Czech Yamadori

 There was a time when I believed that there are some solid cornerstones in the Universe.     Unfortunately this time is over.  Well, for most of them at least.    Good news:  some of them are still there:   My parents on the other side of the river.      My wife.      My family.       Matters that are important to me.     Bonsai is somewhere on the very top...            Shrubby cinquefoil   Pre bonsai.   But in a proper bonsai pot by Mr SHIMIZU Masakazu    kiln  YOUZAN Height 18 cm  

 In one of my earlie post about this pine I have mention some of the challenges we face.   Happy that one of them has been fixed.  Or at least nearly... The tree looks still empty and out of proportion but at least the remains of the main trunk has been converted into something that looks OK to me.     The way it was back in 2019    Preparatory work in 2020        And now in mid of Feb 2022.   It looks very fresh now and it will take a time to get a patina  but we are on the way... Height:  65 cm Pot: Martin Ašenbrenner  ( Wood fired kiln )      

 Another fairly small but massive mahaleb cherry with a lot of deadwood.    Height: 44 cm above the rim Pot: Hugo Studeník    

 The first few days of the new year are a bit lazy. So why not to take the advantage of it and share some other trees? The mahaleb Zorro is one of my largest trees.  Well, better to say heaviest ones.  It is not very large, in fact it is just about 50 cm in height and about 70 cm in width.  But the trunk is quite massive and the pot needs to be quite large to accomodate the long surface root.   The shape  is not very typical for deciduous tree but I do like it that way.  And that counts...   Still long way to go...   The "new part" clashes with the old one - just looking like a baby's arse.  Not to mention  a better taper and finer ramification... Hope to find some time later on to repot it and while there to change the planting angle. The left side is right now planted too deep. Height: 50 cm Width:  70 cm Pot: China  

 New Year's Day.    Outside temperature: +11 °C, cloudy with possible rain later in the day.   I plan to go out after the lunch to get some wood for my future projects such as bonsai tables etc.   It takes at least 4-5 years to have the timber ready for usage.  There are for sure much faster methods for drying but  first I have more than enough load on my hands right now and in next 2-3 years, second - drying chambers calculates in cubics - well above my projects and lastly - just being happy to let the Nature to do her job. It was quite sunny on the 31st Dec so I have taken few shots of some of my trees.  Not the best pics but their main purpose was to see the structures through the lens.   Good practice to follow. Here is the biggest birch in my collection.   +90 cm right now.   It is quite interesting to see how the hollow has been reduced over time.    2021 2015   Well, I should mention a method that has been used to force the callus to grow in specific direction.  The second p

Fest ival of co lou rs Main characters:  Pyrus pyraster Not as dark/vivid color as it could be but still reasonable good performance of this lady.       Prunus mahaleb   Outstanding performance this season.   For me this is the best performance I have EVER seen from a mahaleb.     Wondering why is that?  The weather this year was not very different from the ones before. Well, yes this year summer and autumn were quite dry and because of my heavy workload I have spent much less time pampering my trees.   Made THIS really the difference?     I did not have any other pot available. There is a plastic mesh  in the middle of the pot to keep the rootball reasonably small.    

Black wiper It was the dark lower section of the trunk that gave this tree its name. Lovely tree, in my eyes at least.    I know.  The thick elbow like branch in the middle is an eyesore. Even more it is just  a piece of a dead wood.  Dead wood on a birch? Are you serious?    And what about the transition between the old and new parts?  Yeah, it doesn´t look very nice rigth now.    BUT If you look on this lady from a reasonable distance, its getting dark and your eyes are not so sharp as they used to be ....    I guess you know  how this goes on...   I have heard this from one of our best actor Mr Jan Werich and I hope he would not mind if  I use it now and then.   Funny,  he crossed the river long time ago but he still there in our minds.  At least when it comes to my generation.   Autumn 2020 Summer 2020   Colour festival in November 2021 Who said: " Not worth the effort" ?