Anyone who reads this blog already knows that I am a very amateur potter, but I love it. Getting my hands dirty and playing around with glazes is just plain good fun. My teacher is understanding of my weird pot designs but I also make what I like to call standard pots.

The best part of the exercise is the final opening of the kiln after the glaze firing, there is that sense of anticipation to see what worked and what was, well, not as good as expected.

A few photos of the latest additions to my every increasing pot collection.

This is part three and the last part of the exhibition. After being in the same location and using the same setup for at least six years I think it is time for a re-vamp of this show. When I originally saw this setup I was impressed with the thought behind it – the use of corrugated backing to “emulate” the old Australian country atmosphere. As time has gone that look is now tied and the room where it is held is too small to provide a proper display. Hopefully the committee that runs/organised the show will be looking to improve it for next year.

On with the last photos that I took.

A few more photos from the exhibition.

During the weekend of 29 February and 1 March 2020 an exhibition of Australian native plants as bonsai was held at the Australian National Botanic Garden in Canberra.

Following are a few photos from the exhibition.

A few years ago I was wondering why Australian native plants were not “cultivated” for bonsai purposes in a similar manner to say Trident maples. So in October 2016 I purchased about 8 or 9 Callistemon viminalis Macarthur to ground grow like many trident maples are. I chose this particular species because:

• I like bottlebrush
• This breed is a cross between two popular Callistemon varieties Little John and Captain Cook
• They flower
• This variety is Myrtle Rust resistant
• And of course the main reason was they were available in the local garden centre

When I got them home I transplanted them into square colanders and planted the colanders into the old vegie patch. Always the plan was to grow these in the shohin size. I did keep one in the black plastic nursery pot as a “control” sample.

They grew quiet prolifically and I trimmed them whenever I remembered however no wire was applied and no fertilizer given. If I were smarter I would have kept better notes and taken progress photos, but alas that didn’t happen. The trimming was at time quite harsh but these plants shot back on old wood easily and rewarded me with flowers during the growing period. In retrospect it would have been preferable to root prune these while in the ground but alas again, that didn’t happen.

In October 2019 I dug all the plants out and I was very pleased with the trunk thickness and that all the trees survived. So here are a few photos of the plants after digging.

The next step is to pot them into bonsai pots and that will hopefully happen in October this year.

And of course the obligatory standard size comparison.

August 2018 I dug this plum and it has progressed very well since then. Plums are tough trees and I think they are a great subject for bonsai. They are deciduous which gives interest in the winter, they have spring flowers, summer fruit and autumn colour in their leaves, a true all rounder.

Since it was dug it has grown plenty of new branches, although they are thin they are in keeping with the “look” of this tree. It is tall and thin and the branches are long and thin.

Normally I wouldn’t work on a tree within the first year after digging but this tree has shown exceptional strength so some wire to put the branches in better position was in order and this happened in July 2019.

As I said plums are tough and this one has already flowered and so I am looking forward to continued development over the coming years. During next spring I plan to put this into a bonsai pot for the first time and I hope that it will be covered in flowers, and subsequently fruit for the coming year.