Spring in Southern Appalachia, with update

An update - I've inserted a few "after" pictures to show how some of the snow covered trees from last week look today. Scroll through the original post to see them.

Ahh, winter and spring at the same time... you have to love it! These images were made this morning at the NC Arboretum in Asheville.

















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Very cool. The trees look pretty. Thanks for sharing.

We had snow down the hill here, too. Nothing like that tho, Arthur.

Some very lovely trees there. Will have to visit some time.

Y'all come. Some of the finest bonsai in the country!

Beautiful AJ. The second picture represents the spring under the snow. Thanks!

And here's one that didn't make the original post:

AJ wrote:

Can you post a photo of this mugo pine without snow, please?

This pic is from the fall of 2005...



Arthur, I really like the way the Roan Mtn planting has progressed. It has flourished in your care and for me is a great representation of the actual place. With the azaleas in bloom it takes me back to a cloudy June day in 2003
Thanks,
John

Beautiful! This is (one of) the reason(s) we live up here!

Beautiful! I love spring! (who doesn't?) Could you elaborate on the plantings on two of the displays: the quince and the mountain? It is hard from the pictures to tell what composes the 'ground' planting in both of these, and both look very interesting. Thanks!

My apologies to carol1 and Carolee; it's springtime here and there's so much to do. I haven't been able to keep track of what's happening on this site.

carol1 - I hope the picture posted by John answered your interest in seeing the Mugo Pine without the snow.

Carolee - Thanks for your response. The underplanting for the Chinese Quince is Japanese Spirea and 'Gold Tip' Teucrium (Germander). The plants used in the 'Roan Mountain' planting are Shimpaku Junipers and 'Zakura' Azaleas (a cultivated form of kiusianum). 'Zakura' was chosen because the bloom color is similar to the color of the Catawba Rhododendrons found in abundance on the actual Roan Mountain, which stradles the border between western NC and eastern TN. The Shimpakus were grown from cuttings, specifically for this planting, and trained as formal uprights so that they might be used to represent the Fraser Firs and Red Spruces found on the Roan.

John - Thanks for posting the Mugo picture for carol1, and the other photos from our trip to Roan Mountain. It surprised me to be reminded that it was '03 when we went there together with Ken. We need to get out more often!

Here's another shot of the planting, taken yesterday:



You can see that most of the flowers have opened in the last few days.

Hope spring is going well for you. I need to send the fax with the drawing for the slab that Ken is going to make. It's buried right now, somewhere under a pile of debri on my desk...

AJ

AJ,
Thank you for posting.
The azaleas picture is very reminds me of a local area where I live , Golden grove. Here the rhoddie are viewed as a weed within the arboretum, but when in flower in May give the area around the mighty trees a visual blessing.

Your picture has inspired me to create my own landscape of local trees and azaleas.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Thank you so much AJ for the information. I think the Roan Mountain Grove is lovely. The newer picture shows off the azaleas. Thanks!

Carolee - My pleasure.

uro - I'm glad that the Roan Mountain planting has given you ideas. Using bonsai as a vehicle to express an individual's experience of nature is the way that I find most appealing and makes the most sense to me. So if I were to travel to Wales I'd hope to see bonsai that has something to say about nature in that part of the world, just as I would hope to see bonsai in Australia, or Russia, or Venezuela tell me something about those places. I don't have any great personal affinity for Asian culture (nothing against it; just no particular attraction to it), so I find it uninteresting to see so much of bonsai outside of Asia slavishly attempting to imitate that example. Each to their own, though.

I'm surprised to hear that the Rhododendrons in the place you mention are thought of as weeds. Here all forms of Rhododendron are highly regarded, and on Roan Mountain they are the focus of attention. The spruce and fir are more like accents for the great masses of Rhododendron, rather than the other way around. Here are a couple more pictures of how it looks on Roan Mountain, later in the season when the blooms are past:





Here's a picture looking in under the canopy of one of the Rhododendrons:



It's tough to get a good shot of the trunks of these shrubs, because the light is so low beneath the heavy shade of the large leaves. Some of the Rhododendrons here are easily more than 100 years old and have trunk caliper in the 8 to 10 inch range. They grow slowly because the higher elevation (above 5,000 feet) means a shorter growing period. It is also quite windy, with a good deal of snow and ice in the winter:





For me, Roan Mountain is one of those special places in nature that have their own unique identity and feeling. Some people describe these kinds of places as "sacred". However one thinks of them, they are found all over the world, and they can be great inspiration for bonsai tray landscapes.

@Jgeanangel thanks for posting this mugo pine for me

AJ wrote:Carolee - My pleasure.

uro - I'm glad that the Roan Mountain planting has given you ideas. Using bonsai as a vehicle to express an individual's experience of nature is the way that I find most appealing and makes the most sense to me. So if I were to travel to Wales I'd hope to see bonsai that has something to say about nature in that part of the world, just as I would hope to see bonsai in Australia, or Russia, or Venezuela tell me something about those places. I don't have any great personal affinity for Asian culture (nothing against it; just no particular attraction to it), so I find it uninteresting to see so much of bonsai outside of Asia slavishly attempting to imitate that example. Each to their own, though.

Hi Arthur,

Your landscape of the Roan Mountains is lovely and represents the views shown in your pictures extremely well. While I'm not as ambivolent about the Asian culture as you seem to be, I whole heartedly agree with your sentement on landscapes that could and should represent those "Magical" places around the world. Today being "Earth day" it brings to mind that if there were more of those landscapes that existed wouldn't it be a great way to introduce one cultures natural gems to another using "Bonsai" as a means of expression. I don't know of many individual bonsai that represent specific natural settings but there are a few of them for sure. There has been some discussion on another thread here (Formal Display)that has broached the subject of displays other than the traditional Japanes form but as always seems to fade due to a lack of pointed direction with a specific purpose. The "Magical Landscapes from around the world" as a concept is one example that would do well to tell that story and provide a forum to explore the posibilities of alternate displays and maybe spark all kinds of bonsai enthusiasts from around the world to share their cultures. It's to bad there is not some organizational framework that could organize a challenge to that end. I think that lots could be gained from such an event for all involved. But alas, I'm just sitting here day dreaming again! Again, nice job on your Roan Mountain reflections. I plan to attend the Asheville show this fall and I'm eager to see your Magic place.