Royal Welsh Show 2011

I have just got back from a week at the Royal Welsh Show, I had the pleasure to put on 40ft of trees
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Regards Chris

Dda iawn, dwi'n hoffi'r coed pinwydd

Nice job, I like the pines

hi Chris,

lovely natural pines your group has displayed, hope the public enjoy them

regards Marcus

Hi Chris
Nice dispaly. Thanks for sharing.
Any more close-up pics of individual trees? Thank you.

Cosmos

always appreciate seeing the pictures. Am off here in a bit to set up our display at the local buddist temple's bon odori today. always great to see what others are doing....

Thank you Richard,Marcus, Cosmos and Dick.
Hi Marcus, this is my own display, for many years I have tried to get the group involved but I suppose it is a big commitment at this time of year,
It takes me a couple of days to set up and then the show is four days and the taking it all apart again it ends up being a good week.
The only tree that was'ent mine was the Blackthorn which I borrowed from Jerry, he was in the sates at the time and I did tell him when he got back!

Regards Chris

chris , excellent display , i know how much work it takes to do an event , well done. i really like the first pic ' pine / scroll / accent and deer
combination , very nice.
roy

Hi Chris
Looks like a very good show. However, I feel the need to make one comment that will improve the next show.
When displaying a bonsai with a scroll. the bonsai shouldn't block the scroll as in images 1 and 4. The bonsai should just touch the scroll. This will take more table space, but will greatly improve the view. After placing the scroll and bonsai, then place the companion piece so there is about a 45 degree angle from the top of the bonsai down to the top of the companion piece.

I have never tried to display bonsai with scrolls,whenever we have shows here ,we barely have enough tables for the trees. Organizers even impose a maximum width of trees so they can accommodate more .
Next time when we will have special show for limited number of trees, I will suggest the display of scrolls and accent plants, thanks Mike for the guide. I appreciate your suggestions.

Best regards

hanks for your reply Mike, please understand this is not a Bonsai show as such, this is a 4 day agricultural show and it is judged as a Royal Horticultural event. I was given 40ft and would have liked to show no more than 4 trees. Last year I did just that in a separate tokanoma type display
This was'et understood by the judges and they awarded me a Gold medal, this year I went one better with the best medal avaliable a Large Gold.
Its horses for courses, and a general public show still needs to be approached differently. I do push as hard as I can and I think we are getting there.
Please have a look at celticknotbonsai.co.uk, this is a site myself and Jerry set up

Regards Chris

The typical UK horticultural show plays by a completely different set of judging rules from our specialist bonsai shows. This is somewhat of a bugbear for many of us bonsaiists, first because the main body responsible for these events sees itself as the authority in bonsai showing when it has limited credentials for doing so and secondly because it gives the public a false picture of what bonsai is. The people who win the medals at these events more often than not do so because they are showing large imported trees. That Chris has had such success with his own trees is excellent and is immensely to his credit.

With regards to the display element, again the rules for judging (and I'm using the word rules with no inverted commas because there is a colossal element of rigidity and inflexibility about them) do not really allow for this. The type of display that Chris has done (and that my own friends do at the Ayr Flower Show) tries to incorporate elements of bonsai display rather than sticking some trees on a stand. Again it is to their credit that they attempt this.

I can't speak for Chris, but when we try this at Ayr Flower Show to an extent we are saying "never mind the judges and their "rules", we are trying to show the public a bit more of what bonsai really involves." The extra elements nearly almost always spark better discussion with the public.

Anyway, well done Chris - keep flying the flag.

Thank you Fiona, great explanation and understanding

Regards Chris

Hi Chris!
Nice Display. Thanks for showing.