Fidur
Chumono
So I've been in this bonsai journey for three years now. I opened a thread on my first and second anniversary as well:
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/first-anniversary-the-financial-report.52798/
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/second-anniversary-horticultural-and-financial-report.57815/
The purpose of this thread is to come with some personal conclusions and "facts" that I've been gathering in my journey.
My background and comparative advantages
I came to bonsai one year before my retirement. At that time I also purchased a house in the countryside with a sunny garden. So I've had plenty of free time to give to my bonsai. My climate is almost perfect for bonsai and I have a good place to develop them.
I'm lazy and procrastinator , and that's good when you're a beginner too eager to "do". I am very passionate about bonsai but laziness made me take a limit of 80 pots to attend.
I like to look at my trees the way I used to look at a problem (I'm a mathematician by trade). I think about them a lot, and mentally solve the different possible outcomes and the steps to get them. My laziness then tells me those possible outcomes are gonna take some work, and so I discard action and go back to think about the tree. All this process makes me enjoy the best this hobby.
And what I think is my best advantage, my self learning skills and internet.
My disadvantages
I live in a tiny island with almost no market for bonsai, and a ban on on line purchases (no seller can send a bonsai to my island). So most of the trees I develop come from a comercial nursery, where you can find, what you can find.
I miss bonsai pals . Any. There are no clubs here, and I know no one that likes or practices bonsai. In fact, I want to give away about 15 of my bonsai and I can´t find anyone that doesn´t kill them in 2 weeks or less.
My goals
In the beginning I only knew I liked to watch those little trees and get immersed as if I was there (in a landscape). After some education (internet), I think I know what I want to achive. Apart from observing and enjoying my trees, my actual main goals in bonsai are expressed in this pic I took today, of one of my bonsai
I like to work with tiny bonsai, they are the most inspiring to me (and as I'm getting older, my body agrees with me). Most of my trees are sohin or mame (though 3 of them are a bit big) . This decision to work with little trees, makes lots of things easier, most affordable, faster, ....
I like to add elements to enhace (in my view) the beauty or the singularity of the composition. And I like scale (as a mean of beauty) and detail. That's why my main goal is to produce "penjing". But this decision makes lots of things, difficult, more expensive, slower,... and on top of that I still don´t know if I'm talented and educated enough to produce one of those penjing. All I know is that to create one in the next 2 years (my aim) can be very difficult, and challenging as well.
My most interesting "findings"
I've always tried to have KISS (keep it simple stupid!) principles in my aproach to horticulture ( a very determinant side of this hobby). And so as I started to study about bonsai, I came to some important decisions
- All my soils had to be drainable. In fact I use a mix of akadama and lava in 95% of my trees. In my climate this is a perfect choice. No matter how bad you may be at watering, if you water enough times a day you'll never lose a tree due to overwatering, underwatering, rot roots,....(at least that's my experience).
- My tap water is awful, so I decided to use only rainwater. I installed a 500 liters deposit to gather the water coming from the roof of my house, and bought a pump to send it to my bonsai garden. This was initially enough to water all my bonsai all of the time, but later I had to add a R.O. system to feed the deposit in the dry seasons. So I always use either rainwater or "treated" water.
These decisions had been very good so far. They keep my trees alive and healthy, and this way I can enjoy the most creative side of this hobby.
My achivements so far
On the material side, I'm very happy about my work with my trees. Almost all have progressed. I'm particullary proud of these two trees:
wich are not the most valuable in my collection, but I'm sure they should have never been bonsai trees shouldn´t I rescued them in the nursery.
On the spiritual side, my achivements are multiple. It makes my life better, improves my vital purposes, and usually makes me happy more than once a day ( what a divorced retired man needs
). Now I know I will die being a passionate bonsaier (and still wondering who will inherite then my collection)
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/first-anniversary-the-financial-report.52798/
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/second-anniversary-horticultural-and-financial-report.57815/
The purpose of this thread is to come with some personal conclusions and "facts" that I've been gathering in my journey.
My background and comparative advantages
I came to bonsai one year before my retirement. At that time I also purchased a house in the countryside with a sunny garden. So I've had plenty of free time to give to my bonsai. My climate is almost perfect for bonsai and I have a good place to develop them.
I'm lazy and procrastinator , and that's good when you're a beginner too eager to "do". I am very passionate about bonsai but laziness made me take a limit of 80 pots to attend.
I like to look at my trees the way I used to look at a problem (I'm a mathematician by trade). I think about them a lot, and mentally solve the different possible outcomes and the steps to get them. My laziness then tells me those possible outcomes are gonna take some work, and so I discard action and go back to think about the tree. All this process makes me enjoy the best this hobby.
And what I think is my best advantage, my self learning skills and internet.
My disadvantages
I live in a tiny island with almost no market for bonsai, and a ban on on line purchases (no seller can send a bonsai to my island). So most of the trees I develop come from a comercial nursery, where you can find, what you can find.
I miss bonsai pals . Any. There are no clubs here, and I know no one that likes or practices bonsai. In fact, I want to give away about 15 of my bonsai and I can´t find anyone that doesn´t kill them in 2 weeks or less.
My goals
In the beginning I only knew I liked to watch those little trees and get immersed as if I was there (in a landscape). After some education (internet), I think I know what I want to achive. Apart from observing and enjoying my trees, my actual main goals in bonsai are expressed in this pic I took today, of one of my bonsai
I like to work with tiny bonsai, they are the most inspiring to me (and as I'm getting older, my body agrees with me). Most of my trees are sohin or mame (though 3 of them are a bit big) . This decision to work with little trees, makes lots of things easier, most affordable, faster, ....
I like to add elements to enhace (in my view) the beauty or the singularity of the composition. And I like scale (as a mean of beauty) and detail. That's why my main goal is to produce "penjing". But this decision makes lots of things, difficult, more expensive, slower,... and on top of that I still don´t know if I'm talented and educated enough to produce one of those penjing. All I know is that to create one in the next 2 years (my aim) can be very difficult, and challenging as well.
My most interesting "findings"
I've always tried to have KISS (keep it simple stupid!) principles in my aproach to horticulture ( a very determinant side of this hobby). And so as I started to study about bonsai, I came to some important decisions
- All my soils had to be drainable. In fact I use a mix of akadama and lava in 95% of my trees. In my climate this is a perfect choice. No matter how bad you may be at watering, if you water enough times a day you'll never lose a tree due to overwatering, underwatering, rot roots,....(at least that's my experience).
- My tap water is awful, so I decided to use only rainwater. I installed a 500 liters deposit to gather the water coming from the roof of my house, and bought a pump to send it to my bonsai garden. This was initially enough to water all my bonsai all of the time, but later I had to add a R.O. system to feed the deposit in the dry seasons. So I always use either rainwater or "treated" water.
These decisions had been very good so far. They keep my trees alive and healthy, and this way I can enjoy the most creative side of this hobby.
My achivements so far
On the material side, I'm very happy about my work with my trees. Almost all have progressed. I'm particullary proud of these two trees:
wich are not the most valuable in my collection, but I'm sure they should have never been bonsai trees shouldn´t I rescued them in the nursery.
On the spiritual side, my achivements are multiple. It makes my life better, improves my vital purposes, and usually makes me happy more than once a day ( what a divorced retired man needs
). Now I know I will die being a passionate bonsaier (and still wondering who will inherite then my collection)
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