Czech Yamadori

The true origin of the art of suiseki.  A stunning revelation as a result of our long term scientific research. It is a common believe that  the development of Suiseki in Japan was influenced by the Chinese scholar's rock.   Carved in the stone.  Done and clear.  But is that really the true story of the origin of the art of collection of stones?    As a person who lives in a country where the history has been modified so many times to suit the leading minority I tend to take the bruited  facts with some level of doubts. And if necessary I made an effort to discover the true story behind.  So it was for the suiseki  and you can find the account below.      Based on my investigation, I believe that the first historically recorded collector of stones was David.  It was he who collected five stones from the broom in the  Valley of Elah.  While the primary purpose for that was to get some ammunition for his s...

   Acer ginnala_why have you collected this tree?   First of all I like ACERS as a species. Loving maple syrup and the early spring and autumn colours of their buds and leaves.  Second - I am looking for trees with "drama" .  Creatures that survive in difficult conditions that affect their body and soul.  And anyway  this is my only A. ginnala  in my collection.   Current height:  approx 15 cm  till the cut on the top primery branch Trunk  caliper (diameter ) at the ground level (DGH ):  na   Collected: Central Bohemia _ an old quary at the outskirts of  Prague Pot: training Autumn 2009 Autumn 2015 Winter 2015/2016 Styling direction:      The bottom of the tree has been raised compared to the pics above.  I plan to raise it even more in the future gradually revealing more and more of the roots.        The trunk above the gr...

Small trees in my backyard:  Prunus mahaleb Mahaleb cherry Height: 20 cm Nebari: 8 cm Pot: Training Collected in central Bohemia in 2012 There are not many mahalebs in the shohin category.  Just try to use the search engine and you will see how many results will come back to you.   I have been searching for a small mahaleb for many years.  I have crisscrossed all "my mahaleb's " sites many times.  No luck.  Explored new promissing locations with the same results.   So you can imagine my feelings  when I stumbled over this one.       July 2015 In autumn 2015 I have decided that there is time to move the tree into the prebonsai stage.  So it has been moved into the non frost over winter shelter that allows me to work on the tree in this odd period. Dec 2015 Dead wood carving in progress.   The rough part has been completed but still  more fine tun...

Prunus spinosa _ Blackthorn Current height: 42 cm Trunk caliper (diameter ) at the ground level (DGH ): 8 cm Collected: Central Bohemia Pot: training This is the first sloe I have ever collected.   I have been attracted by its size and nicely curved trunk.   The preparation for collection took me more than 2 years. During that time I have tried to get some fine roots closer to the main trunk.   The branch on the left was dry already at that time when I have found the tree.   Later on I noticed that the part of the dead wood is much bigger.   The removal of old bark revealed nicely curved lines of deadwood spiralling the trunk. Winter silhouette - early December 2015 with first sign of new growth due to the high temperature.  Pre X mas carving + new pot Back side.  The green mole hill is a cover for raised roots that can be seen in the first pic just behind the trunk.   I plan to keep them in positio...

  Yamadori hawthorn - The Drunkard - a winter silhouette  A bit of pre Xmas cleaning/pruning on this smaller hawthorn.   The surface layer of substrate has been replaced.  The root that is encircling the stone has been covered with a substrate with added chopped sphagnum moss to promote its growth.      Now having  a good rest before the next growing season in the winter shed. The introduction of this hawthorn in  here

 Malus purpurea -  The bigger one Current height:  approx 30 cm  till the cut on the top primery branch Trunk caliper (diameter ) at the ground level (DGH ): 12 cm Collected: Central Bohemia in 2012 Pot: training      This is the second one of my purple crab apple.  Collected at the same place as the small one. So it has been "pruned" by the highway maintenance workers now and then.   While the tree has developed quite nice trunk under the cutting level of the  machine used to keep the woods and bushes in a reasonable distance from the highway  there was a heavy cut on the top of the trunk.  Well, I was quite hesitant to collect it  - on my last visit the tree looked quite good but the early spring maintenance has removed most of new top branches.   Finally, I have decided to go for it.    There was no future for the tree on this spot and I may move it to a better/safer position in the woods in my nei...

The Grandma of Pears_ the most valuable tree of my collection What is the value of my most  favourite tree?  And how did I calculate it? My metrics are far from the standard one even though at the end it has the two most important parts integrated.   What are these two parts?    ADMIRATION and JOY that please your soul.  What is behind of those parts?  For most of the bonsai enthusiasts it could be species of the tree, its age, design, proportions and scales. For some others it could be the name of the person who has trained and shaped the tree or the name of the previous owner.    For a few others, it is the intimate relations with the tree quite often grown from a seed... For me it is the common memories that are linked to the tree. So what about The Grandma?       It is the early March 2011.  I am sitting in the car watching the grey sky and cords of rain  drumming on the hood.       ...