This is one of the most imaginative ways I have seen classic bonsai presented.
Bonsai Artists
EUK Bonsai Ten in Diepenbeek, Belgium
Last weekend I attended the rather special EUK Bonsai Ten in Diepenbeek, Belgium. I attended with a friend from Italy. I was a trader and a demonstrator and this being my first time at this club I did not know what to expect. What very quickly became apparent was the incredible organisation and planning that had gone into the staging of this ‘club’ bonsai show. It was Friday evening, the whole show was staged and ready for business, a few traders had set up their shops and the excitement was palpable. I finally met up with Tom Benda an amazing potter from Czech Republic, we are working together…watch this space!
The exhibition featured an excellent club show with many superb trees worthy of a national exhibition and a show from Mario Komsta that was literally breathtaking in presentation and quality of trees, each being in a black Tokonoma individually lit. This was a benchmark for bonsai in Europe.
The demonstrators Viriato Oliveira and Márcio Meruje from Portugal, François Jeker from France, Enrico Savini from Italy, Mark and Ritta Cooper and ME! Most of the guys worked on trees however Mark, Ritta and I gave digital presentations that were very well received with many people standing and crowding the doorway.
A Huge thanks for inviting me to this amazing show to the guys and girls of Bonsai Club Eda Uchi Kai, in particular Hans Vleugels, Inge and JP Polmans for their generosity and opening their house to a bunch of renegade bonsai artists.
All photos supplied by Roland Petek, take a look at his extensive blog and lots more photos of the Bonsai Club Eda Uchi Kai show http://roland-bonsai-eng.blogspot.co.uk/
If it’s Thursday it’s Bonsai in the Czech Republic
Display of pots at Isabelia
My trip to visit Pavel and Czech Republic started on Thursday last week. I arrived at Bratislava airport at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and was met by Pavel and Jakub his son who fortunately speaks great English. We then drove for a couple of hours to Isabelia Bonsai which is a large nursery in the Czech Republic. What really surprised me was the scale of this nursery certainly some of the very best Scots pine and I have seen in Europe. Trees that were raw material available for sale and many trees that were styled, I will be writing a separate blog post about this visit along with a video. Here we met with Mirek who is a good friend and client of Pavels after visiting Isabelia we went to a restaurant en route to Pavels house.
Beer, Slivovitz, or Coffee your choice
No matter what time of day every house that you visit in the Czech republic of Poland or Slovakia you will eat and it’s normally cooked meats breads and there is always beer! And the hospitality is second to none, great care was made ensuring that I had enough to eat, drink and I never left anywhere without a small gift!
I am amazed at the amount of miles that Pavel is prepared to travel to find good trees. The next day we toured North, on route we visited a stone shop this was a big surprise me because I have never seen such an amazing place to buy stone. Again I will write a separate blog post about this shop just to say that they had stones from all over the world including China India and Turkey! we then visited Bonsai Centrum near Prague, this is a long established nursery specialising in small indoor and outdoor bonsai for those living in the city and surrounding areas. The owner is well traveled and has recently published his book in many languages, the gardens a extensive and very mature.
We then went on to a friend of Pavel’s who collects Yamadori Larch and Hawthorn, we drove for over 2 1/2 hours Mirek came along to look at a large Yamadori Pear that he wished to buy… most of the material was beginner stuff but there were a few choice trees tucked away that caught my eye.
Pavels bonsai garden
This trip has proved to me that the UK is still way behind many European countries when it comes to connectivity. Every restaurant and bar, public place had free Wi-Fi even now I am sat in the airport at Bratislava using free Wi-Fi. All of the time that we were travelling Pavel had 3G throughout the whole country and he created a personal hotspot for me so that I could surf the web while we were driving… that is the reason there were so many of my checkin’s on Foursquare and Twitter… normally I would not use the web on my phone whilst travelling as the cost is usually so high.
On the subject of connectivity… Pavel’s house has numerous laptops, iPads, mobile phones all connected to the net 24 hours a day, the moment anything worth broadcasting (and sometimes NOT) its on Facebook or their blog.
Mireks garden
The next morning we set off early to work in Mirek’s wonderful purpose built bonsai garden and studio. After a second breakfast I set to work on a tall juniper. This was only the second tree that Mirek had bought in his collection. It required rewiring and a few branches being moved, the crown of the tree was well established and only required trimming and thinning in parts. I then moved on to a Prunus Spinosa that I gave to Mirek when he visited my garden in 2011. The tree had established well and was ready for first styling, I believe that the Japanese style their Prunus specifically for the flowers and as such the style is very ‘free’ and NOT ridged… Most branches start off growing downward and then curve upwards, almost the opposite of a weeping Willow. We spent the whole day with Mirek in his garden, working, chatting and relaxing over good local Muscatel white wine.
Josef taking THAT photo of Tony
Various friends arrived throughout the day including Josef who had the previous year visited Burrs. Josef is a great photographer and never stopped making photos all the time he was around. He chose to embarrass me by constantly uploading compromising images of me to Facebook… One is now my profile picture 🙂
We took time out to visit the Japanese garden Mirek had built for the local community. Mirek described the garden “This garden is a reflection of my soul” That kinda knocked me over! Alongside is a Galley that shows the work of Czech artists, many pieces loaned by Mirek.
Mireks Japanese Garden
Ziemniak po cabansku (potatoes on the fire)
The next day we visited a Scots Pine Yamadori collector, again very old great trees with deep fissured bark the guys bought a few trees choosing to collect them on another day as there was little room in the car. This was the day when the sun decided to show it’s face so we were treated to a traditional Polish meal cooked on an open fire in the garden.
On the way home we called at Pravoslav Dorda an amazing Bonsai Potter doing fine work that is rarely seen outside of the Czech Bonsai scene. Pravoslav or as EVERYONE calls him “Mr. Dorda” specializes in BIG pots that are high fired. I was invited to ‘have a go’… its been 35 years since I actually worked clay… to my surprise I could still throw a half decent pot (well I thought so)
Me actually throwing a pot!
wild flower seed head
On the last day Pavel took me to a place close by another place that we had visited before, I’m being vague for obvious reasons and these areas are closely guarded secrets. We were not there to collect any Yamadori… what we did was photograph wildflowers because this is the perfect time… late May.
The hospitality offered by the many people I met on this trip is difficult to explain let’s just say I made lots more new friends and I’m looking forward to my next trip back, my thanks goes to Mirek, Pavel and Jakub for his wonderful translation services.
Burrs Artist announced
Mizu Goke and the benefits to bonsai by Owen Reich
I have been sent this article to publish from my friend Owen Reich who is studying at Kouka-en in Osaka, Japan. It’s an in depth study of Mizu Goke and the benefits to bonsai.
Upon my arrival to study in Japan, one of the first things I noticed about the bonsai here was that the surface of many of the trees were covered with chopped sphagnum moss. My broken Japanese questions were answered with a smile, as mizu goke is an integral part of bonsai care here at Kouka-en and other nurseries in Japan. Proper watering is the most important cultural practice for bonsai and any edge you can get should be considered for use.
Mizu goke means water moss, referring to the environment sphagnum moss naturally grows in. To avoid confusion, mizu goke will be referred to as “moss” and green, living moss as “live moss”. You should never leave live moss you applied for exhibition on indefinitely as it uses water, decreases the oxygen exchange for the bonsai’s roots, and makes monitoring for dry bonsai more difficult. It is best to apply live moss before exhibition or display in small chunks like a puzzle. This keeps the air exchange rate higher than using large sheets.
There are a myriad of benefits for the use of mizu goke. The most common use is for newly repotted bonsai to stabilize the soil surface and evaluate root system health. Sick bonsai due to weak roots can be better monitored as can newly collected yamadori. Moisture sensitive trees and almost all shohin bonsai benefit a great deal as the hotter times of the year can be especially difficult to provide adequate moisture in a timely fashion. 
Stewartia monadelpha a.k.a. Himeshara (meaning dwarf stewartia) thrives even in warmer climates as moss keeps the soil temperature lower; best recreating the cool, moist environment they naturally grow in. Trachelospurnum asiaticum var. ‘Nana’ a.k.a. Chiramen kazura (meaning handsome climber) is another species that hates to dry out completely. All of the chiramen kazura and himeshara at Kouka-en are maintained year-round with moss covering the surface. Another reason to adopt the use of moss is the uniform covering will decrease the incidence of new weeds and it’s easier to spot new ones early for easy removal. It will not unfortunately, not kill all the old ones.
Mizu goke can be used for any species, but it will take some close observation the first time you apply for evaluation of your soil mix and local climate. We don’t use it for ancient Pinus parviflora or Shimpaku as the larger particle akadama used doesn’t shift easily and water needs are well known. Kouka-en uses blended Aoki akadama mixs for everything (a separate deciduous and evergreen mix) with a larger size of high fired akadama as a base to decrease the zone of saturation. This is the area that stays wet between waterings in the bottom of the pot. Satsuki azaleas are grown in Kanuma with a high fired akadama base. Long fibered Australian peat moss is used here in Osaka for mizu goke, but Canadian long fibre peat moss will be readily available at garden centres or craft stores in America. Just make sure it is beige to brown colour that isn’t dyed. Mizu goke is best prepared by soaking the dry moss in a container of boiling water and left to sit for three hours to fully saturate the dry moss. Next, a large chopping knife is used to cut the moss into a fine particle size. The sm
aller the size, the more uniform the application will be to the soil surface. After mincing is complete, the moss is put into buckets of water for immediate use. The ratio of water to moss is important as too much water will make it hard to remove the moss. Too much moss tends to make the moss form clumps and can lead to an uneven final thickness on the surface. It will take some practice to perfect the ratio. When preparing enough for later use, the wet moss is mounded up in flats with small drain holes in the bottom and allowed to dry. If not used soon after preparation, it is best to allow the mizu goke to soak in a bucket overnight or at least three hours before use. If too dry, application will be difficult and increase the incidence of a wavy surface that dries sporadically. If left in a bucket for more than a day or two, add new water to provide oxygen otherwise the moss with start to go anaerobic and smell bad.
Surface preparation is straightforward for newly repotted bonsai, as the soil surface should be made level or with a slight slope away from the tree already. It is best to make the final soil level a centimetre lower than normal before mizu goke application. On established bonsai, any old live moss is scraped off the surface save very close to the nebari on evergreens with flaking bark such as Pinus thunbergii as this area is usually left undisturbed during repotting. The mizu goke should be applied in a thin layer over all new soil. Again, this aids in keeping the soil from washing away or shifting so the surface is smooth and level. If you prefer to keep your soil surface “green”, live moss can grow in or through the mizu goke and re-establish itself at a uniform height. If a more diverse live moss covering for exhibition is desired, moss can be applied over the mizu goke if space allows or it can be scraped off once the root system is stabilized after application. This stabilization may take 3 months or longer. Many of the bonsai in the Kokofu Ten Exhibition are repotted during the months preceding the show in February into beautiful, and generally old and extremely expensive, pots. After the exhibition ends, the trees are potted back in their normal pots, terra cotta containers, or wood boxes. Moss is often applied at this point as the trees have gone through many stressors; not the least of which was almost two weeks inside an exhibition hall with dry air and low light levels. It is a testament of skill to the professionals involved that the bonsai masterpieces exhibited remain healthy during and after running such a gauntlet.
Mizu goke application is done by making a shallow skimming-scooping motion into the bucket and almost slapping the thin layer in your hand onto the soil. Grabbing a big handful and spreading it around is less accurate. At a minimum, moss should be applied over all new soil around the perimeter of the pot. Deciduous trees are covered from the edge of the pot to the nebari leaving these surface roots uncovered as it will decrease the incidence of adventitious roots in the wrong places and just looks better. As mentioned earlier, evergreens don’t need moss covering the undisturbed soil. Also, a little bit of the overall surface devoid of moss can also aid in assessing water needs. Next, a curved edged, flat soil tamp like the ones often opposite the business end of bonsai tweezers should be used to press the moss down to form a slight outward slope on the inside edge of the pot. Finally, a clean dry rag will aid in the removal of excess moss on the pot rim. Once dry, mizu goke will stick to the pot and is unsightly and harder to remove.
As the new moss dries, it will lighten in colour. This is how to better judge when to water. If applied to established bonsai, it will dry faster and when visually dry, it’s time to water. Newly repotted bonsai will dry out slower and watering rates need to be watched closely. It is best to let the moss dry out to the point of looking like caked oatmeal early in the stabilization of new root systems; sometimes watering just the older part of the root system closer to the trunk is advisable as this is where the new fibrous roots will emerge. As time passes after repotting, the rate at which the moss dries can be tracked and used to judge the vigour of your bonsai. Really long drying times between waterings are a sign of a weak root system. It may be time to apply a suitable fungicide. At times, patches of moss can wash away. Just apply some new moss in the same fashion. The moss will sometimes turn green due to some sort of algae. If too much of the surface turns green, the old moss can be removed and new moss applied. If your moss turns green all over, you are most likely watering too much. Fertilizer cakes will discolour the moss under them but this is no reason for concern.
The water needs of any species should be learned from bonsai professionals, seasoned local club members, or researching the plant’s native habitat. Mizu goke is not a cure-all for how to time your watering. Moss is not going to fix any bad habits either. It is however, a reliable aid in bonsai culture when used properly and may provide an “Ah-Hah” moment for bonsai you had trouble keeping healthy in the past.
Burrs Bonsai workshop 2012 amazing experience
Its two days after the biggest Burrs workshop I have staged, and this being the seventh occasion I wanted to make it extra special. Special for the participants as they had the opportunity to work with some of the best bonsai artists in Europe, and special because I wanted to pay tribute to my dear friend HarleyRider who passed away suddenly earlier this year.
Day 1: Things started early on Thursday Morning at Manchester Airport collecting Hans van Meer who was flying in from Holland, we had a fun day in my garden relaxing, working on trees and preparing for the weekend. Hans has been a close friend for over 15 years and we can work closely as each understands the other. Later in the afternoon I collected Enrico and Rita who were arriving from Italy. That evening was spent along with Terry and his wife Charlotte, Will Baddeley, Simon, and Mikey at a nearby hostelry.
Day 2 Friday: Was focused in the garden working on the large Yew (more about this in another post) a Chuhin White Pine, and catching up with European Bonsai gossip! A few participants from the UK and Pavel Slovak arrived around midday with his group from the Czech and Slovak Republics; they had travelled over 2000km to be at the event. Burrs was coming together nicely, everyone arriving on time and enjoying being in the garden IN THE RAIN! As day moved into night we all made our way to the workshop venue 3km from my garden… and to the Brown Cow country pub for food and refreshments. All evening long folk arrived and joined the bonsai throng… until we were forty persons strong.
I was very pleased when Erik Križovenský wanted to partake in the Burrs experience and he gave an amazing presentation on exactly how he makes his wonderful pot ‘creations’ his surprise at the end of the show was to unveil 3 of his pots that were swiftly snatched up by ME! I left the assembled bonsai gathering and returned home to my bed.
Day 3 Saturday part 1: Whilst I looked after Enrico at my house for Breakfast, Bob Brunt was busy cooking up breakfast for over 30 hung over guys and a few not so. Arriving at 9.00am and after brief introductions a day of intensive bonsai was ahead for everyone. Lots of trees were worked, some styled for the first time, some refined and some starting their journey to being a great bonsai.
Burrs participants range from complete beginners right the way through to artists with years of experience, all come because they want to learn, share, enjoy, laugh and have fun with like minded individuals. What makes Burrs that bit special is they come from across Europe and this year was no exception: Holland, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Israeli, Slovak Republic, and from the UK… Welsh, Geordies, Southern softies and even Yorkshire folk.
Day 3 part 2: Saturday Evening starts with everyone sharing their local/regional/national foods or drinks. I do not think I have seen such a selection of beers and spirits on the long table before. Carolyn along with helpers put together quite a spread. Once the tables were cleared of food the fun really started with the Czech guys singing Kde domov můj? (National Anthem) quickly followed by the Slovaks, the Welsh gave us The Oggy Oggy Oggy chant (NOT the national anthem) followed by Jose Redondo and ME doing the Tachinch (National Anthem) then Rob Atkinson and ME (again) giving a rendition of “Fog on the Tyne” this was later followed by a parade of tattooed men!
Day 4 Sunday: I arrived at 9.00am and was greeted by a few of the guys looking worse for wear, Will and Mikey simply had not gone to bed, choosing to stay up all night working, drinking and chatting. Most had gone to bed at a reasonable time (before 2.00am) and were fresh ’ish and ready for another full day of bonsai. Some new Trees were worked and some of the larger trees completed. Terry worked on a large pine that needed AT least 10 hours of wiring, fortunately this is possible at Burrs as the total time available to work is over 48 hours (if you do not sleep) Ian Stewartson turned up at 11.00 to see what all the fuss was about and was overwhelmed by the scale of the event and the enthusiasm of participants. The event was rounded off with a group photo.
Trees that were created will feature in a post shortly.
My Thanks goes out to:
- My wife Carolyn who looked after artists, friends and fed 42 hungry participants
- The artists: Enrico Savini, Hans van Meer, Pavel Slovak, Will Baddeley and Terry Foster for all their hard work and inspiration!
- My Helpers: Bob Brunt, Mikey, David Barlow, Rob Atkinson
- All the participants, without them it would not happen
Bonsai Potter Showcase #6 Horst Heinzlreiter Video
Bonsai Potter Horst Heinzlreiter is one of Europe’s most exciting artists creating beautiful pots. In this showcase he lets us into his world and describes how he approaches his work.
Wire bonsai with a special twist
On a visit to one of the Israeli Bonsai artists I came across these Wire bonsai! I know that there are a few guys who do this but Ami adds a special twist (sorry) to his wire sculptures. They are miniature bonsai ‘scenes’ that include people, animals and other features. Look out for the windswept tree and person… real nice!
European Bonsai tour #8 the finishing line
In arrived in my home at 10.00am on Tuesday after staying the night with Stone Monkey near Tunbridge Wells in the South of England. My European Tour started on 2nd May and finished on 16th May. I visited 7 countries and travelled 5239Km/3256miles.
I met many wonderful people, plus a few crazy ones! Ate really good food, drank in moderation and perhaps talked too much. Thanks for following my epic journey, I have an enormous amount of material for this blog including over 2 hours of video, 1500 photos and lots of great stories that will feature here over the next few weeks.
For now though here are my personal reflections and statistics from the tour:
Best roads: Germany
Worst roads: Slovenia
Best Food: Italy
Worst Food: Germany
Most enthusiastic bonsai Nation: Hungary
Highest point: 1760 mtrs in Austria
Lowest point: Sharing the stage with a Prima Donna
Best Night Out: Ljubljana
Strangest drink: Fruit of Myrtle Spirit (Italian homemade)
Best bonsai personality: Marc Noelanders
Hero: Tomaž Kovšca (organiser of EBA Ljubljana)
Zero: Brussels Ring Road
Best Weather: Italy
Worst Weather: Belgium
Best Audience: Belgium
Worst Coffee: Germany
Best Coffee: Italy
Favourite place: On top of a mountain in Slovenia
Funniest name: “Gasthof Wanker” in Austria
Best thing of all: staying with friends old and new
European Bonsai Tour #7 The EBA show in Ljubljana, Slovenia
This weekend was the EBA show in Ljubljana. I Exhibited a tree, was a headline demonstrator, I traded my Yamadori and I did a presentation about Hawthorns! The weekend has been full on, but what made this extra special was that I did not have to stay in a hotel, I stayed with Nik Rozman and his wonderful parents Peter and Marina… it truly was home from home.
Staying with Nik was great because having somebody who was ‘local’ and deeply involved with the organising club meant that a lot of the ‘formalities’ (translating, help with my trade stand, drivers) were easily overcome. My thanks goes to them for making my stay so enjoyable.
The majority of exhibition was a very high standard, with 11 countries taking part with over trees on show and 12 traders. Normally the first day is busier, not on this occasion. Saturday was a VERY hot 28c and sunny with the people through the door less than expected. The exact opposite on Sunday VERY cold 4c and overcast. More than three times the amount of people came.
Considering that this is the biggest Bonsai show ever to be staged staged in Slovenia the organising club Slovenski bonsaj klub did a great job.
My demo with Nik was on a beautiful Mugo Pine that he had collected three years before.
Kevin Willson assisted by Richard Chambers worked a massive Olive and Yew, the Italian talked about a mugo pine that had been fully prepared for him by his assistant.
A full gallery of the trees is to follow. Tomorrow I drive to See Walter Pall and continue on with my European Bonsai Tour
Yamadori Bonsai 