Czech Yamadori

I do not think there will be a day when I say: "Enough is enough"  and as a result I would stop collecting this genus. Perhaps it is because they are part of my life since the time I can hardly remember... An old  bird cherry was the first tree I was able to climb. At was at my age of  three or perhaps four?  And it was only possible with a massive help of the girls who were taking care of me.  It must have been a hard job to push my fat ass up the tree.   Frankly, I do not remember that part too much but,  I do remember the feelings when I stood on the lower branch with the whole world below me.  Who would care that I was not able to reach any of the cherries - the girls did a good job there as well.    And what about blackthorns?   I used to watch the berries,  as they were moving up and down in the large storage jar that my beloved grandfather used for making wine.  Much more worth than most of the programs on TV...

This little tree seems to be not very cooperative in helping me to have a more oval shaped crown... Height: 34 cm Width: 35 cm Pot: Martin Ašenbrenner_wood fired kiln In training since 2012 Nov 2019 October 2019

I do not like the  before and after series when it comes to styling a tree.  That is a kind of a shortcut that is more about the person than about the tree.  On the other side  I am happy to accept that series of  pictures  mapping in detail a transition of  a starter pine into a piece of art ( such as we can see with Kimura, Suzuki etc. )  is a great studying material. But for me this is a quite different story.    And what  about sharing pictures that map  a development of the tree in the course of years?  Well, I think it is a bit different  but still  maybe not fair  ( at least  from the perspective of the tree ).    Would you ask Bella Hadid to share  how she looked like at the age let say twelve?  Would you be even interested to see it?    Please meet my Bella Hadid.  I hope  it doesn't mind sharing the pics from its early times in a pot. ...

This was the damage done by a caterpillar to one of my birch.  The entire chunk of trunk has passed through the digestive tract of the beast .  The remains of the trunk looked a bit strange - too weak to hold the mass of foliage I have planned to build. August 2015 Luckily the birch was very keen to close this wound with a callus.  So I have decided to take an advantage of it and have tried to form an uro.   Using an adjusted piece of wood squeezed between both sides of  newly developed callus and fixed firmly to the trunk. October 2019 This is how it looks like from the front: And from the right side. Nearly 3 cm of new wood added forming nicely shaped Uro.   Surely not very often seen on a birch but very happy with it :)

I am really a strange type of guy.   Most of bonsai folk would try to get a yew with as many twists and sections of deadwood as possible.  Just have a look around.   And my yew looks like a lamp post... Strange, isn't. Taxus baccata Height: 25 cm from the rim of the pot. I am somewhere at the beginning of building the right structure of branches with rosettes.  Not sure there is enough space in between layers to do something structured.  We will see... Many years ago I saw an  ancient gracious yew in the garden that belongs to the visually impaired  center where I was doing some community job.   I have not take any picture but the vision of it is deeply imprinted in my memory...