Post 99 Trident pot commission

It's always good to see my pots appreciated and even better to see them put to use.

Pot 55 was commissioned for a well developed mature trident maple, that was housed in a beautiful pot that was just a little on the small side.  This is the picture I worked from to work up a proposal for a new pot; with the coke can for scale! The owner also wanted to get the tree a little lower in the pot for future nebari development as well as provide a little rootspace buffer for summer.

The result was Pot 55, a 395mm oval pot which suits the tree nicely. It has just a little more length and depth and is glazed in my buttermilk cream/beige colour, applied to give just a few breaks.

Finally the tree and pot are united, with the folliage revealing that the process takes a little time. With the tree now in full autumn colour the union has proved to be a good one.

 

Photograps posted with the consent of the owner.

Post 98 Canberra show

After a very long time growing bonsai my first bonsai conference was an interesting experience. Perhaps it was complicated by doing a little pottery promotion on the side, but in the end I was rather pleased not to be locked down into being a shopkeeper for the duration, selling pots, instead able to enjoy the demonstrations, presentations and company.

Ryan Neil's demonstrations were everything they could have been; good horticultural science and good bonsai; art, aesthetics and practice. The absorption of mature elements of Japanese culture is also present. He was also a prime example of many Americans in public life - very good at using just the right number of right words to get the message across, and then in an entertaing way. He has a great future ahead of him and is not to be missed if you have a chance.

Here are a few pictures of trees in the show. Pardon the photography but the camera obviously didn't adjust to the lighting well.

 

Shimpaku Juniper  1976. I've only got a few small shimpaku myself; they sure are slow growers. After seeing all the native junipers in the SW USA I am more than ever inspired by them. I actually called into Leong Kwong's place in Caringbah on the way home and pickup three Sargent Junipers to work on. I'll show these soon in a post.

This one is a Banksia Integrifolia of 1980 and my pick of the trees on display. I was impressed with the number and quality of the Ausrtalian natives under cultivation and on display.

Dwarf Hinoki Cyprus 1981.

Banksia Ericifolia

This Privet has been a bonsai for 40 years but has a confirmed history as a hedge plant back to 1873.



And to finish off here is a picture of a mature eucalypt just outside Canberra. Hard to photograph but a beautiful old thing full of twists, texture, deadwood and nesting hollows; a prime example of Australiana.

The final result of the pottery business at the Arboreetum was very positive. I left a few pots there for an ongoing presence and came home with no more than a handful of pots and a number of new commissions. The customer feedback was universally encouraging and helpful; thankyou. The cupboard is bare and it's time to get back into the workshop.

Post 97 Canberra Arboretum sales

Over the last couple of days I've had a very enjoyable drive down to Canberra for the AABC Annual Conference. After dropping off some pots along the way my first stop here was the Arboretum and the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection.

The new 'Village' building is a very impressive architectural statement with soaring laminated timber trusses and beams.

 

And the arrangement of the space for the bonsai collection is really well designed to create a great environment for them to grow and be seen. The collection of both exotic as well as Australian indigenous species has some marvellous specimens. I really liked the banksias and will go back over then next few days to be there when the light is in the right direction.

The main purpose in going to the Arboretum today was to establish their representation to carry my pots in the gift shop over the duration of the conference. In the last couple of hours of the day we worked to get a display set up and here is a shot of the pots with the inimitable and soon to be former collection Curator Grant Bowie.

If you are coming to the conference or Arboretum call in and have a look. There are nearly 30 pots which show a fair representation of sizes and styles.