A look in HD at the Omiya Bonsai Village

Second video I am posting tonight from Youtube channels which I am subscribed to. It has been so long since i have been online, due to me starting a new job nearly two months ago and since starting it I have just been up the walls. My feet are starting to touch the ground again as I have been just crazy busy. I have been slowly getting back online and actually getting to look at my trees besides the rush watering i have been doing the past few weeks. Hopefully will be getting some photos of my trees up over the next few days and updates.

Anyway here is the video, one which i am intrigued by, I have heard a lot of the Omiya Village, and really enjoyed this video, and the hd is a bonus. Anyway enjoy

Autumn Leaves in Nikko

Another great video displaying the amazing landscape of Japan by Discover Nippon, and yet another video encouraging me to make the next family holiday to japan. Someday it will come.

4th US National Bonsai Exhibition

Bonsai Art of Japan episode 42

Tree full of Jins

I have passed this tree many times on the way to a local nursery and have been meaning to take a photo of it for a while. While out yesterday with my son, i decided to pull in and get a shot of it. Looks like it was taken in the middle of winter not the start of July.

Noah Looking for Trees

So yesterday myself and the small man decided to go for a spin to our local nursery. He was delighted trying to grab all the shrubs and plants he could. Hes getting a great start. Next stop an apprenticeship in Japan and he can come back and teach me everything he knows 🙂

Here he is ready to get stuck in.

 

Checking out the Mugo Pines

In the Jungle

oh that looks tasty…..

 

And next to his favorites, the Japanese Maples

 

 

June Meeting MBC

So on the 23rd of June which is also Bonfire night in Cork, we had the June meeting of the Munster Bonsai Club. A small gathering but a gathering none the less. And peter back from his honeymoon, Congratulations.

Heres the substitute room ready for the night.

Now with a few of the lads after arriving.

 

It didn’t take long before we moved the operation outside.

Piotr looking fine and relaxed, again 🙂

 

 

Peter tipping away.

And now some of the trees we worked on during the meeting.

Piotr’s Trident Maple

 

Peter’s Black Pine

Mark getting the lighting just right 🙂

 

Mark’s Beech grouping. Still deciding which is the front. Option 1

And Option 2. I like this one.

 

My little juniper got a Jin.

Mark’s Silver Birch, which he grew from seed.

And Piotr’s Little Pine. looking lovely

So it was decided that we would meet during the summer to keep our club alive 🙂 We will be meeting next on the 14th of July.

 

Pinus Mugo Update

So i bought this Dwarf Pinus Mugo from a local nursery in 2013. I had my eye on this nursery for a while as they usually have good stock. There was a lovely Scots Pine there but a bit on the expensive side, so decided to pick up this mountain pine as it was nice and cheap.

I know Pinus Mugo have a bit of a bad reputation as bonsai but I have read they are quite easy to train and style. That said i also have heard that certain cultivars are touchy and can react badly to training. So all that in mind i still think its worth a go. Here are a few pics i took today (summer 2013) in the Irish sunshine, something which is quite rare.

Used this bottle as an indicator to the true size of this Pine.

A few different angles

Another angle

And another

One in the sun

Trunk with moss

A few different views for possible styling

Decisions decisions 

So at the Munster Bonsai Club workshop January 2014 I got a chance to get started with styling with this tree, just ran out of time to finish the wiring but thanks to Ian I got a good head start.

Heres a before shot

And heres the after shot

So now we are in June 2014 and i decided to remove the wire as it was biting in, and re apply some nice new wire.

Here is the tree with the wire removed

Before wire

 

And after wire

A little pad

And fully wired

Japanese Black Pine : Part 2 and 3

Here are the other two videos from Bonsai Focus on needle reduction and care and maintenance.

 

Black Pine Repotting : Part 1

Bonsai Focus uploaded this video to Youtube, Its an old video, but good to watch a video by Toshinori Suzuki.