Landscape suggestions

Taylor Brown

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I was reading the thread about Dad's spruce and Mr. Behr said that a landscape might work for that. I have a landscape mountain scene. I have had this landscape for awhile but I can't seem to decide what I should do with it. In the first picture I did a virtual and put moss on the areas where trees can't be planted. In the second picture I'm showing the planting areas on the landscape. I'm looking for suggestions on, what kind of plants should I use for a landscape like this? How do I give the appearance to make the top tree look bigger, taller, and higher up than the rest of them, should I use small trees, or should I use accent plants in the areas below? :confused: I want to make the person looking at it feel like they are looking up into the mountains. I'm looking forward to any of your suggestions.
 

John Hill

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Hi Taylor,
Very nice start for sure and I know that Dad is great help. How about some small kingsville boxwoods?
I think that this would be a nice plant to use. I have seen some nice landscapes done with boxwoods.
What are some of your favorite plants? What plants do you think would not outgrow this setting to quickly?
Taylor I am just in ahh when I see such a young person so interested in the art of bonsai ,,and I know your Dad had nothing to do with it.
I will have to get my grand daughter on here and read your posts and maybe she could catch the bug;)

A Friend in bonsai
John
 
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Behr

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I was reading the thread about Dad's spruce and Mr. Behr said that a landscape might work for that. I have a landscape mountain scene. I have had this landscape for awhile but I can't seem to decide what I should do with it. In the first picture I did a virtual and put moss on the areas where trees can't be planted. In the second picture I'm showing the planting areas on the landscape. I'm looking for suggestions on, what kind of plants should I use for a landscape like this? How do I give the appearance to make the top tree look bigger, taller, and higher up than the rest of them, should I use small trees, or should I use accent plants in the areas below? :confused: I want to make the person looking at it feel like they are looking up into the mountains. I'm looking forward to any of your suggestions.

Ms. Taylor,

First of all may I say what a lovely 'rawk' [that's what we call 'em in Texas] you have here...There are a couple things you did not mention that would be important considerations...How large is this landscape?...Of what type 'rawk' is your landscape constructed?...Is the upper part secured to the slab?...And is there sufficient drainage for the planting pockets?...

I do not often make specific suggestions based on photos, because it is difficult to actually see what is there...But to achieve the 'view' I believe you are seeking you would need to use larger stock in the lower pockets, and smaller as you went higher...Remember those higher elevations are farther away from you and things get smaller with distance...

I believe you would also be ahead of the game to use material with lots of movement to complement and accent the lovely straight lines of the stone...I likely wouldn't be inclined to be too 'triangular with the canopies except the upper most tree, which I would definitely consider a 'cascading literati' form...

The kingsville boxwood as Mr. John mentioned would be a good choice for species, but due to 'brittleness' and the difficulty in training these with sufficient movement, one may have to spend a load of time and look through several thousand to find the right ones...Other small leaf species that would be less difficult to shape might be seiju elm, catlin elm, lonceria nintida [dwarf honeysuckle], or dwarf common myrtle...All of these species also root well from cuttings and layer easily, so getting the proper size and shapes would be less difficult...The shimpaku juniper would also be an excellent choice...

I have attempted to make a very crude virt of the way I might attempt to work with this setting...Notice the largest tree is the rightmost tree...This one is farthest from the visual center of the composition, and therefore needs the greater size to help with proper balance...It and the two on the left are also on eye level, whereas the other two are above eye level so should appear smaller...

I hope this gives you a few starting ideas, and look forward to seeing what you do with this one...

Regards
Behr

:) :) :)
 

irene_b

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Excellently done and explained Behr!
Taylor, He (Behr) has done some fantastic work on scenes.
Irene
 

Taylor Brown

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Mr Behr, thank you so much for making an exception for me and making your suggestions. This will help me out a lot :)

You asked if for more information on my landscape. It is 27 inches long and 17 inches wide and 20 inches tall. I asked Dad what it was made out of and he said granite. He said to tell you it might be lead also. He can barely lift it and usually says words that I'm not suppose to hear. Yes the top and the bottom are cemented together. I think there is enough drainage between the cracks in the rocks.
We have a lot of cork bark elm and Shimpaku. Can I use them both? I have seen some pictures of two types of trees together but not many. I think a juniper up at the top and the elms down at the bottom would make it look real. I like your virt and that has helped me out a lot. I think your suggestions will make this a cool landscape.

Thank you so much.
 

Taylor Brown

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Hi Mr. John, I have never heard of kingsville boxwood. I am going to go on the internet and find out more about them. My favorite plants are Pine, holly, yews, I am begining to like elms. I am trying andromedia because I don't think anyone has tried that yet. Thankyou for your suggestion.:)



You were right Ms. Irene, do you have pictures of his scenes:)
 
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Hi ms Brown!

That looks like a really nice rock! There is this guy called Robert Steven that makes really great landscapes that you might want to take a look at to get some inspiration for your landscape. He has an excellent blog over at Knowledge of Bonsai (http://knowledgeofbonsai.org/robert_steven/?p=1). Be sure to read everything he has to say about the aesthetics of bonsai. His article about styling is also a very good read (http://artofbonsai.org/feature_articles/rules.php), and when you really understands what he is trying to say there is a possibility that people will be asking you how to design their landscape sooner than you might think!
 

Behr

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I think there is enough drainage between the cracks in the rocks.
We have a lot of cork bark elm and Shimpaku. Can I use them both? I have seen some pictures of two types of trees together but not many. I think a juniper up at the top and the elms down at the bottom would make it look real.

Ms. Taylor,

Just an opinion, but I do believe the drainage is important enough that it could make some of your planting pockets un-usable, but you and Mr. Tom will be able to tell this better than anyone only looking at photos...If needed granite [weighted with lead] can be cut with a diamond blade on an angle grinder and drilled with diamond point bits to help with possible drainage problems...

Most of the problems that exist with using more than one species in a composition has to do with watering and feeding requirements of the different species, however in this situation each tree would in essence be in its' own pot [planting pocket], and could therefore be fertilized, watered, or re-potted as necessary...One could even have different soil mixes for each species if needed, and not compromise the needs of the other trees in the composition...

I think cork bark elms at the bottom, and a small cascading shimpaku in the uppermost pocket would be a strikingly 'realistic' planting...You might even want to use a catlin or regular chinese elm for the intermediate pocket. This too would assist in the illusion of distance with the heavier bark on the lower trees, smoother bark on the next level and smoothest on the upper...

One of the most important considerations in a successful landscape planting is scale, and depth or perspective...All of these conventions combined would certainly add to this...Now you have me excited to see this one accomplished...

Regards
Behr

:) :) :)

EDIT: If You catch Mr Tom in a lifting mood, or can get a plain backdrop behind the landscape I would enjoy seeing a better photo...
 
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irene_b

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Taylor,
Mr. Behr has the pictures and can give a much better description of how he did them.
Perhaps he will be so kind to post them here for everyone and most exspecially for you to assist in the visual concept that he can give.
He is a true Artist.
Irene
 
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