This is a rather poor photo of a raft style Larix kaempferi , Japanese larch, that she has been developing for many years now. It is a bonsai that has graced the exhibition benches at the famous Ginkgo Awards show so is certainly good enough for the BSA show. It is a chuhin size tree and, whilst the BSA intend to retain very strongly the nature of the event as one for shohin bonsai , this year there is to be a greater focus on chuhin trees as a way to get new bonsai on the benches.

Another small photo of another of Caz’s larch, this is just about shohin, in some eyes it may be seen as a kifu size tree. Caz is the lady whose interest in shohin led her to start the BSA several years ago and, although she has many more demands upon her time these days, she still devotes enough time to the hobby to keep her bonsai in good condition.

A shohin Korean hornbeam this time , I am not sure if this tree has been shown before. I am pretty sure that she will have a number of bonsai that we would like to have for the show ,it may be a case of just picking those that she has time to prepare properly for the show !

One of a number of very good Black pines that she owns, most of her best trees have been shown several times and I would like the public to see some of her bonsai that have not been out of her garden before.

I may even ask her for this tree for the show. It is a very good Acer palmatum ” kashima ”  Maybe stretching definitions just a little to class this as chuhin but we have had bigger trees in the show in the past and this bonsai does have a great winter image ! But you will have to come to the show to see all the trees that we select from Mrs. Steward’s collection !!

This is a view of the Saturday school day, it was pleasing to me to see that the majority of participants from our first year together had signed up again and those who had not had been replaced by new folk, two of which had made the trek up from south of the border !

Whilst we cover a range of topics and issues to do with people’s experience of doing bonsai on each school day, I choose a main focus for the session and on Saturday this was group or forest plantings. I used a fibreglass slab that I had purchased with another group of trees on it from a Willowbog regular, and the trees that I used were Picea glauca ‘ albertiniana ‘ purchased from a tree nursery in my region. When time permits I may come back to this project and deal with it in more detail.

The Sunday was a hands on workshop as usual and we had, I think, nine participants with quite a range of work to be accomplished on their trees. A fair bit of re-potting as you would expect at this time of year. My thanks go to Ian and Phil for their help in getting through most if not all the trees that participants had brought along.

Another aspect of the weekend is the stock that I take along to try to tempt folk into making some purchases !  My thanks to everyone who parted with their hard-earned cash to help keep this nursery a viable proposition.

None of this would happen without the hard work and enthusiasm of Ian Young, aka Bonsai Eejit , my thanks go to him and his wife Allison who host the weekend’s activities at their home. The above photos are all Ian’s and many more can be seen on the Bonsai Eejit blog. I would hope to return to some of the more specific activities of the two days [ perhaps not the consumption of red wine in the evenings  ]  though I need to take care not to just repeat what Ian does on his own blog. Also, we have here at Willowbog, an enormous amount of work to get through in the next 18 days in preparation for the BSA show, as well as a novice/intermediate workshop next Saturday and our March Bonsai Chat the Saturday after,  so lots to do !!!!!!!!!

Focus on group and forest planting at the school tomorrow so some of the stuff is for the demo in the afternoon but most of the space is sales items.

Whilst concentrating on seasonally relevant stock I think that I have a good selection of bonsai on board as well ,  setting off in about an hour , with this load I need to give myself plenty of time to get to the ferry !!  Hang on ! there is a little space there in the middle ,  one more tree perhaps ?  no better not ,” straw and camels back ” spring to mind !!

The time of year dictates a concentration on taking a wide range of pots and growing mediums but I always try to have with me some stocks of just about everything, trees, tools, wire and so on. Here we see plastic carrying boxes packed with ceramic pots and the first selection of trees that I have made , more to be added tomorrow when Jean and I load the van .

We have the widest range of growing medium components that we have ever stocked. We have ample supplies of the replacement akadama product as well as, a new for us, shohin grade. We have shohin grade moler [ calcined clay] as well as the standard size particle. We have the pumice that we have stocked for some years now as well as the popular kyodama, for those who want something a bit more basic to add to their mix we have 3-6mm granite grit. Back on the shelves is graded kiryu and graded kanuma for those with acid loving bonsai. Finally, what I think is a valuable additive, particularly for deciduous species, fine, clean orchid propagating bark.

We have purchased quite a number of new pots, some of which we used to stock some years ago. Glazed pots that, whilst they are not up to Japanese pot standards are significantly better than much of the Chinese glazed ceramics that are available just now. We have a good range of shohin size pots ready for the upcoming BSA show here in a few short weeks. A really good range of strong and rigid plastic bonsai pots that will fill a need in the market I am sure. Because of the very high price of Japanese imported tools we have added to the range of items that we have always [ and will continue to ] sold some of the much improved Chinese bonsai tools. We shall see how these are received by enthusiasts.

On the eve of a new potting season Jean is here pricing up soil sieve sets !  So,  lots of great products, new and old , all we need now are some customers  !!

This is the award that is presented to owners of winning exhibits in a range of different classes. A really nice, classy piece that could be gracing your mantle piece, so get your trees ready and let us know that you are going to participate in one of the UK’s main bonsai events.

My very good friend Bonsai Eejit celebrates one year of blogging today , congratulations Ian , long may it continue !  Without his help and encouragement I would not be blogging myself , thanks Ian !

I used this photo in a post about him a while back, here he is attending a workshop at Willowbog a few years ago, I will see Ian at the NIBS school weekend a week from today and I know that we will welcome him back to the nursery for the British Shohin Association on 10th and 11th March.

Willowbog regular Ray C. has started his own bonsai blog, check it out-

http://roninbonsai.blogspot.com/

This is the most flattering photo of Ray that I could find , it is the one I used when he appeared in a Willowbog Folk post a few weeks back .

As usual I put out a tokonoma display in the studio , it features a Korean hornbeam from the Willowbog Collection. The tree needs a re-pot this year and I have purchased a really beautiful Derek Aspinal to transfer it to.

The accent is a newly acquired, and rather unusual little, ivy bonsai.

I also put out on view a group of recently sold shohin bonsai in anticipation of the buyer coming to take them home, unfortunately the weather prevented Fi from making the trip down from north of the Border.

All doom and gloom out in the real world but nice to see regulars Mike and Dave finding something to smile about , Dave’s very nice Larix decidua to the right of the picture.

Pressure of work means that Sue S. does not make ‘ Chat ‘ as much as she used to but lovely to see her today , and she bought a new tree  !!  Luckily we only get a glimpse of regular Ray C.’s back behind Sue!  Whats this about Ray’s bonsai blog then ?????

John H. is briefly distracted from giving his Procumbens juniper a bit of a hair cut.

The ever helpful Terry H. makes some suggestions to Keith about his Larch bonsai. Polite ones I hope !

During the course of the day winter had crept up on us ! Those of you for whom Willowbog is familiar will know that there is a short but steep drive out followed by a sharp turn on to the public road. Sue was the first to require some assistance.

It is nice that all our ” Chat” participants will jump to help others when needed despite unpleasant sleety snowing blowing in on a stiff wind ! Dave H. and John H. up at top gate having done some pushing !

Dave trudges back down to get his vehicle.

You can just about make out yours truly, clad in waterproofs and wellies with shovel in hand, having spread grit on the awkward bits.

It seems to me that the tyres on most modern cars are used very poor in these sort of winter conditions, last one about to skid its way up the drive and away, much as we love our customers we certainly don’t want them snowed in with us !!!!!!!!

Through it all the chaffinchs just queue up on the gutter waiting their turn at the bird feeders, which were all well used on a day like today !