Planning on building a 8x3 ft forest

[Sixty’s]

I’ve knocked my head hard and come up with this silly idea the other day of making a modular mixed maple forest 8x3 ft.
The idea so far would be to build a void in a table made out of burned reclaimed railway sleepers with a black steel frame as table legs total of the ground 2ft.
Then add all the training pots to the void in similar way to the mock up on the stand and apply a plastic mesh connecting the pots creating a moss and rocky landscape, considering using 1 inch akadama below the moss.
On the edge of the oval void I was considering using slate to give the idea that the hole forest is planted on a large slate (Hiding the void and the training pots).

The general idea would be to mimic a Japanese forest that could be easily dismantled and moved if necessary, I could just remove the moss and repot individual trees once they would need work etc…

Planning on using it as a main feature in the garden instead of the current bench, any thoughts or ideas to improve or any downside of the project that I’m not considering at the moment?

So far I’ve placed some of the trees in the intended location, large group on the left followed by a medium group to the right and a smaller group to the centre in hope of creating depth, is there more techniques I should consider wile planning the composition?




Plans for training table



Plans for final ceramic module pots

 

[TrevorLarsen]

Very cool idea and you did a great job with your plans and photo editing. That will be an amazing forest. I have also thought of doing something similar so I’ll be interested to see if this is a thing people have done in the past.

 

[Sixty’s]

Very cool idea and you did a great job with your plans and photo editing. That will be an amazing forest. I have also thought of doing something similar so I’ll be interested to see if this is a thing people have done in the past.

Thanks, from my research building a forest in modules it’s not new, there is one in the uk that it’s a combination of 3 slabs (modules) that come together to make a large forest.
A forest with trees of this size and the final pot idea seems to be original as I’ve not seen one build this way before

 

[Sixty’s]

Another maple that I’ve stumbled across, will be taking a few airlayer from this one for the background group.

 

[penumbra]

I think its a great idea. I have been looking at my lower bonsai bench for three or four years now contemplating making a miniature landscape with rock cliffs and outcroppings and mixed plantings. I just might happen this year as I am building new benches here and there.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

Great idea and plan. Looking forward to seeing the execution. Also, I feel so damn basic haha.

 

[R0b]

The only downside I see is that the trees probably won’t be rotated so they will loose branches on the inside and won’t be showable separately. If you’re fine with that great looking forward to see the result.

 

[Hartinez]

This guys has been doing these massive plantings.

May be a good resource for you.

 

[misfit11]

This guys has been doing these massive plantings.

May be a good resource for you.

Very cool. Talented guy for sure. I can't imagine what repotting that thing would be like, though.

Thanks for sharing, Danny

 

[Hartinez]

Very cool. Talented guy for sure. I can't imagine what repotting that thing would be like, though.

Thanks for sharing, Danny

Yeah seriously. I imagine it’s a set it and never repot kind of thing. Something that big doesn’t feel sustainable, but it’s very cool that he put the effort into making it happen!

 

[R0b]

Very cool. Talented guy for sure. I can't imagine what repotting that thing would be like, though.

Thanks for sharing, Danny

His talent is not in woodworking though that structure won’t last very long. Also planting against that dark background will make keeping the trees healthy and vigorous challenging (impossible).

He is definitely a creative free thinker which should be respected.

 

[Paradox]

Imho, the 4 trees on the left are all too big.
When you look at the video above and if you look at pictures of forests, the most esthetically pleasing and convincing are lots of thin, tall trees. Forests don't generally grow large, fat trees


Otherwise I like the idea of a large forest planting. I just hope you have some muscle to move thar thing around 2x a year in winter and spring

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

The guy is very innovative to say the least! Great concept.

Would be a challenge to prune and maintain. Durability is always the major concern when planning a huge forest. Wood is generally not the best material to use in the long run.

We work on a 6-8 really big slabs where I volunteer. They are specifically reinforced to allow moving with hydraulic lifts and a gator so these can be servicefrom all sides. In addition they have sorta like sub slabs with Teflon discs underneath to allow rotation

When planning or viewing a forest composition there are two things, both working hand in hand, that imho are of key importance to consider.

a. Is the model forest ecologically sound? In other words, “Would these trees actually be found in nature together?” and “How would these trees actually coexist in nature?” For sure there is some leeway. Yet both Penjing and Bonsai artist have found a way to commingle trees in such a fashion as to make their compositions look realistic. It might be wise to do some research on both Penjing techniques and those of Bonsai artists. Zhao Qingquan and Saburo Kato books would be great resources.

b. Does this composition have an aesthetically pleasing affect? For example this include making the composition look so realistic, using, Penjing/bonsai techniques, that the factors of proportion, unity, symmetry/assemetry etc used in the composition makes a viewer feel
like they are actually standing beside a natural setting.

Anyways, just some thoughts one might consider when planning this composition.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Sixty’s]

The only downside I see is that the trees probably won’t be rotated so they will loose branches on the inside and won’t be showable separately. If you’re fine with that great looking forward to see the result.

I’m planning on having them in the centre of the garden with light being given from all sides, once they set in the landscape they will grow as a group.

 

[Sixty’s]

This guys has been doing these massive plantings.

May be a good resource for you.

I follow his channel he does some great pots out of cement also

 

[Sixty’s]

Imho, the 4 trees on the left are all too big.
When you look at the video above and if you look at pictures of forests, the most esthetically pleasing and convincing are lots of thin, tall trees. Forests don't generally grow large, fat trees


Otherwise I like the idea of a large forest planting. I just hope you have some muscle to move thar thing around 2x a year in winter and spring

The idea of different thickness trees is to give a good sense of distance, the forest will be made out of 3 distinct groups to emphasise that.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

The only downside I see is that the trees probably won’t be rotated so they will loose branches on the inside and won’t be showable separately. If you’re fine with that great looking forward to see the result.

So youre saying make a round rotating table!

 

[Sixty’s]

The guy is very innovative to say the least! Great concept.

Would be a challenge to prune and maintain. Durability is always the major concern when planning a huge forest. Wood is generally not the best material to use in the long run.

We work on a 6-8 really big slabs where I volunteer. They are specifically reinforced to allow moving with hydraulic lifts and a gator so these can be servicefrom all sides. In addition they have sorta like sub slabs with Teflon discs underneath to allow rotation

When planning or viewing a forest composition there are two things, both working hand in hand, that imho are of key importance to consider.

a. Is the model forest ecologically sound? In other words, “Would these trees actually be found in nature together?” and “How would these trees actually coexist in nature?” For sure there is some leeway. Yet both Penjing and Bonsai artist have found a way to commingle trees in such a fashion as to make their compositions look realistic. It might be wise to do some research on both Penjing techniques and those of Bonsai artists. Zhao Qingquan and Saburo Kato books would be great resources.

b. Does this composition have an aesthetically pleasing affect? For example this include making the composition look so realistic, using, Penjing/bonsai techniques, that the factors of proportion, unity, symmetry/assemetry etc used in the composition makes a viewer feel
like they are actually standing beside a natural setting.

Anyways, just some thoughts one might consider when planning this composition.

cheers
DSD sends

The main concept will be to mimic some of the landscape we could see at mount Fuji, were the blend of autumn colours can create a show on its own in bonsai form.
I understand that wood is not the best material although I see it as a way to hide all the training pots wile the composition is being trained, for a final pot I envision several smaller unglazed pots forming a larger one almost as a jigsaw puzzle (I may have to remortgage the house for that )

 

[Sixty’s]

So youre saying make a round rotating table!

Oval in a south facing garden, away from any wall.

 

[R0b]

So youre saying make a round rotating table!

If in front of a wall make it a bright one that reflects light, both aesthetically and horticulturally a better solution. Freestanding would be better, I can go in detail about how this structure he created is a disaster waiting to happen but I think you will recognise the issues. If I would create something like this I would probably work with stone. Two big boulders as support (or one huge one) create a reinforced concrete slab with drainage holes and tie down (once I created concrete planters with some peat and after getting them somewhat hardened brushed them with a wire brush looks pretty good). Also I would make sure I don’t plan on moving it anywhere for the rest of my life.