Japanese bonsai, 2021

[Djtommy]

 

[Djtommy]

 

[Djtommy]

 

[Djtommy]

 

[Djtommy]

 

[Djtommy]

 

[Djtommy]

 

[Djtommy]

 

[Djtommy]

Ok that was the last, i hope with this you can at enjoy the kokufu at least a little bit.
but I want to enforce that these pictures do not show these trees true worth. There is just too much you need to see with your own eyes to really have a good feeling about the trees. But it’s still better then nothing right. I just want to emphasize that if you have a chance to visit a good show, wherever it is in the world, don’t hesitate and just go. good trees are 3dimentional and nothing but your own eyes will suffice.
that said i do like pictures aswell enjoy!

 

[Crazy Diamond]

View attachment 354475View attachment 354476View attachment 354477

Nice juniper, looks like a wild Procumbens yamadori, rare with his own foliage they usually are grafted with Itoigawa

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Great job with the photography, thank you Tommy!
Some fantastic bonsai here, and some nice pots. It’s fun to pick out familiar potters. Looks like the beauty berry in post 87 is in a Tofukuji.
Lots of Chinese Quince in this round...really fine trees.

 

[LanceMac10]

Great photographs, all things considered.....and thanks for sharing them @Djtommy !!

 

[Forsoothe!]

Wonderful about 40 new screen backgrounds for me, especially including the exceptions to the rule on displays/multiple point displays, all showing that the rules take a backseat to the excellence of the content of a display. Thank you, @Djtommy for all the time you spent preparing & posting. Lots of work. You are hereby awarded the Gold Metal for Industrious Photography Excellence!

 

[JudyB]

I’ve already found myself looking at some of my earlier trees that I’ve enjoyed, and have found myself thinking “this is awful, start over”, so in some ways I’m mentally eradicating my previous efforts as well as the enjoyment I had from my lesser trees. As I progress, I need to figure out how to avoid that, because I feel that as I learn independently it could stand to happen fairly regularly

This is the lesson you learn when you study great trees. I don't think you want to "avoid" that, as it's what makes us strive to have better trees. It's how I learned, by poring over the great shows, and visiting outstanding collections. Taking photos of your trees is also very helpful, as it will show you flaws that your eye won't notice in person. @Djtommy - Thank you so much for taking the time to post these, it's awe inspiring. I had the same impression that @Brian Van Fleet had with feeling like the space per display was smaller than usual... And it seems like the accents have changed to me a lot too. Much more low cushion type plants used, and a lot of the same plant whatever that small shiny leaf one is. Very few upright elements.

Edit - seems like the second round had some of the more upright elements in the accent plant material...

 

[Forsoothe!]

Speaking to the question of what constitutes the absence of scars for show-worthiness; nothing says "new" like a scar that is young enough to speculate on when it was made, and the Japanese ethic values & venerates age. Age may not be everything, but it is near the top.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

This is the lesson you learn when you study great trees. I don't think you want to "avoid" that, as it's what makes us strive to have better trees. It's how I learned, by poring over the great shows, and visiting outstanding collections. Taking photos of your trees is also very helpful, as it will show you flaws that your eye won't notice in person.

Two excellent points Judy.

Attending shows or seeing exhibition photos like these should make you inspired to improve...but also dissatisfied with elements of your collection. These trees are the best of the best, so remember that most collections will have trees in varying stages of show-readiness. It’s good, and necessary, to have some trees ready to show, and it should be understood that some trees will be in development stages requiring several years of work before they’re show ready; again or for the first time.

Regarding photos, not only are they harsh critics, they are great milestones to look back on to see your own progress over time. It’s tough to see progress in this hobby on a day-by-day basis. But when you start to string together several years of work on a single tree, it can become rewarding.

 

[Djtommy]

This is the lesson you learn when you study great trees. I don't think you want to "avoid" that, as it's what makes us strive to have better trees. It's how I learned, by poring over the great shows, and visiting outstanding collections. Taking photos of your trees is also very helpful, as it will show you flaws that your eye won't notice in person. @Djtommy - Thank you so much for taking the time to post these, it's awe inspiring. I had the same impression that @Brian Van Fleet had with feeling like the space per display was smaller than usual... And it seems like the accents have changed to me a lot too. Much more low cushion type plants used, and a lot of the same plant whatever that small shiny leaf one is. Very few upright elements.

Edit - seems like the second round had some of the more upright elements in the accent plant material...

I had a look at my pictures from other years, i never really took the whole display most of that time but from what I could see, at least for the bigger tree display side spaces, it was the same number of trees per row as other years, which is 9 trees. and they all seem to have the same space regardless the size of tree. As I said, just from a display point of view, kokufu is not top level.

 

[Djtommy]

I forgot to put the whole display of this tree, so ill post it now,
Just to be complete and also interesting, the owner of this tree is from slovakia which might be a first in kokufu, as far as I remember.

 

[JudyB]

I had a look at my pictures from other years, i never really took the whole display most of that time but from what I could see, at least for the bigger tree display side spaces, it was the same number of trees per row as other years, which is 9 trees. and they all seem to have the same space regardless the size of tree. As I said, just from a display point of view, kokufu is not top level.

Just wanting to understand your meaning, you are saying that from a display point of view not the best, so is there a show that puts display at the fore? But to be clear, these are top trees in the Kokofu, that is correct yes? Thanks!

 

[badatusernames]

This is the lesson you learn when you study great trees. I don't think you want to "avoid" that, as it's what makes us strive to have better trees. It's how I learned, by poring over the great shows, and visiting outstanding collections. Taking photos of your trees is also very helpful, as it will show you flaws that your eye won't notice in person. @Djtommy - Thank you so much for taking the time to post these, it's awe inspiring. I had the same impression that @Brian Van Fleet had with feeling like the space per display was smaller than usual... And it seems like the accents have changed to me a lot too. Much more low cushion type plants used, and a lot of the same plant whatever that small shiny leaf one is. Very few upright elements.

Edit - seems like the second round had some of the more upright elements in the accent plant material...

great point - thank you