penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
I have seen azaleas 15 and 18 feet tall in the Carolinas.Ever seen an azalea bonsai? Just a small shrub in a pot, huh?
I have seen azaleas 15 and 18 feet tall in the Carolinas.Ever seen an azalea bonsai? Just a small shrub in a pot, huh?
Ok, maybe snobbery was the wrong word, but it still stands that I will always prefer a gnarly old oak or maple to a perfectly manicured rhododendron or pyracantha because they will simply match, to my mind, what the essence of bonsai is more closely. I know that will irk some folk to say the least, that is not my intention. It probably isn’t even correct, it’s just my opinion of what bonsai is or should be. But hey, art is meant to be divisive, right? Or at least thought provoking."Snobbery" is an attention getter sure, but likely attracting attention that doesn't suit your soul. At least I don't think you're Snobbish, since you're seemingly undecided still.
This is why I will not be shelling out on fancy material anytime soon. I mean, its not as if the required material isn’t growing on trees... I’m already dismayed at the cost of all the materials and kit needed to style and pot up a single £10 juniper. Still, what’s done is done.I have somewhere between 43 and 130 species growing in my backyard. The sooner I find out what doesn't work for me, the less time I'll be wasting on those species in the future. Take JBP for example, the king of bonsai. People love them! I love looking at them too! I just found that no matter what I do to them, I can't seem to make them thrive. Not in full soil, not in various bonsai media, and the type of pot makes no difference. I'm happy to know that, because I was thinking about spending a pretty decent sum of money on a bigger specimen and that would've been a waste of money, effort and time. JRP and scots do very well, as do mugo's, jack pines, and a hand full of other pines. I wouldn't have known if I wouldn't have tried.
I believe it's better to have spent a few bucks on seeds and seedlings to see if it works, than to spend a couple hundred on something I might have to keep patching up for years before it finally dies.
Learning how to care for different varieties can help establish a good feel for plants overall. I learned a great deal when working with vegetables in a laboratory, things I can apply in bonsai too.
art is meant to be divisive, right?
Hell yeah!Or at least thought provoking.
Yes.....At it's heart, bonsai is an expressive art. Regardless of what the material is that was used to make the image, if the image moves you (or someone else) then that is all that matters.
I was thinking that earlier when I read this post. Some folks don’t consider tropicals for Bonsai. Or succulents.Yes.....
Unless its a Tropical!....ugh....
Well, that is possibly the least honeysuckle looking honeysuckle I have seen and it does give a nice image of a tree, (you can feel it coming) BUT it just lacks some of the majesty that a beastie old oak or Scots pine would have. I realise that’s not the be all and end all with all bonsai, that’s just my taste.How about a lonicera?
Thats funny because i was having that same conversation with someone as i was reading this. That agree with it or not, you cant deny Tropicals have that same stigma to them.I was thinking that earlier when I read this post. Some folks don’t consider tropicals for Bonsai. Or succulents.
I have seen a mondo grass display that was gorgeous. I think it was used as an accent but in my mind it was beautiful alone.
So many plants can be grown in Bonsai culture. I have seen an arrowhead vine even.
Pretty sweet to consider that there is so many options.
Yes, but you only get to throw the rectangle ones once, unless you make ‘em really strong!Ok...so yeah, I don't think it's snobbery, I think it's you making a calculated personal decision to limit the number of different things you have to do to achieve success. It just happens to be by this controversial definition of tree that you are setting your limits by.
This is no different than me chosing to only, or mostly only, make rectangle bonsai pots. I want you to be able to throw my rectangles across the garden safely to kill squirrels. I'm not gonna realize this if I'm playing "Ghost" on the wheel.
It's discipline. Good for you to have it.
Some people don't understand discipline. More precisly, self discipline.
Sorce
That’s a nice way to look at it. It’s one reason why bonsai competitions are a little odd, in my eyes. Being such a subjective area, surely you are just telling people how the art should appear by classifying the order of quality. What’s nice to you is not necessarily what may be pleasing to me.The concept of playing bonsai by someone else's rules offends my sensibilities. I am perfectly happy if someone with what I consider to be a Plain Jane JBP (which I don't like) gets raves from people who just keep walking past my tropical (or, fill-in-the-blank). If I expect to have the freedom to bonsai anything I want, why shouldn't other people be allowed to have any opinion of any tree (or non-tree)? I have one of everything. I'm a sucker when introduced to a new species. When somebody tells me about something new, my reaction is something like, "White Elephants? How many do ya got?"
I am not sure I agree that bonsai is very subjective. Something can be a good tree based on a number of objective rules. Whether someone likes the species or the tree does not per se come into play there.It’s one reason why bonsai competitions are a little odd, in my eyes. Being such a subjective area, surely you are just telling people how the art should appear by classifying the order of quality. What’s nice to you is not necessarily what may be pleasing to me.
Good choice to focus on rectangles. By far most of the pots I’ve seen produced by American potters are wheel thrown. (I’m not sure how you get rectangles by throwing at squirrels... but “squirrel-thrown” might become the next rage!)Ok...so yeah, I don't think it's snobbery, I think it's you making a calculated personal decision to limit the number of different things you have to do to achieve success. It just happens to be by this controversial definition of tree that you are setting your limits by.
This is no different than me chosing to only, or mostly only, make rectangle bonsai pots. I want you to be able to throw my rectangles across the garden safely to kill squirrels. I'm not gonna realize this if I'm playing "Ghost" on the wheel.
It's discipline. Good for you to have it.
Some people don't understand discipline. More precisly, self discipline.
Sorce