defra
Masterpiece
this link provides a pdf file about forest's
i found it very usefull
http://www.bonsaimalta.org/resources/lectures/10_ch.pdf
i found it very usefull
http://www.bonsaimalta.org/resources/lectures/10_ch.pdf
your first forrest
- Thread starter defra
- Start date
BobbyLane
Imperial Masterpiece
Believe it or not, but that was one of my main sources i used for creating my forests....and this one http://www.absbonsai.org/forest-plantings
along with some old threads on the ibc.
Hi, here's complete material where the lecture 10 comes from.
http://www.bonsai-bsf.com/magazine/intermediate_bonsai.pdf
Waltron
Chumono
Fuckin Spiniken!
haha I know right? dude's got good taste in trees. Hit me up if you're ever down state, Matt!
Here is some material I collected earlier this year with plans of group plantings, some white spruce and larch. I just received the ezo spruce forrest planting book reccomended by andrew thomas, going to dive into that this winter. All these trees appear to be rooted and living fine currently, ill know more in that regard come spring. These were bsaically roughly collected and containerized to start training, and grow and revive next season. hopefully by spring 2018 Ill have at least one other white spruce to match the 4 I have to start compiling a forest. although there is a little very small mostly dead one in the trio, but not sure that really counts, but anyway, this might end up many ways, I might combine them all, but more likely they will be 3 separate groups, or at least 2 separate groups.
I also have a bunch of deciduous seedling elms and hornbeam's scouted to make a varying species deciduous planting.. and I need to start searching and shopping for some slabs or containers.. I like group plantings. OP your first one is not bad, not bad at all.
Waltron
Chumono
whoops, I misused the quote function.
mattspinniken
Omono
Ha! thanks guys. I will hit you up if I go downstate, but I rarely go downstate. I will be at Frederick Meijer at the Spring show for sure though. Shoot me a message if you ever come by the Traverse City area.
I posted some "guidelines" for forest composition. I should have said they are guidelines that I personally would like to go by. I don't mean to suggest that everyone should do it my way. I actually have seen some hedge row plantings that remind me of the managed forest look that you are talking about. I just personally like plantings that give a feeling of age that look untouched and wild. I perfer to hide anything that looks "managed".
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
Thanks for your thoughts! We will see...I have 7 other KH seedlings (there are 7 in this group right now) that I'm developing separately, so at some point I may take this one apart or add others as you've suggested. Right now I'm pretty much trying to bulk up the trees while keeping variety in trunk sizes. So, relatively little pruning is being done to the trees that are going to be the largest, the others (in the back mainly) are being pruned more strongly. But it's not really development/structural pruning, just keep them in check pruning.
Since this is in the development/ugly phase, I generally don't bother taking photos of it during the summer. It's just a mass of foliage. I did take one during the fall, a month or so ago...see below.
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
Very good demonstration of putting together a forest by Bill Valavanis:
https://valavanisbonsaiblog.com/2014/03/28/creating-a-beech-forest-bonsai/
https://valavanisbonsaiblog.com/2014/03/28/creating-a-beech-forest-bonsai/
Bolero
Omono
Bolero
Omono
Ha! thanks guys. I will hit you up if I go downstate, but I rarely go downstate. I will be at Frederick Meijer at the Spring show for sure though. Shoot me a message if you ever come by the Traverse City area.
I do the Frederick Meijer show every Mothers Day, see you there, I will be the Old Guy in the Fedora....like my Avatar.
I 'm pretty sure I will be showing, how about you...???
I do the Frederick Meijer show every Mothers Day, see you there, I will be the Old Guy in the Fedora....like my Avatar.
I 'm pretty sure I will be showing, how about you...???
Defra, It's not that bad actually. Trouble is, most people plant the trees way to far apart. (no offence meant but most of the above examples demonstrate this. coh's group is the best) Doing this gives a sense of diffusion or dispersal rather than coherence. A good grouping should have a core of some kind (like a galaxy) with the main elements concentrated around the main focal point (main tree). Trees grouped closer together give more ''power'' or resonance to the composition. The other minor elements should gradually radiate out from that core but in an uneven pattern. Generally speaking, the main tree should be planted about one third from the either end of the container and slightly behind the centre line. It should then have a shorter thinner tree placed very close to it diagonally to the front or back - left or right - depending which side of the container you plant the main tree. Then we add a third tree, again depending on where you have placed the main tree, some distance from the main tree and it's partner. This third tree is tree number 2 and should be the next in size from the main tree. The distance tree # 2 should from the main tree is dictated by the number of trees that will be ultimately be used. The partner tree is tree number 3. These 3 trees should form a scalene triangle when viewed from above. This is your foundation. From there you add other elements which will give a unique character to your composition. Keeping in mind all the general rules in forest planting.
That's the first thing. The second most common mistake is planting with distances between the trees too equally and spaced too evenly throughout the container. Using the entire container is also a common fault. The fewer trees you use the more important the placement and the more difficult it is to good outcome. By simply moving the second tree from the right (in your group) very close (almost touching) the first from the right and moving the first from the left a little closer to the main tree will improve your composition in my opinion.
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
Here is my beech forest I put together this spring
I put the trees too spread out and I am going to rearrange them next spring.
I put the trees too spread out and I am going to rearrange them next spring.
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
I remember my first forest well. It was 360 acres.
It took me 3 months to clear cut.
It took me 3 months to clear cut.
ghues
Omono
Being "in the woods" (Old growth temperate rain forests) for over 40 years the "untouched and wild" (to the extreme in many cases) gave me a concrete and solid foundation for an appreciation and love of Mother Nature........one might be surprised that in many mature forests there is an uncanny uniform intertree distance and individual girth diameter of stems (within an acceptable range-standard deviation). So how we can incorporate that visually.... perhaps it's similar (I would suggest) to the old drawing technique of a road/highway disappearing into the distance with power poles along the side....the poles in the foreground being taller, bigger...and decreasing in height and girth as the distance increases.
G.
mattspinniken
Omono
I hope to see you and your tree/trees there Bolero. I don't plan on showing next spring but I should be in 2018.
I think you are on to something here. Really emphasizing perspective. Something to think about, if you know of any examples please post them.
This thread has convinced me I need to re-arrange the forest I posted.
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choppychoppy
Chumono
These were the first two i've put together - the small trident group is a bit hard to see in that pic i guess 
I've done several groups - I like them quite a bit.
I've done several groups - I like them quite a bit.
Bolero
Omono
what type of tree is that on the rock ???
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Don't.
It's nice...
It creates imagination.
That is exactly what it is supposed to do.
Less is huge.
I think the right two trees need to be wired more....(.......shape, like the left....
The small one may need more than wire, like flipped around...
But the placement of those trunks is exactly why I really like it, it's the first thing that hit me as correct.
Sorce
choppychoppy
Chumono
They are procumbens junipers - 7 of them or so I think
