(This is my last post about this year's Mid-Am Show -- honest.)
Participate in the Exhibit Critique, attend Bjorn Bjorholm's demonstration, go thru the Exhibit savoring the quality of the trees, touch base with friends -- what more was there to do at the Mid-America Bonsai Show, you might ask? I did have two more objectives.
One of the weak areas in my knowledge is the development of an apex. So I devoted two to three hours to peering down (or up) into the apices of various Exhibit trees, examining how they were arranged, and deducing how they must have been pruned. I also took pictures for further study at home, like these of a Japanese black pine:
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| Looking up into the apex of a Japanese black pine. |
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| Looking down into the same apex. |
I also examined the apices of a few trees in the Chicago Botanic Garden's Permanent Collection, like this
Ficus microcarpa. (I don't know the cultivar.)
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| An excellent bonsai, property of the Garden's Permanent Collection. |
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| Like the rest of the tree, the apex gives evidence of years of careful development. |
And of course, I had to visit the candy store! (Read "the vendors.") One of my
Ficus salicaria will be ready for a permanent pot next summer, and I spent some time at Sara Rayner's booth, checking available finishes. Meehan's Miniatures is one of my favorite sources for unshaped bonsai stock; I settled on this Korean hornbeam.
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| The picture doesn't show it, but the trunk taper is quite good. |
And, for several years I've enjoyed Ian Young's photos of his accent plants ("Bonsai Eejit.") I finally decided to take the plunge myself, while I was at Meehan's. (Ian, it's your fault! <wink> )
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Clockwise from front: pincushion spikemoss, Selaginella kraussiana 'Brownii;' miniature Mondo grass, Ophiopogon japonicus 'Gyoku-ryu;' golden fern, Selaginella emmeliana; and stonecrop, Sedum forsterianum 'Antique Grill.'
I'll repot them all next spring. |
Until next year, Chicago!
:-) :-) :-)
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