Volunteering at the Smith Gilbert Gardens

Dav4

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Dave,

Good job on the trees!

I do have a question, and I hope it's just the camera angle, but both the Scots pine and the Elm appear to be potted a little high. Are they mounded a bit, or is the soil level?

One of the comments that Boon gave me about the trees displayed at the Atlanta Bonsai Society show last year was they were all potted high.

It was a good day for bonsai today. I "assisted" Owen Reich at a Plant City Bonsai workshop today.

Hey Adair. These trees were definitely not mounded. The elm is definitely potted slightly higher then it was originally, but done so deliberately as we want to start exposing some of the surface roots that had been previously covered by soil. Also, I don't recall the pine being potted high, either. If you're ever in the Kennesaw area, you should swing by and check things out...definitely worth a visit.
 

Dav4

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Speaking of the elm, I was in the hoop house watering in the JWP and saw that the elm and styrax I worked on last month were leafing out...nice!
 

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Adair M

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That sounds good, Dave. It was probably the camera angle.

Kennesaw is the other side of Atlanta from the direction I usually come in on. But, I agree, it looks like it would be worth a visit.
 

Dav4

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I spent another great day at the garden today. Lots of new trees were added to the collection, and most of the new ones are bursting with new growth. I didn't arrive at the garden until after lunch due to my son's lacrosse game (a loss:(). When I got there, Rodney took me over to where this juniper was sitting on the shelf and told me to do something with it or it might need to get culled (auctioned off to make room for the better trees). The first pictures show the tree before working on it. It's typical of lots of the older material in the garden: nice trunks but too many straight branches that need wiring or foliage only out on the ends. After an hour or two of pruning and wiring, this is what we had. I worked on it for another hour tweaking the wiring and thinning out the pads more completely. Rodney told me later that it was definitely making the cut now:).
 

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Dav4

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Here are some of the trees we've seen before but were dormant...not so much right now;). By the way, these are all BIG trees. The cypress is easily 5 feet tall (probably taller) from pot rim to apex, and the trident forest with the iPhone is maybe a third SMALLER then the other trident forest.
 

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lordy

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Man, Dave, you did the juni proud. Nice work! Maybe you shoulda waited for the auction and did that on your NEW tree!
 

JudyB

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That's exactly the part of bonsai that is addictive for me, taking something and changing it into something better than it was. Good work, I'm envious that you get to work these amazing trees.
 

edprocoat

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I spent another great day at the garden today. Lots of new trees were added to the collection, and most of the new ones are bursting with new growth. I didn't arrive at the garden until after lunch due to my son's lacrosse game (a loss:(). When I got there, Rodney took me over to where this juniper was sitting on the shelf and told me to do something with it or it might need to get culled (auctioned off to make room for the better trees). The first pictures show the tree before working on it. It's typical of lots of the older material in the garden: nice trunks but too many straight branches that need wiring or foliage only out on the ends. After an hour or two of pruning and wiring, this is what we had. I worked on it for another hour tweaking the wiring and thinning out the pads more completely. Rodney told me later that it was definitely making the cut now:).

Really nice job on this one. It was looking like a pom-pom topiary plant and you changed it 100% making it look like an old weather beaten tree on a cliffside.

ed
 

Dav4

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A few more relative newcomers to the collection...
 

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Dav4

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...and this is my new favorite in the collection...a Hinoki cypress forest that Rodney put together close to 25 years ago...almost 3 feet tall and over four feet wide...I think it's aged pretty well:D.
 

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Dav4

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So, today was the first time I'd been back to the garden since last spring, mainly due to work, and it turned out to be a great day to get back there. First, it was Bonsai Day at the garden, and there were special events being held throughout the day, including a pot and tree sale, along with a silent auction and all day demo with Rodney Clemons...and I was his assistant:D. We worked on a very old (100 + years) Shimpaku. I cleaned the bark and did the bulk of the wiring while Rodney did the bulk of the talking- if you've ever met Rodney or been to a demo of his, you'll know what I'm talking about;). This is a very large tree, between 3 and 4 feet tall, and despite wiring for over 3 straight hours (Rodney did help wire for the last two), the apex isn't done...I'll finish it up next month. The tree was then placed on this wonderful stone slab, along with a small boxwood. Sorry for the crummy pics. I'll get better ones in the future.

edit- Believe it or not, it gets cold in GA...night time lows next week will be in the teens. Normally, work like this would be done in March, but it was a special day...AND they have several heated greenhouses at the garden where this one will reside until next spring, kept at around 40 F.
 

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Wee

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Sorry Dave we got a late start this morning and didn't get to Smith-Gilbert till around 11....I figured you were on the 3 Dave's that were in the demo....I just wasn't sure which one. We snuck out around 12 to go dig the BC. I still look forward to a handshake in the future.

Brian

PS....I was the guy in the Budweiser jacket with the curly haired blond lady that came in late and sat in the 2nd row...Thank ya'll very much...She was interested and didn't really wanna leave....That was my first win-win for the day...I just might have her hooked as well.
 

Dav4

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Brian, how far do you live from the Smith Gilbert Gardens? If the weather isn't too bad, we'll be there some Saturday next month, and you'd be more then welcome to hang out if we're there.
 

Wee

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20 min or less depending on traffic and the red lights on HWY 41.....I will be there if I'm not already committed to something else.....I'll keep an eye on the Smith-Gilbert website for the date or just send me a PM.

Brian
 
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It was a great, fun day. Many folks waked away with a great pot for very reasonable prices, or gained some perspective from the awesome Rodney Clemons demo (with expert help from OP), or a nice little juniper from the workshop. Thanks Dav4 for helping make my pot choice, I walked out with a great Don Gould oval pot!
 

Dav4

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We started repotting trees last month, and continued yesterday. Unfortunately, I only could spend a few hours during each session due to work, but we still got a lot done. As usual, I forgot my camera and forgot to take pics with my phone until we were almost done yesterday. Still, here are a few action shots. I apologize for the crummy photos- the trees are MUCH better in person. I'm hoping to wire out the juniper cascade at the next visit and will post more pictures as I get them.
IMG_0730.jpg IMG_0732.jpg IMG_0734.jpg IMG_0736.jpg IMG_0737.jpg
 
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