Today in Bonsai

From http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/Days/DaysIndex.html


1999 -- Rolf A. Stein died in Paris. (He was born in Berlin where he did part of his Oriental studies. Going into exile in Paris in 1933, six years later Professor Stein joined the prestigious École Française d'Extrême-Orient. His early field studies were done in Vietnam and China. In 1943 he published his first book, Jardins en miniature d'Extrême-Orient, a sophisticated exploration of a complex subject, full of brilliant insights. Later on he taught at the prestigious French institute Collège de France and it was during his tenure there (1966-1982) that he published successively three prominent books in relations to the Tibetan culture. Up until 1992 Stein continued to participate in the academic works, and in collaboration with other prominent Orientalists he authored books on Buddhism, Tantra and Mythology. In 1987 Jardins was republished in its original French along with a 1958 work about "Dwelling Places [of the Spirits], Their Physical Details." Three years later an English translation of those two was published with a new third study, "The World and Architecture in Religious Thought," as The World in Miniature: Container Gardens and Dwellings in Far Eastern Religious Thought. This awesome work brings into sharp focus myriad subtle mutations of the miniature garden which -- reflected in the temples of Heaven, pagodas, the felt tents of nomads, and ultimately the human body itself -- informs cosmology, ritual, ethics, aesthetics, and many aspects of everyday life. Symbolism and history of dwarf potted landscapes unknown anywhere else can be found here. Yes, we do deal with magical miniature landscapes.

["Rolf Stein Passed Away in Paris," World Tibet Network News, Friday, October 15, 1999, http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1999&m=10&p=15_6 ; Foreword by Edward H. Schafer in The World in Miniature (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1990), pp. xviii-xix]

The Crazy is Over... or maybe it is just begining

On September 26th, I became Mrs. Pete Coste. It's a very short and simple way of explaining it all, though it may be missing something in the translation. Lemme try that again.

A little over a week and a half ago, I married my highschool sweet heart, exactly 12 years to the day after our first kiss. I try to keep this blog just about the bonsai, but this is such an enormous part of my life (and the planning of said wedding and the ensuing family vacation has taken my attention from my online endeavors), that not sharing it is impossible for me.

But rather than blather on and on, I will keep it simple. I am happy. A pure and heady happiness in a simple joy of knowing that I will be spending the rest of my life with this man. That we'll have the chance to annoy each other for the rest of our lives and terrorizing the grandchildren ;)

As post wedding events are winding down, thank yous are being sent and the house is slowly put back in to order after having several out of town guests, my time is just as slowly becoming my own again. The trees have not suffered, as they were my refuge when things got a little too hectic for me.

Autumn is swinging in, and bonsai life quiets down soon, but there are still things to do once it does. Work on websites and organizing, reading, research and tool cleaning. I am looking forward to being able to relax in to those habits again.

Strange Musings and Today in Bonsai

It's hot. Hideously hot. Hopefully everyone is taking care of themselves as well as their bonsai in this nasty little heat wave we've got going across the USA. The nursery business is finally starting to slow down for us, but with the heat it still *feels* like we've been going full tilt when we get to the end of the day.

I'm sure that I don't need to remind folks who are reading this blog that we need to watch our watering. While not all of our trees may need to be watered two and three times a day, it's worth checking to make sure. I have a few small trees (mame and shohin) that not only need extra watering, but that are kept on trays of wet sand or in the cases of the smallest pots, are covered completely in a tray with sand or fine mulch to help keep the water levels right, because those pots dry out faster than I can sometimes water them, especially on long work days. A shade cloth does wonders, and just about everything *except* for my sun loving conifers (junipers, pines) are protected from the worst of the afternoon summer sun. Issues with water aside, those little pots get *hot*, and even more so the black nursery pots that much of my stock in training lives in.

Of course, my tropicals are thrilled. A few small ficus, fukien, serissa and a rather large scheflerra are all basking in the 90F (30C)temps and 90% humidity. Which is good, they deserve some happy time to. I, however, am not looking forward to the next three weeks of oppressive heat that we on Long Island usually get through August.

Otherwise, work has stopped on the trees. Fertilizing strength and frequency has dropped, and when it resumes, the type and goal will once again have changed (from spring and summer nitrogen growth to higher potash and phosphorus for prepping for autumn and winter). Once the weather cools off, work will recommence, but right now it's mostly focusing on keeping the trees (and myself) cool and watered.

The slowing down of the nursery season and the lack of work to do on the trees should mean that I get more writing done.... if the idea of sitting on my couch with the warm laptop wasn't so abhorrent. Still, there are projects to be done on that front, and deadlines (mostly self imposed) that I've been shirking. I'm several species entries behind both for Kitsune Bonsai (have any requests? Let me know. The order I do them in matters less than getting them done!) and KoB (Ficus wip, just a little bit more to finish. Just do it!), as well as a few other projects for KoB and AoB, one of which is top secret hush hush, if I told you I'd have to kill you.

Well, probably not, but it's funnier that way. At least, it amuses *me*.

Now, an interesting tidbit for today:

I came across a website, with something they call The Bonsai Book of Days. The Phoenix Bonsai Society (http://www.phoenixbonsai.com) has a list of what has happened in bonsai on "this day", going back about a hundred years (maybe more, I haven't read through it all yet).

http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/Days/DaysIndex.html

Checking out for July, I came across an interesting entry that I thought I would share.

July 11th 1981 - "An American Fantasy” was the title of the 5-1/2 foot long Bonkei (tray landscape) created by Mr. Yuji Yoshimura at the International Bonsai Convention in Atlanta today. He was assisted in the demonstration by long-time students Marion Gyllenswan and Phyllis P. Wishnick. The entire 1-1/2 hour program was coordinated by Edwin C. Symmes, Jr. Created by Mr. Yoshimura as a tribute to the country that has supported his efforts in teaching and creating bonsai for over two decades, “An American Fantasy” was comprised of three parts: 1) “The Rugged Mountains,” 2) “The Verdant HilIs,” and 3) The Welcoming Shore.” The landscape depicted a cross section of the American landscape. Starting on the left with the high mountain waterfall as a source -- and planted with dwarf juniper, Sawara cypress, Kingsville dwarf box and azalea -- the water then runs through a rocky mountain gorge. As it enters the second tray, it flows around a hill -- planted with dwarf juniper, serissa, andromeda, cryptomeria, and Trident maple -- and into a pond before continuing out through the flatter landscape. The water continues past a hardwood area with Trident maple in the third tray, into a swampy area with bald cypress and then into the sea. Every aspect of the program was carefully chosen to heighten the dramatic effect. The lighting, music, and drama was effective creating a very dramatic demonstration of the art involved in this creation. Typical of Yoshimura, months were spent preparing the plant material and the entire tray landscape was actually assembled the week before for Symmes to photograph. After the slides were developed the composition was taken apart and replanted in to training containers only to be recreated at the convention. Then immediately following the convention presentation, which was done in the dark with lights only on the plants and no photography permitted to spoil the mood, a complete set of slides was available to memorialize the event.

For a picture of "An American Fantasy" - http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/Days/AmericanFantasy.jpg

I'm interested in several facets of this project. One is how the whole thing was created, in what I can only relate to a test run, *before* the event itself. Is this a common practice for people giving demonstrations? I rarely see saikai done in a demo, but especially if you are bringing your own stock and supplies, doing this makes a lot of sense. How much agony (which I've seen a lot of in demos) would be saved if this was done first? Would it make the demo lose some of its "magic"? I don't think so, but maybe that's just me. And of course this can be applied to more standard one tree demos. How often do the demonstrators request/receive advanced photos of the stock that a club has for them to be working on? This seems like a no brainer to me, and whenever possible, I'd like to know what I'll be working with in advance, give myself some time to look over it (yes, I know, pictures are limited, but limited is better than nothing.). I've only done two demos/workshops, and both of these were for children ( a lot of fun, by the way. They really get in to it, more than some adults I know), but it seems like having a photo in advance of what you'll be working on would be a huge boon.

I also admit to being curious about the make up of the piece. Junipers and serissa? Seems like a couple of the plants in there have vastly different care needs. I can't find any modern references (i.e. anything newer than the blurb about its creation) to the piece, so I wonder how well all parts survived. Which I see as unlikely. But I could be wrong. Part of me would like to be wrong.

I'm going to stop my wonderings here, though this piece may again show up as a topic of conversation. I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.

All this talk of pots, part 1

There has been a lot of talk of pots lately it seems. Partly, I know, spurned by the reproduction Ming Dynasty pots Robert Steven has available via AOB. (If you are interested in more info/seeing the pots, here you go: http://www.aobkobstore.com/)

I ordered one. Regardless of collectability, I really like the way it looks, and I have a soft spot for Asian history that most think is limited to Japan. Focused on, perhaps, but not limited to. But this post isn't about Steven's pot in particular. Just wanted to share a few pots that I've come across in the last months that I was particularly fond of, for one reason or another, or that just caught my eye.

The first pots were actually posted by Wayne over at http://bonsaibark.com/ , though, unfortunately, we don't know who made the fourth one, or really much about it at all. Time to ramp up learning kanji now that I'm set on hiragana and katakana! The first with the crickets (my favorite of the three, though all of them are made by him) is by Master Potter Gyozan Nakono.

Next set of pots by Andy over at Stone Monkey Ceramics (http://www.stonemonkeyceramics.co.uk/). The last one is one of the pots I purchased from him last year, along with the accent pot from the Thyme post last week.

More to come at a later date I'm sure.

Parsley, sage, rosemary and....

Thyme.

Thyme and three mosses, pot by Andy over at Stone Monkey.

I might retake this shot later, around five this evening when the light will be a bit more diffused. Just to see if it looks nicer. Click on the images, since all of the details are lost in the thumbnails.

A slightly better shot of the pot, because I love this pot....

Memories of Golden Bonsai

While I was sorting through old files on my computer yesterday, I came across some pictures from Golden Bonsai Nursery, before it burned down, some of which I don't think have ever seen the light of day. Just thought I'd share them.

Little Azalea

I don't frequently share my trees online. There are a couple of reasons for this. Partly, the work I do and time I spend on my trees is a highly personal experience for me. But there is a far more concrete reason as well. None of my trees have been in cultivation for more than two years and I'm just not ready to share them. With the divorce and the move from Ohio, it was a complete restart... well, with everything, not just bonsai.

However, I figured I am overdue for a couple at least. Below is an azalea I picked up last summer from Edna over at Green Garden Nursery. I almost walked right past it, because it was so large and scrawny, my eyes just cast over it. It wasn't until I was on my way back through to the front of the nursery, and caught a glimpse of the 'back' of this that I pulled up short. I hadn't even been looking for an azalea that day, but then, I always leave Edna's with more than I intended on.



The above picture was just taken for my own reference, so forgive the mess in my work area. Anyway, this year I repotted and did a serious pruning. It has backbudded very well, and growing very well in general, so I'm pretty happy. Obviously, this is no where near complete. I'll let it grow out for the next year and see where I'm keeping the new branches. In two years, I might cut it back even further, as the lower trunk would make a pretty powerful shohin. Right now, it is about five inches high, the trunk is just under three inches wide. The picture makes the roots look a lot messier than they are, though they do need work.