The Bonsai Blog of Hans Van Meer

Last week I made a quick stop in La Roche en Ardenne, a beautiful small village in the Belgium Ardenne. And while walking trough this lovely old place, I discovered a golden opportunity to show the world for ones and for all, that we Bonsai enthusiast are no softies when it comes to rough outdoor sports! So here I am, risking life and limbs, preforming a extremely dangerous planking!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

———————————————————————————–

Hi everybody, I would like to share with you all some pictures that I made of one of my little tree that is in full bloom. I bought this Lilac “Syringa microphylla” in September 2009 at my old Bonsai friend Teunis Jan Klein’s place “Deshima” HERE!

Today this Urban yamadori is still a pre Bonsai, but this years exuberant flower show makes a very spectacular visual impression and they dont smell bad eather!

I hope you enjoyed the flower show?!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

—————————————————————————————–

This other April highlight, deserves a post all of it’s own! I was realy looking forward to have my Bonsai friend Dirk Mundorf  over again from Germany, for a long Saturday of ,one on one, Bonsai fun! It had been a long time since we have seen each other, so it was good to finaly great him back in my garden! Dirk brought his stunning Hawthorn along for it’s first real styling. This Hawthorn has already some history to tell that made this reacquainting with Dirk and this Hawthorn extra special to me! Let me explain (to the best of my knowledge): Dirk saw this very promising Hawthorn for the very first time, 3 years ago, on Tony Tickle’s stand at the Noelanders trophy in Belgium. From that first moment on, he was in love with the amazing movement of this old yamadori and it’s beautiful old bark! But it was sad to see that he finaly was not able to buy it. Later that weekend the tree was bought by Jeroen. He brought it along to my garden were we discussed it’s possibility’s as a Bonsai. It’s future life as a Literati Bonsai was screaming out to me from day one, but I did not wanted to force my taste in Bonsai on my student. So I told him the other options first and kept the Literati one for last! After I was finished, he asked me which one would be the most special Bonsai? I answered: the one you will pick! I was realy glad that he wend with the Literati fantasy style! This was by no means a easy decision to make, because it mend that a lot of large and old branches had to be removed ruthlessly! When this was don some wire and guide wires were used to bend the new main branches in to place and than the tree would be left to recover for the next growing season. Almost a year after Dirk had lost his hearth to this old Hawthorn, just a few day’s before the Noelanders, I heard that it was for sale. So I intermediate between the old owner and Dirk and this time when the Noelanders trophy was finished, Dirk drove home to Germany with his Hawthorn by his side! So when Dirk decided to bring his Hawthorn along with him for it’s real first styling…well, lets just say that it was a great opportunity for me to work with him on this unique Hawthorn! So after our hello’s and some coffee we quickly started to discuss and plain the work ahead of us. But not to much though, I like to work with out thinking to much. And I like to teach or show that way of working to the owner or the student, who trust me to work on his tree, with or with out his help! So we worked in stages, first removing the obvius dead and unwanted stuff! Than the trunk line and branches were selected. Than the selected main branches are shortened, followed by secondary branches. Than everything was loosely wired and all the branches were carfully brought more or less into their desired possition. Were necessary, guide wires were use to secure tough branches in their place! Than the deadwood was roughly down sized and shaped with the help of a Dremel power tool.

Below: Front view: before the work started.

Below: Left side view.

Below: Right side view. 

Below: Backside view before the work started.

Below: With the help of a blowtorch the fresh deadwood was slightly burned. This removes all fibers and makes the deadwood crack, witch makes it look much older! In this picture you can see that the amazing trunk movement is prolonged in the top section of the tree. This was created and started during the first branch selection 2 years ago.

Below: The burned and darkened deadwood is cleaned with water and a copper wire brush and a toothbrush and than limesulfer is applied with a old paintbrush.

 Below: Left side view after this styling.

Below: Right side view after this styling.

Below: Back side view after this styling.

Below: And finaly the frontside of this Hawthorn new front side!

These pictures do this unique Hawthorn no justice, it’s trunk movement is so radical in real live! In 5 to 6 years time, when the branches will be filled out and the deadwood will have more age to it…., well than I think, no I belief, that this pre Bonsai will be a amazing and uniquely styled Literati Hawthorn! Dirk (and I) was very happy with this end resuld and after a great day of Bonsai and a lovely diner, we sad our goodbyes. But this time not for so long!  In Dirk’s garden there is a nice Pine waiting for a new image, so he will be back soon for a other day of Bonsai fun!

 Hope you enjoy this little story?!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

——————————————————————————————–

April has been a month full of all kinds of Bonsai fun for me! It started with almost a week of walking trough the beautiful mountains and nature of the southern Alps! This was truly a uplifting experience for me, because up to 8 months ago, I still believed  that I would never be able to do so ever again! My personal mountain was there, waiting for me to clime and I made it to the top! Although not in one go!

Below: Taking a well deserved breather along my way to the top.

Below: A example of the stunning views that I enjoyed during these hiking trips.

Many of my trees were repotted, rewired or both!

Below: My Ilex verticillata in his new smaller temporary container. Unfortunately there were to many thick roots and root stumps hidden under the soil, so I could not fit it into it’s new shallow rectangular brown pot! I will have to wait a couple of years more, so that new roots can grow from the shortened thick roots. Only than can I safely shorten the thick roots and root stumps so that the tree will fit into it’s new home! 

On the 10Th of April I conducted a Masterclass about deciduous European trees, for the Dutch Bonsai Association in ” The Binder” in Leersum (The Netherlands). After conducting a class about Larch and one about white and black Pines, this was already the third Masterclass that I did for them! I like to be well prepared, so I made a short speech on the subject and a lot of drawings to help me to explain my theories! But the major part of this evening Masterclass was spend on discussing the trees that the students brought along! The students and me had a great night and a other Masterclass is already in the plaining!

Below: Working late at home, making the drawings for the Masterclass.

On the 15Th of April I gave a Sunday workshop at Bonsai Club Rijmond. This is my former club so working there is like coming home to me! And it is only a 10 minutes drive away!

Below: Some pics from that nice Bonsai Sunday with friends!

I hope you enjoyed these images of a lovely Bonsai month?!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

—————————————————————————————————–

Hi everybody, a few day’s ago I made some pictures of the fresh brightly green new foliage on my big Larch (XL). The new foliage is still immature and short and that makes the ramification look realy special.
Below: View of the lower right side branches.

Below: Birds eye view of the tree.

That’s why I like Larch Bonsai so much, they change their appearance all year round and that makes them quit unique! But it took me almost two day’s to wire this baby! And that was mostly to blame because of my bad timing and freakishly warm Spring weather! Most of my trees were still in my (now open) winter shelter, because I was repainting all of my outdoor tables and fences! That took a bit longer than I expected and while I was struggling to paint the undersides of all those tables, Summer started! A week of short trousers painting followed and I even suffered my first sunburn, on one side of my face! Looked funny, but was quit painful! And than the buds on my Larch started to swell way earlier than last 3 years, and that meant trouble! When I finaly finished painting my tables, I brought my Larch outdoor and started to carfully wire, with out breaking of to much new buds! Well that was very tedious and time consuming work, and on top of that, winter had returned as soon as I started to wire, and man it can get cold when you are standing still for hours to wire! And because of the tight ramification that I created my self during the last years, it was now almost imposible to get my big hands in between those branches to wire, with out rubbing off a lot of buds!

Below: This one was made just after this branch was wired. You can see how many buds there are actualy on the branches all ready, that I needed to avoid as much as possible!

Below: Here I am finaly positioning the branches. In the background my freshly painted tables and fens!

It is a calculated risk to wire this tree completely just before the growing season starts! I wired it pretty loos on purpose, because I need the branches to grow as much as possible in this fixed possition. The wire will be monitored constantly and will be cut as soon as it starts to dig in the bark! Than at the end of this growing season all aluminum wire will be cut off (thats a other full day of work) and then the tree will be wired with copper wire again, but not the thick branches that are already pretty fixed in their positions. This is all in preparation for the next Noelanders trophy in January 2013. The day before that show all wire except the tiny ones on the small branches are cut off as well! And than hopefully all stay nicely in possition!

I tryed a full day  to make a posh video of the work that I did on my Larch, with music, picture in picture and other fancy stuff! Like any 6 year old can do these day’s! But having to remake it all over again for the second time and than to loos it all again…I “###FUZZER RAZZER, RAZZZER FRAZZZER ## …managed to post two, on worked on short bits off video’s, straight on to YOUTUBE. I have to admit that at first I did not even knottiest that it was actually already uploading 2 of my 4 video’s! By the time I did, I only managed to add some info about who or what, but I did not managed or did not know how to change the titles that my new automatic friends at YouTube had come up with! So my first and most likely….last moving pictures of my work in progress that I ever posted for the world to see, are from now on known as……….wait for it……….114-0264.MOV and 114-0271.MOV! AKA “the sequel” of 114-0264.MOV! Ain’t it great, top of the world ma, TOP of the world…114 ##FUZZER RAZZRR##!

 It is so funny  to now be able to see just how happy I am after finishing a tree like this one! There is just no other feeling like it in the world! Collected in 2004, with not much more left on it than two long and tin branches! And than look at it now, this tree is starting to look huge! At the end of this growing season I hope to have lots of new fourth and fifth year growth on my already established first, second and, third year branches. Those tiny branches will be wired more upwards to fill out the winter silhouette of this proud tree!

Part I

Part II

PS: I discovered, YES all by my self, how to change the title of my video’s! The first one now is named: 115- instead of 114!

Has a better ring to it don’t you think?

 No seriously, this is what they are named now: “MY RESTYLED OLD YAMADORI LARCH BONSAI PART I”. And “MY RESTYLED OLD YAMADORI LARCH BONSAI PART II”.  Catchy dont you think?

And part III is  HERE!!   This one is a close up of the ramification on the tree. And still the birds can fly trough!
Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

————————————————————————————————————

Hi everybody, today it finaly was time to take my old yew out off its ugly plastic container. I collected it in Wales in Nov 2007 with Tony Tickle and Enrico Savini and his student/friend/translator Ivo from (Italy). It was a yamadori find of exceptional quality and it was realy sad to see that it lost most of it’s foliage during it’s first years away from it’s old home. But a small section did survive and over the last 3 years it got, with a lot of TLC, healthier and started to grow like crazy! So now it finaly was time to see what was hidden under the ground and to re plant it in a new (temporary) bonsai pot! Below: The yew before I took it out off the plastic container! Look at all that amazing deadwood that I have to shape into a exciting and bold design!

Below: Here I carfully remove it from it’s now opened old pot, making sure that the rootbal dont falls apart!

Below: Carefully removing the soil from the outer layers of the rootbal and removing all the thick and by now dead stumps, that were left from collecting the tree all those years ago.

Below: Amazing deadwood and a very healthy rootbal!

Below: In it’s new pot and working in the soil with a chopstick.

Below: The tree is firmly tight down to the bottom of the pot with wire.

Below: Finer soil is put on as a top layer and that finished this transplant.

Below: The Yew in it’s new (temporary) home for now. I think that this old yew will make a quit special fantasy tree with a lot of dramatic deadwood on it! I cant wait to start working on it’s deadwood and foliage! But first the tree needs to get used to it’s new home and I will only start to work, when I know for sure that it is safe to do! This tree is to precious to me to risk anything that could harm it’s recovery! So I need some more foliage for it’s first styling, so for now I only shortened the long branches before they get to thick to be bend any more. With a copper wire I pulled the main trunk more towards the center of the tree. This wire will be tightened bit by bit during the coming season!

Below: As you can tel from this picture, I am pretty happy with the outcome for now!

Hope you enjoyed this little impression of my fun day repotting with a very happy ending!
Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

——————————————————————————–

Hi everybody, I finaly have found a Chinese round pot that is better suited for the new image of my Yew. The repotting went very smoothly, after all those years of root work, the present rootball consist for 90% out off small feeder roots. That made removing the old soil very easy. Although this new pot looks smaller than the old pot, there is actually more room for the roots to grow! This is importand, because the tree is still recovering from loosing foliage and some branches and needs to fill out again! Any way, I hope you guy’s like this new pot tree combo?!

You can find a earlyer post about the history of this old Yew here: http://hans-van-meer.ofbonsai.org/2011/09/06/restyling-my-old-yew/

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Hi everybody,

this is a post about the sixs edition of “BONSAI VAN HET WESTEN” Bonsai event that is staged on the 2 and 3 of June in the botanicle garden in Delft (The Netherlands). I have been asked to jugde the Bonsai on display and I will be showing one of my own Bonsai (out of competition).

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Hallo allemaal, ik wil jullie graag uitnodigen om naar al weer de zesde editie van het “BONSAI VAN HET WESTEN” Bonsai evenement te komen dat op 2 en 3 Juni in de Botanische tuin in Delft gehouden zal worden! Ik ben uitgenodigd om de Bonsai in de show te jureren en om een van mijn eigen Bonsai (buiten competitie) te showen. Ik hoop jullie daar allemaal te zien!

Groetjes,

Hans van Meer.

Het evenement ‘Bonsai van het Westen’ in de Botanische Tuin van de TU Delft is in 2007 gestart met Christiaan Yeh als initiatiefnemer. Zijn doel was om een bonsai-evenement in het westen van het land te organiseren, waarbij hij het publiek op een laagdrempelige manier kennis liet maken met de wereld van de ‘Boom in pot’. De tentoonstelling, met in het begin bomen van twee uitgenodigde bonsaiverenigingen -Koya en Rijnmond- vormde de basis van dit evenement. Daarnaast waren er demonstraties en workshops.

Na drie succesvolle jaren heeft Christiaan in 2009 besloten om te stoppen met de organisatie. Vijf medewerkers van het eerste uur (Henk ten Kate, Rob Janszen, John Hoogeveen, Edwin Koppers en Manon Jamin), vonden dat dit evenement niet mocht verdwijnen en namen het stokje over. Vanaf de 4e Bonsai van het Westen ligt de organisatie in hun handen.

Bonsai van het Westen is een particulier initiatief en maakt geen deel uit van de Nederlandse Bonsai Vereniging. Het doel is om ieder jaar weer een betere, mooiere en interessantere show neer te zetten. Nog steeds toegankelijk voor een breed publiek, maar zeker ook een platform en ontmoetingsplek voor de bonsaiist in Nederland en omstreken.

Onze show heeft elk jaar een thema, waarmee we de deelnemers uitdagen een unieke bonsai presentatie te creëren.

Inmiddels heeft ook Vereniging Zuid-Holland een vaste plek in onze show gekregen.

Naast de drie verenigingen worden er ook bonsaiclubs, studio’s en hobbyisten op persoonlijke titel uit het hele land uitgenodigd.

Verder zijn er op beide dagen diverse demonstraties, workshops en natuurlijk een uitgebreid aanbod aan verkoopstands met bonsai en Oriëntaalsgerelateerde artikelen.

Bonsai van het Westen is uitgegroeid tot een gevarieerd evenement waar iedereen een dag met plezier kan rondkijken, meedoen en hopelijk een nieuwe hobby of interesse ontdekt.

Namens de organisatie,

Tot ziens op 2 en 3 juni!

—————————————————————————————————

This little tree has been a Bonsai in my collection for well over a decade now. This little yamadori was a gift from Tony Tickle when he visited my house right after we had a wonderful time at the Ginkgo Award in Belgium (those were the days). It took me many years to shorten the very long and thick roots so it would finaly fit in to a small pot like the one it is in now (picture below). And I have learned a lot from taking care of this little tree! It has given me flowers every year and I realy enjoyed how it looked the last few years in its wonderful John Pitt pot.

But there has always been a better option hidden in this tree, I knew that, but it was such a major change and so many well established branches had to be sacrificed to realize the image I saw! Bellow: This next pictures were made 12-4-2009. I was recovering from my first back operation and could not do much more that to look over some smaller trees and make some future plans. And this Blackthorn was one of them! Here I found more or less the future planting angle and the new design that I would contemplate for a few more years until last week! The red arrow points at the reverse taper section that was verry obvius from the old front! In my new design this bulge will be almost completely removed and the deadwood section and the Jin that will remain are not that disturbing anymore!

Below: Just look how wonderful this natural deadwood looked after I cleaned it that day! This valuable section could not be seen from the former front! The re arrow is pointing at a large thick root that over the years got more obstructive and right in your face in the middle of the trunk, seen from the old front! This was a other reason to select this new front! And the reverse tapper that is very obvius from the old front is less obvius from the new front!

Below: A virtual from my new idea made that same day in 2009. The pot is not finished, but is just there to see how a round pot would fit the future design.

So a few days ago, after I took it out of my winter shelter, I checked the tree over and I realized that I could not longer found any excuses to not drastically change the whole design of this, to me, precious little tree.

Below: View from above before the work started.

Below: Here goes the first branch.

Below: And one by one the branches that I would not need in my new design are removed.

Below: The stump that was left when the branch was removed is converted into a Jin. 

Below: Many beautiful old branches were removed! I planted them with some rooting hormone in a pot. You never know if one will survive, but why not try it!

Below: Yellow arrow points at what is still left from the long root that took me several years to shorten. Red arrow points at were it will be cut this time around!

Below: After a few hours. The pot is to big and the tree is not exactly in the right spot!  But that will do just fine for now! I did not want to risk the health of this tree, by cutting of to many roots. The top needs to fill out some more, but that is only a matter of time! I cant wait to see it in boom!

So there it is, a new and rather more exciting image for an already beautiful little tree! I think it was the right choice, what you you all think?

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

—————————————————————————————————–