Category: MY WORK

Hi, everybody,

yesterday I made a picture of my “Buxus microphylla” in full bloom. Every evening during the last week, I have been bringing it inside the house for a few hours, where it stood as a centrepiece on the living room table. The intoxicating fragrance that this little Bonsai shared with us for free, is better than any perfume we could ever buy!

This is one of the first trees I ever bought and it must be in my care for more than 17 years now. It was one of those many unsightly stumps, with just a few small branches on top, that back in those days were imported by the hundreds from China. If you look at this picture, it is hard to believe that two years ago, I almost lost this little tree. It lost about half its foliage in one growing season! I am so glad that it is regaining its strength. I cant let you smell, but I can try to show you!

Hope you enjoy this messenger of a warm Summer?!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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Hi, everybody,

two years ago I posted HERE the story of a small “Hawthorn” that I had collected in Nov. 2006 in Wales.

Below: And this is how the small “Hawthorn” of this post looked in February 2008 before the work started.

Below: February 2008. And this is how it looked after the first styling was finished.

 

During the last week, I removed the old wire from last year. Worked on branch refinement, which means: cutting off all the ugly or to straight or thick small branches. Then all the branches were wired again and brought into position.

Below: 13-2-2010. And this is the picture of the finished restyling. Present height of the tree is 28cm/11.2 inch. Remember that between the above picture and the one below, only two years have passed! I find that amazing! “Hawthorn’s” are truly wonderful trees to work with!

               Below: A bird’s eye view of the tree. Look at all those branches.

I know it will need some more years for the branches to mature and the top to thicken some more. But I think this small “Hawthorn” is well on it’s way to becoming a very powerful Bonsai!

I hope you like it so far?!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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Hy, everybody,

here is an update on how I am doing. Well, to be honest, still not so good! Things have not gotten any better for me and there is still not much I can do. My visit to the Noelanders did prove to be too much to soon and did me more harm than good. I don’t even remember much of that short visit and I am ashamed that I missed out on saying hello to so many of my Bonsai friends that I know that were there! To all those people, forgive me, I was not at my best that day! And I will CU and meet you for sure on a later date!!! 🙂

But even though my physical condition is still not too good, I did manage to get some light Bonsai stuff don, spread out over a couple of days. Especially the work on one of my smaller Hawthorns gave me great joy. And I am proud to announce that the story of this little Bonsai will be featured in an article in the BCI magazine in the near future! So as you see, I am not giving up yet! 🙂

 Below: I bought this Berberis thunbergii and the Ilex verticillate in the bottom two pictures last September HERE  at Teunis Jan Klein’s place “DESHIMA” .

I created a small cascading Bonsai out of it. In the future, one of the two cascading branches will be removed. But for now, I will first wait how good this little tree will recover from all this cutting I had to do to get it to were it is in this picture. There is no hurry!

                                                   Below: Ilex verbicillata.

Below: I had to remove one trunk, a lot of unwanted branches and had to perform some major surgery on old ugly and bulging wounds. The branches that I could use, were wired and then carefully bend into position. This 5 trunk raft needs some new branches lower down on two of the tree front trunks. But this will surely happen in this next growing season. I know it is eurly day’s yet, but I can’t wait to see this tree in a couple of years time when it is in full bloom. I think that this will be a spectacular site indeed!

                  Below: Here is the second portrait I finished a few days ago.

It is a pencil drawing of my Nephew, who is the latest addition to our proud family. 

                    His name is Jelle and he was born on 30 July 2009.

                                       “HAPPY JELLE”

Until the next time,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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Hi, everybody,

I can’t wait for repotting time to arrive!

Your friend in Bonsai,

Hans van Meer.

PS: Watch this space next Saturday evening!

Then I will post some pictures to share the impression of the Noelander trophy 2010 with you all. Gives me a good opportunity to try out my new camera!  🙂

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Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

Hi, everybody,

it’s been a wile. I know! But things have not gone very well for me after my operation! That’s why I have not been able to do any real Bonsai work in the last two months. But luckily my friend Ed helped me out and carried all my bigger trees for me into my winter shelter. And just in time, that night temperatures dropped way below zero! Thanks, EDJE Retteketetje! 🙂

In the picture below, that was shot the morning after that first real wintry night, this old Larch seems to be surrounded by only straight lines. These lines beautifully contrast and emphasize the curves and natural flow of the snow-covered trunk and branches. I liked it so much, that I made it into a greeting cart for all my dear Bonsai friend out there!

Have a nice one,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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Hi, everybody,

yesterday, while stretching my legs a little in my garden, I was immediately drawn to the almost glowing image in the back garden. It was the yellow foliage on mine Larch (The Elephant) that was really lit up by the last week winter sun rays, just before it would completely disappear behind my house. So I quickly cleaned the area around the pot and made this handheld pictures. And just in time too! Because of only half an hour of typical Dutch stormy weather later, most of these last memories of the warm Autumn sun ended up on the wet floor. Winter is here! And soon the image of this old Survivor will be lit up again when the fading Sun light hits the freshly fallen snow that covers its branches!

Wow…… those painkillers make me all poetic! 🙂

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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Hi, everybody,

today I finally managed to do some light pruning work on one of my Hawthorns. Although I only managed to stand up like this for about 15 minutes, it still was nice to finally be able to do something! I hope that this is the first baby step to better times!

Looking at this picture though, I do realize that my playing years are over!

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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Hi, everybody,

yes, I am still here, don’t worry! 🙂 It now has been just over 2 weeks since I had my lower back surgery. I am still recovering and don’t know yet if the operation has been successful, that might still take a while. But I have good hopes and strong painkillers, so who is complaining. I am not able to get any real bonsai work don, YET! But I did manage to get a nice picture of one of my small Blackthorns with its last lovely yellow autumn colour. Hope you like it? And as soon as I get some work don, I will let you all know!

Cheers,

Hans.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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Hi, everybody,

for the last couple of days, I have been going through all my old Bonsai related pictures on paper, to look for ones I can use to accompany the new Bonsai stories I am planning to write and post on my website soon.  I would like to share with you some of this pictures I found because they hold precious memories of my beginning days in Bonsai.

Above: Juniperus regida. This small tree was one of my first attempts to style an imported tree from Japan. This picture is shot in 1994, during my monthly meeting at my first Bonsai club “Koya” in Bleiswijk Holland. Later that same year this tree was entered in the annual Bonsai show of the N.B.V (Dutch Bonsai Association). That was my first entry in an important show. Sadly this wonderful tree died in 1997.

                       

Above: Picture of a other Juniperus regida, it was shot in 1998 in my garden. This is another early styling of an imported tree from Japan. 

                        

Above: Pinus parviflora from Japan that I styled in 1997. During that year 1997, my friend Ed de Groot, owner of EDO BONSAI CENTRE that in those day’s was still located in Boskoop Holland, invited me to work on some of his trees. He gave me complete freedom to choose anyone I liked to style, in the way I saw fit! That was a great opportunity for me because good material was pretty rare and expensive in those day’s, so to work on material of this calibre was a unique chance to practice my styling skills. I even took some of his best trees home and to my own place of work to style! I enjoyed working on his trees a lot and Ed wasn’t complaining either, those trees sold pretty quick and for a lot more money! Ed now still runs his EDO BONSAI business in Holland and in Indonesia, where he now lives. Thanks, Ed, for your trust in me!!

Above: Picture from January 2001. Celtis sinensis from China, that I named “THE LION CRUSHER”. Even today, when I look around my garden, I still miss the real tree like images of this wonderful tree. This tree was back then, and would still be today, a rare side to see in my part of the world. That’s why I was so glad and proud to show it in a really great condition in the prestigious “GINKGO AWARDS” show. Yes I was really lucky to share its beauty for those few years it stayed in my too cold garden, but then I had to let it go to live happier in a warmer part of Europe. It ended up in Paris France, where I hope it still shines its awesome tree-like stature on every one that has the luck to looks at it!

Hope you enjoyed these old pictures as much as I did when I rediscovered them!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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Hi, everybody,

yesterday I took  a picture of one of my Dutch Yamadori Hawthorns that I would like to share with you. I collected this trees a long time ago in the dunes close to were I live. Back than it was about 1.60 m high and now, after I chopped it down in several stages  that I spread out over several years, it measures about 82 cm in height. I am especially pleased with how it’s new top that I created is developing. The earlier too wide top without any taper now shows great taper and in some more years, it will look pretty convincing! The branches need much more growth and styling before this tree will fully reach what I have in mind for it, but it is already showing a lot of promise for the future. Dutch Yamadori Hawthorns, like any kind of Yamadori, are pretty hard to find and collect, so I am really happy I found this one and that it is doing so great. Especially the large natural deadwood section is unique on a small tree from Holland! I just love working on these Hawthorns, they are just perfect to creat Bonsai from!

Above: There is hardly any wire in this tree at this moment, it will be rewired in early spring. As you can see, I use whatever is at hand to position branches in their place! The stick on the left that I used to hold that branch up,  is half a cloth hanger. 🙂

                      

Above: These Hawthorns grow in the dunes next to the see so only the top few inches are actually soil, under need that it is all sand. To free it from the ground,  I only had to use a small hook and my hands. I can clearly remember that while I was sitting on my knees concentrating on freeing the roots, some very big black highland bulls that room these dunes, thought it would be funny to suddenly appear right next to me and scare the shit out of me. We never saw or heard them coming!

                      

Above: After I cleaned my trousers, I proceeded to shorten the unwanted branches. This is by now means a simple task with all these very sharp needles!

                     

Above: The tree in my back garden. It is planted in a large tube, where the roots can grow freely in. The yellow arrow shows were the present day top is created.

                   

Above: A year later the too long and useless branches are shortened again. This forces the tree to back bud all over the lower parts. Then I only have to wait and hope that they will appear from just the right places to use in my design. This procedure is spread out over as many growing seasons as is necessary to keep the tree safe and healthy

Above: This is how the top section still looked only a few years ago. All these tiny branches you see here are new ones. As expected, they appeared after cutting back the thick top branches. Just look how ugly and too wide the top section looked in this picture. The green arrow shows the then still tiny present top! Amazing what you can do with some optical illusions, don’t you think?!

Above: Forgive me for not having all the dates of these pictures at hand, but this one is made the winter after the old top section was reduced. The tree looks so fragile in this picture if you compare it to the first picture! I still find the metamorphosis that a tree has to go through to become a Bonsai, unbelievable. It is good to keep taking and saving pictures to convince your self and others what really happened in the pre-Bonsai live of a tree! Although it takes forever to style a Bonsai, I would not want to miss it for the world! Patience will be rewarded in the end!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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