Looking back….we can tell a tree’s story…..admire an image…..capture a moment…..remember a special event…..be inspired – to create a memory for tomorrow.
I hope you enjoy this regular peep into some of John’s bonsai history.
Memory Lane – Cotoneaster…..the missing pictures…..
The original article relating to this tree was posted on the 16th July 2014 under the Memory Lane section. It details the full story of how this tree was collected from a garden in Mapplewell near Barnsley and went on to be exhibited in the famous Gingko Bonsai Exhibition in Belgium.
Unfortunately when I wrote the original article I did not have any early pictures of the tree. I have since managed to locate some and wanted to share them with you so that you can better appreciate the transformation in this humble little tree.
The first picture above was probably the earliest I have whilst the other two pictures show how the tree looked in the Ginkgo Exhibition and the Bonsai Europe magazine. What happened in between?
The tree put on a lot of growth and was probably left unpruned whist I decided what I was going to do with it.
Eventually I decided on a new trunk line using a large branch near the apex to ultimately create a smaller tree.
The existing natural shari was extended to incorporate the now redundant top section of the trunk. The tree was also lowered in the pot by removing some large stubby roots which meant that the stone filling the gap could also be dispensed with.
The pictures above show how the tree was looking when I eventually sold it in 2012. The styling of this tree was very much an ongoing process but one which I enjoyed immensely and one which taught me a lot also. The Cotoneaster certainly is a worthy tree to have in any bonsai collection. I hope the additional pictures have filled in some gaps and illustrated just how simple it can be to create something really good.