Bonsai
Hello all!
So, spent a good portion of the weekend working on bonsai. (Yes, the Japanese art of miniaturizing trees.) It's something Alex and I have been talking about doing for some time now, and something that I have always thought was really interesting.
Last weekend Alex and I "liberated" a couple small trees from some parkland... I took an apple (which I have other plans for) but Alex got a small white pine, which he wanted to turn into a bonsai. This past Saturday we went to get other supplies - pots, soil, pruning tools, wound healing paste, wire for training branches - and a couple more plants to work on, and spent Saturday evening and Sunday morning re-potting, trimming, and sculpting the bonsai-to-be.
So, the two I am working on:
Bougainvillea: This is a sub-tropical vine, so it will be an indoor bonsai. They tend to flower in winter, so I bought one which will flower in white; my concept for this bonsai is that when it flowers, the white clumps of flowers can be made to look like snow on the branches... essentially mimic an outdoor scene, but indoors. Bougainvillea have strong, interesting roots, so I re-potted mine with the roots growing over a rock, which will be exposed later once they have taken. Eventually the rock will be tipped up, protruding from the soil, and the tree will look like it is growing on the side of a rock, its roots twisted around the rock until they reach soil. I think I will train it aiming to get some interesting zig-zag bends in the trunk, with alternating branches... sort of nonchalantly perched on this rock.
Burning Bush: This is a hardy plant that is grown as a shrub in Ontario - its leaves turn a bright red-almost-pink colour in the fall, and I hope to leave it outside most of the year. The plant I found already had a couple of interesting bends in the trunk, and when I took it from its pot I discovered it had interesting root structure just below the soil line, so I decided to expose a bit of those, and also re-pot it so that the first portion of trunk is coming out of the ground at a significant angle. I want to keep the first few branches all on that same side of the tree for a very wind-swept look - so that the whole plant will give the impression of being constantly bombarded by powerful winds from one direction. As the trunk slowly curves upward and then back "into the wind" it will start to have more branches on both sides, as though it persevered until it was strong enough to face the wind.
I'm finding it to be very interesting and engaging, having to look for natural features in the plant, and integrate those towards a final vision of the plant, and then start a training plan - over many years - to slowly grow it and train it to meet that vision. It actually feels good to start a project that requires patience and doesn't have immediate results and immediate gratification... I think it will be a good exercise for me, to help me focus on parts of myself that have heretofore been under-developed. Here's an interesting quote about bonsai I found while looking for images:
"It is not just raising a small tree in a shallow container; but rather establishing a caring, everyday relationship with the plant and with the natural phenomenon - the rain, wind, frost and drought. In this way, a bonsai artist comes closer to nature. In creating bonsai, the artist joins hands with nature. It is as two accomplished artists work together on the same line." - Neera Neelambera (President, Indian Bonsai Association)
Anyways, I am hoping that this will get me looking at gardening things on a daily basis, and also start getting me attuned to what's going on with my plants (both bonsai and vegetable garden) - when they need water, when they need fertilizer, when they need pruning or other attention, etc. I'm also hoping for this to teach me a little patience; to teach me to enjoy the journey and not just the finished product; and to train myself perseverance in achieving my goals and completing my projects.
Anyhoo, pictures and perhaps sketches to come eventually...
B.
So, spent a good portion of the weekend working on bonsai. (Yes, the Japanese art of miniaturizing trees.) It's something Alex and I have been talking about doing for some time now, and something that I have always thought was really interesting.
Last weekend Alex and I "liberated" a couple small trees from some parkland... I took an apple (which I have other plans for) but Alex got a small white pine, which he wanted to turn into a bonsai. This past Saturday we went to get other supplies - pots, soil, pruning tools, wound healing paste, wire for training branches - and a couple more plants to work on, and spent Saturday evening and Sunday morning re-potting, trimming, and sculpting the bonsai-to-be.
So, the two I am working on:
Bougainvillea: This is a sub-tropical vine, so it will be an indoor bonsai. They tend to flower in winter, so I bought one which will flower in white; my concept for this bonsai is that when it flowers, the white clumps of flowers can be made to look like snow on the branches... essentially mimic an outdoor scene, but indoors. Bougainvillea have strong, interesting roots, so I re-potted mine with the roots growing over a rock, which will be exposed later once they have taken. Eventually the rock will be tipped up, protruding from the soil, and the tree will look like it is growing on the side of a rock, its roots twisted around the rock until they reach soil. I think I will train it aiming to get some interesting zig-zag bends in the trunk, with alternating branches... sort of nonchalantly perched on this rock.
Burning Bush: This is a hardy plant that is grown as a shrub in Ontario - its leaves turn a bright red-almost-pink colour in the fall, and I hope to leave it outside most of the year. The plant I found already had a couple of interesting bends in the trunk, and when I took it from its pot I discovered it had interesting root structure just below the soil line, so I decided to expose a bit of those, and also re-pot it so that the first portion of trunk is coming out of the ground at a significant angle. I want to keep the first few branches all on that same side of the tree for a very wind-swept look - so that the whole plant will give the impression of being constantly bombarded by powerful winds from one direction. As the trunk slowly curves upward and then back "into the wind" it will start to have more branches on both sides, as though it persevered until it was strong enough to face the wind.
I'm finding it to be very interesting and engaging, having to look for natural features in the plant, and integrate those towards a final vision of the plant, and then start a training plan - over many years - to slowly grow it and train it to meet that vision. It actually feels good to start a project that requires patience and doesn't have immediate results and immediate gratification... I think it will be a good exercise for me, to help me focus on parts of myself that have heretofore been under-developed. Here's an interesting quote about bonsai I found while looking for images:
"It is not just raising a small tree in a shallow container; but rather establishing a caring, everyday relationship with the plant and with the natural phenomenon - the rain, wind, frost and drought. In this way, a bonsai artist comes closer to nature. In creating bonsai, the artist joins hands with nature. It is as two accomplished artists work together on the same line." - Neera Neelambera (President, Indian Bonsai Association)
Anyways, I am hoping that this will get me looking at gardening things on a daily basis, and also start getting me attuned to what's going on with my plants (both bonsai and vegetable garden) - when they need water, when they need fertilizer, when they need pruning or other attention, etc. I'm also hoping for this to teach me a little patience; to teach me to enjoy the journey and not just the finished product; and to train myself perseverance in achieving my goals and completing my projects.
Anyhoo, pictures and perhaps sketches to come eventually...
B.