a forest story

so, i won a bucket of these at last years MBS fall show



wasnt sure what to do with them and werent sure what they were beyond a juniper of some sort
but then via this forum i think they are eastern red cedars (hope thats right)



so this past winter i was at a thrift store and found one of these cut off barrel things...
and i was gonna use it as a mold for slabs or trays, but then figured i would use it elseways first



and then my niece came over (shes super stoked on bonsai)
thats a dead fern she found... lil sackajaweya   



and we got to work







but we werent done yet and i needed her nimble fingers for some small work...
... we figured it needed a dry creek bed





but it wouldnt do to have it just end at the edge of the pot, so we busted out the side   



and created the mouth of the creek with a couple fossilized shell pieces that no longer looked like shells



and there you have it... for now (boy - for a photographer, i sure do take crappy pictures of my trees   )



even though the substrate is a different size than the "boulders" in the creek bed, i still need more disconnect between the 2...
and i have a bit too much pumice in the substrate so it looks light...
since these pics were taken, i have begun to add some understory plants and will be incorporating moss and lichen while the trees settle in and mature... lots of juvie foliage...

any comments/criticism/heckling is welcome  

kevin

I've been wanting to do a mini forest type for a few months now. Looks like it was a fun and definitely worth while project! Very cool!  

Nice! one of the things on my list (Yet.. Why a dry creek bed? I would love to see one with an actual creek in it

thanks weller !
just grab some seedlings, stick 'em in something and you have a forest !!!   
this is only my second forest, but that is pretty much what i did for my first one...
just do a little studying of what forests look like and how they naturally develop...

and thanks mr. back-o-leather !
i too would like to see an active creek bed but it is currently late late late spring
and the winter melt off from the mountains has dried up...

we will see what it looks like next year, in late winter or early spring.

kevin

Howzit my Friend

Kevin is there a reason why you placed the tallest tree on the right?  If there is, then please forgive me and ignore the following..

Something in the forest doesnt harmonize, it looks cut off  and I think this forest can be improved.

The outline of the canopy should echo the canopy of an tree.. in other words,   the apex should really sit in the middle,   or just off centre.  Apparantly Buddha sits in the middle, and I dont really mind.  hihihhihihhiiihii

You will never find a forest looking like yours with the tallest trees on the end.  Unless it was part of a huge forest that was flatttened and this is the edge survivors.  But still it doesnt look natural.    

Forests will always start of with small bushes then taller and taller till you reach the middle, and tallest trees, going out you wil encounter the same, till you reached the smallest and also probably leaning the most outwards,(skets 2) as if the heavyness of the forest canopy is pushing it out and down.

The same with placing stone for a dry river bed.... which I do know what works in landscaping. I love doing it and it makes such a great impact.

First rule, never go over the edge. Second rule, Big stones always in the middle, and then going out ending on the far side of the beach with the smallest pebbles. One would think that its the other way around, but it isnt, cause I said so. hihihihihihh No really look at Japanese gardens and learn..... Also it helps a lot if you can place the centre stones almost level, like water.

Forgive my rudimentary scratchings and the very dirty scanner, but this is what happens when you work in a nursery... hihihihi  dirty bastards.

Guys do you think Im on the right track or am I just blabbering again.....  

Love and light

wow... i thought i was the only one (outside of hawaii) who uses "howzit" !

actually andre, i agree with you wholeheartedly !!!

my first forest (dawn redwoods) is set up like that as that is how they naturally occur.

BUT...

for this one i threw out all rules mainly because of the "container" and i just wanted to "play"...
i was not necessarily trying to "copy" nature, so much as attempting to create something more whimsical...
after all, i stuck these trees in a cut-off keg fer chrissakes !    

and you say "first rule - never go over the edge"
sorry my new friend but, i take exception to 2 words you used:

"rule"
&
"never"

not only did i go to the edge... i busted through the edge.
intentionally, on purpose, not on accident, etc etc...

i am also aiming for an exaggerated sloping outline from right to left
(yes yes yes, i know - thats a scalene triangle)
again though because of the ridiculous (great ?) container...

and how can there be smaller trees to the right of the tallest one when that is obviously the edge of the earth ???   

btw, there are some on-going modifications to the ground level which i think you might like...
but nothing to do with "studying japanese rock gardns"      

will post pics soon

love and light back atcha andre !

wasnt looking too healthy as of late last year as depicted here:
https://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t16471-simon-has-carbunkles-on-his-garfunkle#174894

but it made a good come-back and with our el nino inspired protracted fall i decided to do a little work on it as it definitely needed some thining and a bit of beginning wiring (meaning i didnt wire down any of the upper branches as there is no reason for them to be descending... yet)

before



after



again, this is just the beginning for, what started out as, some crap material that might end up okay...

I am planning on putting together my first forest this spring if the roots on my material look suitable. So, I'm reading all I can about forest bonsai construction.  I never understood why most of the lower foliage needed to be removed and why the trees needed to be placed closely together until I was driving through the Smoky Mountains earlier this fall.  Then it became apparent.   All I saw were trunks through dappled light.  The trees were tightly packed together and randomly spaced.  There were no lower branches. 

I know it is in the early stages of development but would these design concepts apply to your juniper forest as well?

Btw.  Glad they are recovering.

for the most part - yes... the lower branches in a forest tend to be shaded out as the forest grows, thus weakening them and leading to their eventual die off... like you steve, i have begun paying attention to what i see in nature... (not that it is necessarily reflected in this novice level forest )

I like how it is coming along. It will need more years of coarse but it is progressing.

For all the years I have dabbled with bonsai, I have never really tried to put together a forest. I should really try one.

A couple years down the road. when you do the next repotting, I would re-arrange the trunks by putting a few closer together and a few farther apart. Your spacing is a bit on the regular side, though you do vary your spacing some.

Leo Schordje wrote:For all the years I have dabbled with bonsai, I have never really tried to put together a forest. I should really try one.

yeah man... its not like you lack the material !!!
that would be a fun one for a spring AAC work session

Leo Schordje wrote:A couple years down the road. when you do the next repotting, I would re-arrange the trunks by putting a few closer together and a few farther apart. Your spacing is a bit on the regular side, though you do vary your spacing some.

that being my first attempt, i later saw what you see and pointed it out to brian... he thought no-one would notice

but yes, i am looking at some minor spacing changes, but in order to do that, i should probably not wait a couplafew years as the roots would be super melded by then... also i have grown quite fond of the pot, despite it starting out as a bit of a lark, but it will need some work to ensure its longevity... i think it goes well with the species...

so once it recovers from the last bit of work, i should get them outta there, treat the pot with a protectant, tweak the positioning, and get it all back together for the long haul... hopefully then not needing to repot for a buncha years...