*
XXX
Hi everybody,
I wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year and may all your dreams come trough!!!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.
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365-24-7!
B HAPPY *! 
Hans.
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.
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I like to wish for everybody and you know who* a
Cheers,
Hans van meer.
Picture was made by me in ”het paardenbos” in Rockanje (NL) dec. 2010.
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Hi everybody,
just want to let you all know that I am still among the living! A lot of things happen to me during the last couple of months, from which I am still recovering! Getting trough that period in my live took all of my energy and because of that I did not feel like doing any writing and posting! I did some other art work and Bonsai styling work though, that I will post during the next couple of days! But not everything was bad, two weeks ago I finaly met the latest edition to our family! His name is Twan and he brought a big smile on my face!
Bellow: Me, little Twan and his proud Mother and my niece Dory.
I will start posting Bonsai stuff in the next few days!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.
yesterday I made some pictures of my Larch that I would like to share with you! It’s brightly green and still short new growth makes it all look so much more in proportion. That’s why I love Larch as bonsai, it possesses the Winter image of a deciduous tree and the Summer image of a evergreen! Their winter image allows us to admire the fine ramification on the bare branches and see all the work that went into creating that! I cant wait to see how ”XL” will look after this growing season, with all those new small branches to fill out it’s Winter silhouette even more.
Above: Close up of the base.
Above: Close up from were the deadwood top section starts.
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.
My personal Bonsai website “KARAMOTTO” : http://www.karamotto.org/
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as promised, I would like to share some pictures of the repotting of my “DUTCH” Hawthorn yamadori. I collected it way back in ( will find out tomorrow) in a dune forest close to the sea and not to fare from were I live. It took me tree seasons to downsize it to the height I wanted and all but a few branches were removed. So I created a blank canvas and basicly had to hope for new buds to appear in just the right places to create the new branches with.
Now after all these years working on the ramification, the tree is heading in the right direction. It will take another 4 to 5 years of growth and wiring to fill out the desired image, but the basic branch structure to work from is there all ready.
I hope you like this little story of this Hawthorn, the rest you can find soon on my website!
Above: Collecting the tree.
Above: The tree is freed from the sandy soil, and now I am cutting the tree down to a more lift able size!
Above: A year later, The yellow arrow shows from were I want my future apex to grow from.
Above: All the unwanted branhes are removed or shortened. Only one original branch remains on the left middle site of the trunk!
Above: A few days ago. The larger roots were shortened. This is don every repotting, until the roots are in proportion with the base of the tree.
Above: Carefully removing the old soil.
Above: My student and friend Ed van der Reek is helping me to carfully work the fresh soil in between the roots.
Above: I am please how this tree is progressing. There is still a lot of growing and work to be don, but it all ready looks promising.
Above : Close up of the natural deadwood. This tree has come far in just a short time and I cant wait to see how it looks in 5 years?! I love this hobby!
I hope you like were this pre bonsai is going?!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.
The rest of this and many other stories can be found on my personal Bonsai website “KARAMOTTO” : http://www.karamotto.org/
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Hi everybody,
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.
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Hi everybody,
as this last year is almost over and I look back at it, I can only hope that 2011 will bring some more peace and joy to my little family. And I would like to wish for you all who visit my blog and bonsai site a marry Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year!
*above picture is made last week close to were I live. You can see more here: http://jalbum.net/browse/user/album/546789/
Stay safe and C U in the next year with a big smile!
Regards,
Hans van Meer
