The_only_tree

 ... I would never sell.

And this because it is my very first styling-attempt, when i started my bonsai-journey.

I acquired this particular Juniperus chinensis blaauw in a small garden-center as 

raw-material back in 1996.

I had been inspired that days by a styling-documentation in a german Bonsai journal

 (Bonsai creativ).

Harry Tomlinson (father of Corin Tomlinson from Greenwood Bonsai studio UK),

worked on a Juniper chinensis blaauw.  

Well, the raw-material was very, very poor according to bonsai-suitability, 

but i did not knew it better 27 years ago :-))   ...

Pictures:

small_and_gnarly

No major changes so far. This yew had a really good growing-season, hence the amount of  

adventious-buds for back-budding next spring.

The height of this tree is about 25 cm. The future layout of the height will  not expand over 28 cm.

I am looking for a pot for this particular Taxus baccata. 

The next Trophy in Genk/Belgium will bring up a good opportunity to find something suitable.

it_had_been_a_gift

 ... as raw-material of course.

Two years ago i visited a nursery in a suburb of my home-town. 

A small Taxus baccata laid aside a road on the nursery-yard, wich had obviously been run over by a 

tractor or such. The little tree was in a very poor state, but i thought, what a pitty, one should try to

develop something out of almost less than nothing.

As i asked the manager to buy this unlucky specimen, he looked at me in the most  compassionated

way and said : "Well Sir, its a gift ... ."

Maybe this man considered me for being an absolut mad-man (or rather an utter fool), but anyway, 

here I go with my Taxus.

Formerly the yew had two stems and a whole lot more branches but most of them were broken.

So I decided to go for a very reduced design from scratch.

less_is_more

And again a tree, wich I considered to be too dense.

This was okay so far, since the tree gained a lot of energy because of its large amount of green-mass.

But then comes the time to "destill" a kind of essence of the tree's character.

Now I will start again to lead the growing-energy to the right spoots within the trees-System.

Sometimes things has to become worse before getting better ...

Do not be disappointed when comparing the pistures of May '23 to nowerdays state of development.

In the long run, this concept of reducing to the max will be rewarding ...

the_other_Squamata

My designing-aim on this one had been: 

1) developing the green-mass closer to the trunc 

2) creating a domeshaped apex and

3) defining the leaf-pads ...

I am satisfied with this state of  design so far ...

Pictures as of today ...

Maybe you know this picture already, as of January 2021:

the_Squamata's_way

 Further development of one of my Juniperus Squamata (meyeri or blue star variaty).

The very beginning of this particular designing-journey had been not that easy for me.

Didn`t know what to do with the raw-material, but once you start to find the truncline and do some 

structural wiring such a project turns out clearer and clearer.

pictures as of today, with different front-views ... wich one do you like best?

boring_raw_material_?

 What would you do with this taxus baccata?

 It is not that type of raw-material you would prefer, is it? ...

Howsoever, here is a picture before the designing-session:

The first stage as an pre-bonsai :

And the overblende view of "before and after"-pictures 

deadwood_Taxus_next_level

Today I found some time to bring on the design of this Taxus a little bit more anhead .

I slightly "condensed" the tree a bit.

The tree is for sale, by the way...

After putting off the last year's wiring, the tree looked really wired. 

So normaly sheduled work on this particular yew. I now like the design better. 

The tree is for sale, by the way...

redesigning_a_small_taxus

The other day I decided to redesign one of the small yews of my collection.

I was no longer satisfied with the former plan trying to pull the apex up, in order to avoid an unusual 

appearance of the crowns tip, wich had an unreal tendency to make a loop toweards the ground.

Now I tried to solve this flaw of the overall design with a flat, roundshaped "dome" of the apex.

My aim was it, to evoke a more matured tree.

You decide, if I suceeded with this aspiration ...

#

trophy_prebonsai_yew

 Bought this one during the last trophy in Genk/Belgium from the stand of Danny Use.

A lot of backbudding ist going on this tree. The branches are much too long by now, but hencing the 

backbudding by producing alot of energy for this Taxus. They will be shortened  lately in upcoming

 spring.

Looking foreward for doing a little carving here and there, especially on the scars of cut branches and

 so on.

This particular tree had been very well prepared for further development. Thank you Danny! ...

two years_phases_of_a_Hinoki's_develeopment

 Phase one: The accquired raw-material in 2021...

Phase two: "cutting out" the trunc-line, reducing the greenmass...

Phase three as of  2022: further reduction after a good growing-saeson ...

Phase four as of January 2023: First styling ...

Phase five: Second styling, the tree as of today.

Amd the overblended picture as I showed it before to demonstrate the ration of reduction from the former rawplant to the actual state of development:

the_plastic-tree_is_thriving

 Accordingly to this post`s title: pictures of the Chamaecyparis obtusa nana.

She really is strong and healthy. From now on, there will be just clipp n' grow on this prebonsai ...

taxus_with_deadwood

 I just unwired this one, There are a lot of backbudding going on this yew.

The green part of the tree is by far to large. The carvings definitely need to be overhauled and improved.

I am really lookig foreward for wintertime, when I will wire this yew again.

Here are a few glimpses before  the next designing step.

wind_in_the_Hinoki

 An update of the windswept Hinoki.

What a pity that I can not show this tree with the help of some kind of holographic technique.

I mean, in nature the design of the tree is much more "3d-ish" and does not come as that bushy cluster

shown in the 2d image. But this always a matter of fact ... I designed this tree out of cointainer-material

from a nursery.

This Hinoki would suit very well in a moon-pot or on a stone-slap.

It is for sale, in spite of beeing far from glory. 

Maybe someone becomes attached to this particular tree and is willing to enhance the initial 

design-plan. Anyway, here are the pictures as of today ...

 

small_and_clean_Thuja

Not much to say about this small Thuja. 

I just wanted to creat a clean design and getting to know

the reaction of this species to certain designing-interventions.

The leaves of this tree will even become smaller in the course of time.

Just a small clean tree ...

This tree will also be sold by the way.