai to which there are no rules beyond your own rules it appears. It does not follow conventional or traditional bonsai rules, but allows the artist to just create Pop Bonsai however they like, to the extent of their own imagination.

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This is awesome, I have seen this miniature set of hedges displayed at many a country show and the detail is fantastic. It is amazing to see what people can do and create with a bit of patience and imagination. One of the purposes of this display is to show the various types of hedge laying styles as these vary from county to county.

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Norway Spruce

 

This year we have a few new traders coming to our 10th Anniversary Winter Image Show and one of these will be Simon Hawkes, Nathan Webb and Simon Crocker of SNS Yamadori.

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Juniperus chinensis

Best in Show – Juniperus chinensis

After a trip down to Folkestone, an overnight stay and an early morning, [even Paul H didn’t manage to get his cooked breakfast] it was onto the train and in about 30 mins we were in France. Unfortunately, the weather decided to turn very wet and with the other traffic on the E40 you could only just see the front of the car bonnet. Into Belgium and by then Paul’s stomach was making funny noises so it was a quick pit stop and then onto the venue.

Everything was in full swing when we got there so it was a case of placing out the Swindon trees and then trying to get them photographed, the traders were buzzing around like bees round honey. What a place and some of those trees, would give you a hernia trying to lift them.

The next day was very wet but didn’t stop a big crowd from viewing the trees, it was difficult to find an area where you could photograph them. The traders areas were even worse, and by the time you had made your way to the end, you couldn’t get back again. Still it didn’t stop sales being made. The trouble was excactly what do you buy first.

Luckily in the afternoon it thinned out a bit so that we could manage to see the trees, trouble was that I was so busy trying to get a good picture I couldn’t remember looking at the trees themselves.

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It is that time of year again, well it might seem a bit late but we have yet to have a proper winter here in the South of England. It has been so mild that I have delayed taking my Baobab starter bonsai trees out of their pots for the winter during dormancy, as they didn’t appear to want to go dormant.

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The tree of the month competition was well attended and the winner goes to Paul Bowerbank this month for his Siberian Elm. In second place was a beautiful Larch from Dennis Henly and in joint third were a Yew that belongs to Mike Partridge and a Cork Bark Elm of Derek May. There was a good range of species entered beyond the winning trees including a Ficus, Serissa, Zelkova, Privet, Hornbeam, Ivy and Juniper.

This year kicked off with a review and discussion of last year’s events with a slide show of photographs of bonsai trees at various shows. Details and developments of our upcoming Winter Show were also discussed, anybody who has ever organised an event such as this will know the level of planning and detail that you have to go into just to make it work. We have all been putting a good deal of thought and effort to ensure that this year, our tenth anniversary is a special event for everyone.

Ritta giving a previous presentation

Ritta is well known for her accent plantings and Kusamono.

An example of Kusamono

During the show she will be making a presentation which will cover everything you need to know on the subject.

Ritta attended the Swindon Club in Aug 2011 and gave an interesting talk, after which, club members constructed some of their own. For a copy of the report see https://swindon-bonsai.co.uk/2011/08/09/kusamono-and-shitakusa-by-ritta-cooper/#more-2321

One not to miss for ideas, especially in the run up to the Magical Bonsai Accents show on Sunday the 27th May 2012, at Failand Village Hall, Nr Bristol

http://magicalbonsaiaccents.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/hello-world/

Ritta, together with her husband Mark, have a lovely collection of bonsai and some of them will be on display in the main display hall.