PICTURES OF MY “LILAC” AND “HAWTHORN” IN BLOOM.

Hi, everybody,

today was another amazingly Sunny day! So I took advantage of all that light and made some pictures of two of my bonsai in bloom.

The first one, a syringa microphylla “suberba”  is an urban yamadori that I bought in September 2009 from my friend Teunis Jan Klein. LINK:  http://hans-van-meer.ofbonsai.org/2009/09/05/my-visit-to-bonsai-studio-deshima/  So it’s is in training for just a couple of seasons now, but even so, I think it is special already! Its trunk and roots are all gnarly and there is deadwood everywhere. There is even a see-through in the middle of the trunk! Its Winter image reminded me of the spooky trees that play their role in many fairytales and in many of the fantasy novels that I read. But then Spring arrived and the brightly fresh foliage started to grow and open up ever so slowly, softening the roughness of the battered trunk. And then three weeks ago, I saw the first signs of flower buds, and now those buds have grown into beautiful pink and white sweat-smelling towers of flowers! The contrast between the trunk and these flowers could not be greater! Beauty and ugliness go hand in hand!

Above: I have just started to build the new foliage pads and they need a lot more work in the next couple of years! But I do like the image already!

Above: Close-up of the old trunk, which looks like a half-buried head in this picture, and the snake-like roots. And although the flowers are completely out of proportion, it still has its charms. It shows us complete opposites living together!

Below: This Hawthorn was collected by me during a collecting trip in Wales together with my good friend Tony Tickle in February 1999. LINK: http://www.karamotto.org/index.php?page=14

In 2005 it was shown at “Joy of Bonsai” in Bath [UK] and in September 2006 it was shown at the prestigious “Ginkgo Awards” in Belgium. So you can see that we go back a long time! I am pleased that he made some flowers for us this year. Last year there was non!

                            Below: Close up of those lovely fragile flowers.

I hope you enjoyed this little tribute to Spring?

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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