dawn redwood project!!!

So, this redwood started out as plain nursery stock that was kind of just sitting around. It was about 7 feet tall and then chopped down and the roots chain sawed almost to the base of the tree. Years later it had grown to about 7 feet tall again and was cut back, then it was allowed to grow for one season. Next it was time to repot it into a suitable pot with plenty of room to grow. We did some shaping and will now let this tree grow for awhile and then we can do some general styling. All of these pictures are from about a month ago and the last photo is computer generated to give us an idea of what to shoot for as far as styling is concerned. It shouldn't be too long before real styling can begin since these trees grow like weeds!

dawn redwood project!!!

 LINK- Exhibition's site

when its cold, its time to plan!!!

So you have put your trees away for the winter. "Now what?". Well its going to be time to re pot, start styling, and all that good stuff before you know it. I like to take this time to start thinking of what direction I'd like to see my collection go. I always look at winter time as a chance to take a moment to look at my trees and decide on stuff like what trees I'm wasting my time on, we all have them, and if they aren't just "doing it for you" maybe its time to move on. This will help make space for a tree that may be more promising - think of your bonsai pots - a tree may look "not so great in the wrong pot" so its a good time to take note on what pot "changes" you want to make. I've seen trees go from looking "OK" to looking great just with a pot change. I could go on and on but I think you all get what I'm saying. Take inventory, make a list, its a great time to take photos of those deciduous trees while they are bare. Don't just settle in with the direction your bonsai are going, be proactive and get them going in the direction you would like. And one more thing, while your trees are tucked away, a good habit to get into is making sure you keep your trees tidy while they are dormant - pick off those dead leaves. Do they need spraying to keep pest away? Clean up old soil off the top of your trees and please make sure you WATER them since they still do need water during the winter. Spring is just around the corner "so start planning"... OH! and happy New Year!!!

This blog will go through some changes!!!

We have decided to change this blog around. First off the name: rappahannock bonsai society wil now be gardens unlimited and will be under the new web address www.unlimitedbonsai.com. And for now all bonsai workshops are on hold. Due to the popularity of the workshops "lots of people are comeing" so we have decided to concintrate on small privet sesions. We will post the restuctured format soon.

A few photos during the hot weather!!!

September workshop is coming up and i "will" be posting photos of the workshop i promise.. Hope these pics fill the void till then.

Its been a while since our last post!!!

Sorry for the lack of posting but wanted everyone to know that things at the nursery are going great and our club attended the PBA and NBF Bonsai Symposium at the National Arborteum. For the first time they had a juried show judged by David DeGroot from the Pacific Rim collection. We had three trees shown in the juried show area. Todd Stewart from Gardens Unilimted, one of the teachers at our club, won 2nd place for his literati style Juniper and also showed his Scotts Pine and his little Kotohime Japanese Maple. All of them are fantastic trees. Dannon Featherston, also from our club, showed his Brazilian Rain Tree. In a separate room they had a club exhibit and I think we had great participation in that show all the trees looked great and would like to say thanks to lee ann for helping organize our club trees. Well, here are some random pictures from the event. Most of the pictures are from the juried show and the other ones are random pictures exhibited by other clubs in the PBA club show. Sorry I couldn't tag them all but be sure to look out for Todd's literati Juniper. Hope to start posting more often so stay tuned and check back often for updates.