What's your story.......?

[sorce]

I would yell out like a fucking nut job " I'M ALIVE

You ARE!

I yell shit like that all the time!

Life is good!

Your brother still got your back!

Thanks for sharing!

Sorce

 

[grouper52]

In this life, it started when I happened on a bonsai soil-mix thread somewhere decades ago, and someone recommended using shredded $100 bills.

 

[just.wing.it]

In this life, it started when I happened on a bonsai soil-mix thread somewhere decades ago, and someone recommended using shredded $100 bills.

Haha, that's funny!
I too like bonsai origin stories...
I stumbled across bonsai during some basic azalea research....was immediately hooked.
Now I'm an addict.

 

[Eric Group]

In this life, it started when I happened on a bonsai soil-mix thread somewhere decades ago, and someone recommended using shredded $100 bills.

Sounds like a good way to save money over my normal mixes! What kind of roots grow in shredded 100s though! Do shredded 20s not work as well?

 

[just.wing.it]

Sounds like a good way to save money over my normal mixes! What kind of roots grow in shredded 100s though! Do shredded 20s not work as well?

Money tree!

 

[grouper52]

Haha, that's funny!
I too like bonsai origin stories...
I stumbled across bonsai during some basic azalea research....was immediately hooked.
Now I'm an addict.

What part of Maryland? Born in Johns Hopkins Hospital, grew up in Kensington. (Got out of there for the Shenandoah Valley in my late teens, then the Navy, then the West ever since.)

Addict???? I'm over in the Philippines right now, retiring and moving over here with my Filipina wife in a few months, and every decision we make has to take into account my (partly her) bonsai addiction. Everywhere we drive we're on the lookout for little road-side bonsai stands of old tree stumps by the road side or such.

One of my main projects in retirement - I think - will be to write/photograph/publish a book about the unknown bonsai artists of the Philippines: the societies and shows are dominated by well-to-do people mostly, who mostly do not collect or initially style the trees they own. I want my book to bring attention to the real geniuses behind the scenes here - it's the sort of project I like. You might know of my somewhat similar book about Dan Robinson found here: https://www.amazon.com/Gnarly-Branc...X68_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509103380&sr=1-1 .

I might add as well that a book about Dan Robinson that I have long tried to get off the ground - about his unique insights and wisdom about how trees grow in nature, and how to bring that directly to bonsai styling - is now finally underway. It will be a joint project, and ultimately may be published under the name of a young man named Ryan, , not me, since I am leaving the States in a while. But who publishes it is not important to me: I've just always wanted to capture for posterity and future generations of bonsai artists the deep wisdsom about trees and bonsai that I think 0nly Dan has focused on and understood fully throughout his lifetime in wilderness areas. When he dies this wisdom will go with him if not captured.

Anyway. "Nuff said." Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[grouper52]

Sounds like a good way to save money over my normal mixes! What kind of roots grow in shredded 100s though! Do shredded 20s not work as well?

The $20 bill is just too controversial for most of my trees: half of them think Andrew Jackson was just too un-P.C., and probably liked to destroy "native" trees, or somesuch. The other half think the Tubman idea is just too P.C., and trivializes the nutrient value of the soil thus produced.

Ben Franklin, on the other hand, had a more straightforward history that endears him to trees. First, he was a Quaker, and thus against killing people - and probably trees as well. Second, he also wanted to understand and tame lightning, a natural enemy of trees. I belive this is why the trees seem to thrive on hundreds.

 

[just.wing.it]

What part of Maryland? Born in Johns Hopkins Hospital, grew up in Kensington. (Got out of there for the Shenandoah Valley in my late teens, then the Navy, then the West ever since.)

Addict???? I'm over in the Philippines right now, retiring and moving over here with my Filipina wife in a few months, and every decision we make has to take into account my (partly her) bonsai addiction. Everywhere we drive we're on the lookout for little road-side bonsai stands of old tree stumps by the road side or such.

One of my main projects in retirement - I think - will be to write/photograph/publish a book about the unknown bonsai artists of the Philippines: the societies and shows are dominated by well-to-do people mostly, who mostly do not collect or initially style the trees they own. I want my book to bring attention to the real geniuses behind the scenes here - it's the sort of project I like. You might know of my somewhat similar book about Dan Robinson found here: https://www.amazon.com/Gnarly-Branc...X68_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509103380&sr=1-1 .

I might add as well that a book about Dan Robinson that I have long tried to get off the ground - about his unique insights and wisdom about how trees grow in nature, and how to bring that directly to bonsai styling - is now finally underway. It will be a joint project, and ultimately may be published under the name of a young man named Ryan, , not me, since I am leaving the States in a while. But who publishes it is not important to me: I've just always wanted to capture for posterity and future generations of bonsai artists the deep wisdsom about trees and bonsai that I think 0nly Dan has focused on and understood fully throughout his lifetime in wilderness areas. When he dies this wisdom will go with him if not captured.

Anyway. "Nuff said." Thanks for starting this thread.

I grew up in NE Baltimore, Hamilton, until age 24, I was able to escape.
I'm in Columbia now.
I work all over the DC metro, and DC.
My wife and I have been here for 6 years now, and we're getting into gear to move again soon.
Crime is on the increase around here...
Sad to say...
Gonna try to get into the woods somewhere in Carroll County or maybe PA.

It's like the hood followed me out of Bmore.

 

[grouper52]

I grew up in NE Baltimore, Hamilton, until age 24, I was able to escape.
I'm in Columbia now.
I work all over the DC metro, and DC.
My wife and I have been here for 6 years now, and we're getting into gear to move again soon.
Crime is on the increase around here...
Sad to say...
Gonna try to get into the woods somewhere in Carroll County or maybe PA.

It's like the hood followed me out of Bmore.

It is sad to say. Columbia used to be rather posh and progressive, as I recall, but I've never been there.

Consider the mountain West! I've lived or resided in a number of nice towns there over the years, and except for the more profoundly desert areas the bonsai hunting is world class.

Then, of course, there's the Pacific Northwest, where I am currently - bonsai heaven! West of the Cascades you've still got all the Left-wing looniness that rules the areas you live in currently, but without the crime-fertilizing demographics.

Happy hunting in the rural reaches there. I don't know for a fact, but the Pennsylvania Appalachians seem like they ought to be great areas for collecting.

 

[just.wing.it]

It is sad to say. Columbia used to be rather posh and progressive, as I recall, but I've never been there.

Consider the mountain West! I've lived or resided in a number of nice towns there over the years, and except for the more profoundly desert areas the bonsai hunting is world class.

Then, of course, there's the Pacific Northwest, where I am currently - bonsai heaven! West of the Cascades you've still got all the Left-wing looniness that rules the areas you live in currently, but without the crime-fertilizing demographics.

Happy hunting in the rural reaches there. I don't know for a fact, but the Pennsylvania Appalachians seem like they ought to be great areas for collecting.

I hear ya buddy, on all fronts!

 

[berobinson82]

Some of these stories are touching. Thank you all for sharing. A theme I see is a life changing event. When my wife left, I started bonsai. I don't remember how or why. I have no recollection of what sparked it. I just remember, I wasn't playing with little trees, and then playing with little trees. Slightly less magical or heart-warming but honest.

Cheers,
B

 

[thumblessprimate1]

The old bonsai magazines sparked my interest. I remember Bonsai Today. There might have been one other. I liked how the trees looked. How refined the trees were. I liked the experience of creating and forming. I liked the smell of juniper. The sight of my trees growing and shaping up.

 

[Stickroot]

So been running into more Bonsai guys here locally in my area. Cool to listen to some of their stories of when and how they got into Bonsai. Figured it be cool to hear how you all got involved......

That being said how did you get into Bonsai? How long have you been doing it, what's your favorite spieces to work with, what tree styles do you favor, and do you still have your first tree??

Welcome to the site!
So how did you get into bonsai?

 

[sorce]

I like these threads....

Still waiting for the person that started bomsai by googling "pink thong".

It WILL happen. It will.

Sorce

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

Welcome to the site!
So how did you get into bonsai?

Hi all,
I don’t think I am in Bonsai mode yet.
Pre - Bonsai has me in her grasp for another 5-10 years then maybe I might buy some ceramic/stoneware pots and really learn how to care for little trees in little pots.
Seriously though my wife bought me a juniper as a birthday present almost a year ago. She didn’t realize how far it would take me already and only just starting.
Never stop learning is my motto.
Charles

 

[Bonsaikev1985]

In 2015 I found my brother passed away at the age of 28. It really messed with me mentally and physically, I started drinking like a fish, hard stuff and beer daily right when I got out of work. I eventually noticed I got more depressed when I drank and it was not doing me any good AT ALL.

So what did I do?

I bought me a pair of sweet LL Bean hiking boots from the goodwill found me a stick and hit the mountains. I spent countless hours by myself in the wood not wanting to see anyone and the woods and mountains was perfect, it's wierd to now think about it now but when the sweat was dripping down my face and my heart POUNDING from INSANE inclines I would yell out like a fucking nut job " I'M ALIVE " cause deep inside me I felt like I died when my brother died...

I really started to look at trees gnarled up, hanging of cliffs, the bends and curves of these beautiful New England trees but before I did anything I studied, studied and studied some more.

I spend COUNTLESS hours reading up on bonsai I ended up buying my first bonsaI before reading obviously cause I bought a ginseng at a big box store. I joined a bunch of groups on FB which I noticed there are a bunch of snobs out there. HAHA I ended getting kicked out of Bonsai America for calling a mod a nazi but in all honesty you know what I might say.

All in all I have been growing long before I got serious into bonsai, growing is my passion it helped me get thru tuff times and it's never did me wrong.

Sorry for the long story but it felt good getting it out.

Tim

Awesome story man!! Glad you figured things out after the loss of your brother and came out on top. Hope all is well and life is going good for ya man! Thank you for sharing that man!! BONSAI ON!!!!

 

[MountainExplorer]

Awesome story man!! Glad you figured things out after the loss of your brother and came out on top. Hope all is well and life is going good for ya man! Thank you for sharing that man!! BONSAI ON!!!!

Thanks man I really appreciate it.