Brainstorming mountainside mixed forest

[HorseloverFat]

you are familiar with this aren't you?

View attachment 319342


This might help as well:

Historical Tree Spotlight: The Mixed Forest — National Bonsai Foundation

Uncertain times provide many reasons to look toward nature for calm and healing. Myriad research has pointed to how natural environments, especially trees, can benefit our health and overall well-being. But as this month's Historical Tree Spotlight shows, nature also provides the inargua

www.bonsai-nbf.org

I’m familiar with the planting! But I’ve never seen that picture of it. Neat!.. checkin’ out that link now.

 

[rockm]

you are familiar with this aren't you?

View attachment 319342


This might help as well:

Historical Tree Spotlight: The Mixed Forest — National Bonsai Foundation

Uncertain times provide many reasons to look toward nature for calm and healing. Myriad research has pointed to how natural environments, especially trees, can benefit our health and overall well-being. But as this month's Historical Tree Spotlight shows, nature also provides the inargua

www.bonsai-nbf.org

Also, you might want to stay away from more grandiose plans--simple is better and has a bigger impact. The more complex, the less focus the entire thing will have. The mixed forest at the arb is subtle and takes a hold on you in person because you notice the interplay of leaves and trunks. With more than a dozen trees, that level of detail dissolves into a single mass...

 

[HorseloverFat]

This might help as well:

Historical Tree Spotlight: The Mixed Forest — National Bonsai Foundation

Uncertain times provide many reasons to look toward nature for calm and healing. Myriad research has pointed to how natural environments, especially trees, can benefit our health and overall well-being. But as this month's Historical Tree Spotlight shows, nature also provides the inargua

www.bonsai-nbf.org

Wonderful! Thank you for this!

 

[Kanorin]

you are familiar with this aren't you?

View attachment 319342
This might help as well:

Historical Tree Spotlight: The Mixed Forest — National Bonsai Foundation

Uncertain times provide many reasons to look toward nature for calm and healing. Myriad research has pointed to how natural environments, especially trees, can benefit our health and overall well-being. But as this month's Historical Tree Spotlight shows, nature also provides the inargua

www.bonsai-nbf.org

Thanks, really helpful. I was not familiar with that piece. Very cool. I was envisioning a forest where the front is looking directly up the mountain slope. So if you rotated the front on that example by 90 degrees clockwise.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Kanorin - you're in St. Louis, go with trident maple, over Amir maple. @HorseloverFat , you are in the frigid north, you should use Amur maple.

For Appelachian mountain scene look for images from Arthur Joura, bonsai curator at North Carolina Arboretum, in Asheville NC. He has done exactly what you are talking about. Appelachian mountain scenes. Mixed species. He has at least 3 or mixed species plantings. I'm not at my laptop, so you will have to Google.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I believe the NC Arboretum has a blog page where many images are available.

 

[HorseloverFat]

@Kanorin - you're in St. Louis, go with trident maple, over Amir maple. @HorseloverFat , you are in the frigid north, you should use Amur maple.

For Appelachian mountain scene look for images from Arthur Joura, bonsai curator at North Carolina Arboretum, in Asheville NC. He has done exactly what you are talking about. Appelachian mountain scenes. Mixed species. He has at least 3 or mixed species plantings. I'm not at my laptop, so you will have to Google.

 

[Kanorin]

I believe the NC Arboretum has a blog page where many images are available.

I believe you, but I've been searching for a while and haven't found it yet. Please post a link if anyone else does!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Okay, I did some work for you. Actually, I save photos of good examples of trees, either bonsai, or nature, for inspiration.
Bonsai Bark, a blog worth subscribing to, posted by Wayne Schoech, of Stone Lantern Publishing. Back in 2014 he posted a series of posts on forest plantings. The link to his blog is here

Bonsai Bark

stonelantern.com

I saved these photos from his 2014 posts about forests. These were taken at the Asheville NC Arboretum, the 2014 Carolina Expo. I believe these were all created by Arthur Joura, the bonsai collection curator. of the 5 forests, 4 are mixed species. If you zoom in, you might be able to read labels for species names. I did not make additional notes. If you search the Bonsai Bark Blog, you can find Wayne Schoech's original blog comments where he might have mentioned species, or an interview with Arthur, where he might have discussed species choices.













This last forest, if I remember correctly, was styled after a specific place. The junipers were chosen as stand ins for red spruce, or balsam fir, and the Azalea kiusianum was chosen as a stand in for the large leaf Rhododendron you see in the Appalachian Mountains.

Arthur Joura is famous for recreating Appalachian images in his bonsai. He tends toward naturalistic styles, much like Walter Pall does. You should make yourself familiar with his work.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Okay, I did some work for you. Actually, I save photos of good examples of trees, either bonsai, or nature, for inspiration.
Bonsai Bark, a blog worth subscribing to, posted by Wayne Schoech, of Stone Lantern Publishing. Back in 2014 he posted a series of posts on forest plantings. The link to his blog is here

Bonsai Bark

stonelantern.com

I saved these photos from his 2014 posts about forests. These were taken at the Asheville NC Arboretum, the 2014 Carolina Expo. I believe these were all created by Arthur Joura, the bonsai collection curator. of the 5 forests, 4 are mixed species. If you zoom in, you might be able to read labels for species names. I did not make additional notes. If you search the Bonsai Bark Blog, you can find Wayne Schoech's original blog comments where he might have mentioned species, or an interview with Arthur, where he might have discussed species choices.

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This last forest, if I remember correctly, was styled after a specific place. The junipers were chosen as stand ins for red spruce, or balsam fir, and the Azalea kiusianum was chosen as a stand in for the large leaf Rhododendron you see in the Appalachian Mountains.

Arthur Joura is famous for recreating Appalachian images in his bonsai. He tends toward naturalistic styles, much like Walter Pall does. You should make yourself familiar with his work.

Thank you, Leo!!!!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

This forest also from 2014 Expo, is made of 2 different azaleas, and 'Kingsville' boxwood.


This forest is from Museo Marabella, I don't remember when, and I am unsure of who, but I believe it might be by Luis Vallejo. It is another mixed species forest.


This forest is by Robert Stevens, an artist from Indonesia, I believe the tree is Nia buxifolia.

 

[HorseloverFat]

This forest also from 2014 Expo, is made of 2 different azaleas, and 'Kingsville' boxwood.
View attachment 320044

This forest is from Museo Marabella, I don't remember when, and I am unsure of who, but I believe it might be by Luis Vallejo. It is another mixed species forest.
View attachment 320045

This forest is by Robert Stevens, an artist from Indonesia, I believe the tree is Nia buxifolia.

View attachment 320046

I love Robert Steven’s work,.. he was one of the first bonsai artists I discovered!

 

[Kanorin]

Some potential candidates for the conifer stand-in are
Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana)
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

 

[HorseloverFat]

I’m going “slab hunting” today or tomorrow.

@Kanorin , how you doin’?

 

[leatherback]

I’m going “slab hunting” today or tomorrow.

but if you hit the slab, wont it explode on impact?

 

[HorseloverFat]

Some potential candidates for the conifer stand-in are
Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana)
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

Spooky that I was JUST responding to this thread.... great minds.. eh?

I’m going with Taxus Hicksii.. EXTREMELY slow-growing but VERRRRY hardy...

I want to get some cryptomeria cuttings in there too.. but realistically........hmmmm..

 

[HorseloverFat]

but if you hit the slab, wont it explode on impact?

I use non-lethal slab traps..... I’m not a monster!

 

[leatherback]

he was one of the first bonsai artists I discovered!

You discovered Robert Steven?

 

[HorseloverFat]

You discovered Robert Steven?

Yeah.. different “Robert Steven”, though. he was a hot-dog cart vendor at “The Rave” in Milwaukee.

 

[Kanorin]

I’m going “slab hunting” today or tomorrow.
@Kanorin , how you doin’?

I'll go slab hunting too, but I'm not sure I'll find too much on my 1/8 acre urban property...maybe a nice concrete slab?

I'm probably going to plant some seeds or cuttings for the project this spring in nursery flats and continue to "hunt" for some kind of mountain slab over the next year or two...waiting for that perfect soul-slab