General juniper styling inspiration

BonjourBonsai

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I was recently staring out a bus window on a trip through Florida. It was actually a great trip because I got to see a ton of amazing pines which I'm thinking were pinus elliotti. They gave me great styling ideas for some pitch pines I'm working on.

Then I spotted a huge juniper (or maybe a cedar). It looked like an amorphous kind of roundish green blob with a point on top. The trunk was perfectly straight.

This got me thinking about where inspiration for juniper styling comes from. If we look to big pines for pine bonsai styling ideas and to big maples for maple bonsai styling ideas, etc., where do the inspirations for styling junipers come from? I've never seen a bonsai juniper look like the juniper I saw from the bus. I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures.

Just curious to see where everyone gets their general juniper styling inspiration from. Is there a prototypical juniper shape that should serve as styling inspiration? Or is the juniper such a wonderfully adaptable species that it can take on the shape of a variety of larger trees and with its small needles make a convincing case for miniaturization?
 

brentwood

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There is a lot of historical information out there, but honestly I learn a lot from looking at examples -online, at shows, vendors. One recent thing I saw showed a dummy landscape, going from the top of a mountain to the flat of its base. At each level going down, there was a similar tree styled how a real one might grow there. Upright at the bottom, slanted, wind swept going up, cascade at the top... Something like that, but that context was interesting- made me think about the tree and where it could exist.
Good luck!
Brent
 

Brian Van Fleet

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This got me thinking about where inspiration for juniper styling comes from. If we look to big pines for pine bonsai styling ideas and to big maples for maple bonsai styling ideas, etc., where do the inspirations for styling junipers come from? I've never seen a bonsai juniper look like the juniper I saw from the bus. I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures.
the mountains, not the plains.
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BonjourBonsai

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There is a lot of historical information out there, but honestly I learn a lot from looking at examples -online, at shows, vendors. One recent thing I saw showed a dummy landscape, going from the top of a mountain to the flat of its base. At each level going down, there was a similar tree styled how a real one might grow there. Upright at the bottom, slanted, wind swept going up, cascade at the top... Something like that, but that context was interesting- made me think about the tree and where it could exist.
Good luck!
Brent
I think I've seen something like that before too. If you run across it again, please share a link. Thanks
 

Mike Corazzi

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I wish I'd had a camera. A few years back at the ABAS show locally, someone showed a really imaginative piece.
Maybe in the purest sense it would be seikei but he had either raft done or individually (for some of them) made a complete hillside.
Junipers of varying size and in some places, grouped, but with rocks and the entire thing sloped.
It was a truly mind-blowing display. About 4 feet by 6 feet altogether.
:)
 
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