Two day package

The last two days were quite by my taste. The "two day custom package« consisted of one day strolling around the Kras region and one day participation at the workshop organized by the SBK (Slovenian bonsai club) ... such a combination of good people and trees cant be bad.

The tour true the Kras region was as always a little tuff, very nice, even windier and above all very interesting. Matija, Dante and I spent a great day ... of course the main reason was search for yamadoris ... but about that one other time….collection time..

The second day passed at a workshop which was organized by SBK in a nice, small village Šampas. First some chit-chat, than some protocol and finally work on trees... individual, sometimes together, most of deciduous trees, others on conifers....fun for everybody.

Several trees on the workshop have very good potential ... the results depends on time, knowledge, effort, vision, talent and both souls .....the soul of the tree and the creator.
 

Day of Culture by Tora

This day of culture passed on a slightly different way (08. February is the National day of Culture in Slovenia). Jože, Miha, Jan and I visited a work shop In Tora and under the supervision of Tomaž and Rajko each of us worked on our trees ... IMHO that’s a very likeable way of spending the day of culture.

The company was as always excellent, the atmosphere great, basically a perfect day to learn, gather experience and create.

Tora with surrounding area

Unlike previous workshops, this time we all worked on deciduous trees, which require a different approach than conifers.. the result is not visible after the first design, you need to work step by step and take into account that after the first creation, the desired shape of the tree will not be visible to the naked eye ... you have to see the vision of the trees, understand the tree and then follow the steps to the final shape ... "watch and learn" a little bit differently.

I worked on my Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus) which I collected from the wild ... classic yamadori with its charm, its potential but also their whims, weakness and errors.

Carpinus Betulus Yamadori - 03-2010

The basic dilemma in the beginning was to choose the direction of the shape, to design it with only one dominant trunk, or keep both?... if leaving just one, which one? ... After a good discussion with all participants a decision was made ... I start with the lower right part of the tree and after that we decide... soon it became clear that both trunks have to remain.

Hornbeam - before styling

Time once again passed too quickly, the work is not completed, but an intermediate result is visible. In the coming days I will finish the work on the dead wood, work out the narrowing of the trunk below the top of the tree, style the left root, refine the nebari and perhaps some other detail.

Hornbeam - after styling

In the next steps I will focus on the development of the first left branch, try to make it more dominant, to achieve a balance between the left and right part of the tree.

Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus)

Another issue is, of course ramification of the crown, which is not so problematic on Hornbeams and can be achieved relatively quickly and easily. 

The third issue concerns the nebari at the rear of the tree...

The fourth issue is.... The fifth issue is ...., Fifty-sixth issue is....the important thing is that I’m getting there.

The beginning of the story of this tree is available here.

Tour the Kras

Sun, no wind, idyllic landscape, almost no people and one fox in the run ..... is a brief summary of the last tour in the Kras region. We made a really great long trip true the region, Matija and I took a full advantage of the day and his dog Dante was discovering the area with a doggy smile on his face... everybody happy.

Happy Dante

Of course, the tour was also adjusted to search for the right terrain and potential yamadori's and here we got quite lucky....everybody happy.

 Prunus Mehalab - Yamadori

Prunus Mehalab - Yamadori

I’m in contact with the land owners already and if I get permission there will be some movement to my garden…again everybody happy.

Red Paradise

Today, the day began quite normally. Morning routine, work in the office, tasks, e-mails, phones and similar stuff ... until one click from Tomaz on FB it seemed to be a normal working day,...but a couple of minutes later I set in the car withTomaž with the route to the 'Red Paradise' . At the beginning of the trip we were exploring new ground, which did not meet our expectations, then Tomaz replaced the coordinates and we went to his hunting ground for "red pines".

After a few meters of climbing and Tomaz-s unexpected stunt, which I caught somewhere between the first and second down hill rattle... (It was a happy ending and I hope there are no serious injuries) ... we arrived in the Red paradise. The route was unkind, steep, rocky, sandy, raw, basic ... such as it should be to find the right material ... and after some additional climbing Tomaz found his red treasure ... as spontaneously as the trip started the name of the really great finding came from Tomaz.... “The mother of all red pines”

A great day ended soon ... the new season begins, in the next days new work, workshops, training, search for answers, the accumulation of experience will begin...the start is very good ... for me to.... on a previous trip I also found my material of the season ... “Grandmother of all beeches”.

Fagus Sylvatica Yamadori