AusBonsai

These are some of my tree's that were on display at a Major Supermarket Retailer as part of an Oriental display and as part of the Winter festival . It was a challenge to have enough display tree's ready {something i haven't got} on short notice {3 days} to begin a rotating display . Most certainly not the most desirable position sitting approximately 2m above floor level , but i did the best i could with what i had , pics well i gave up on them as the light was wrong and i'm no photographer , the extra's , well i never had a say in those ! .I had to use young trainers to have enough assortment of winter silhouette and conifer tree's , too the general public they were awesome .The Trident maple group slab planting was slipped from a polystyrene box the night before , i presented around 30 tree's over 12 days . The management and Staff were extremely helpful as to the watering requirements of the tree's in the air-conditioned environment . The feedback was a real eye opener for all concerned including the Management . Some of the locals were quite funny , on occasions asking the staff why they were watering plastic plants . Several Senior Management staff as well as area Managers visited from as far as Sydney . Many requests concerning Bonsai sales and the art of Bonsai in general have been dealt with ,with many more to follow up . Looking forward to the local Horticultural show to again set up another display .

Many Thanks to the Management and Staff of Woolworths {Bright N.E Victoria} for the opportunity to show a few tree's and attract so much interest in our Art/Hobby . Cheers Alpineart

nice mate, glad to see the interest gained in the display. i quite like a few of the trees and recognise that shimpaku. hows it coming along? i really got to get up your way some time.

Well done mate the improvisation you come up with never ceases to amaze me. We have long said and noticed the general public do not know the difference, as was asked of the staff.

Your efforts as one person promoting the art of Bonsai is what we need to do show it then it will be approached at all different levels some good some bad. If we get one good then it has been worth the effort.

Again well done Mate Pup

Hi Mathew , the Shimpaku is holding its own , just repotted and root pruned it again before the display , seems to like scoria as a growing medium , plenty of fine new roots .I had to unwire it for the display but i like the growth habit over the last 6 months .I removed the 2 knotted roots across the front so hopefully it won't set it back too much ???, no branches above the front until the apex so it should be good . Anytime s a good time for a walk in the pines .Cheers Alpine

Hi Pup , It certainly created plenty of interest among the young and old .The young tackers seemed to be overwhelmed constantly asking the staff if they were real , "out of the mouths of Babes". It was apparently the "older older" generation that assumed they were plastic , one chap stood quite amazed trying to work out why the Staff were misting plastic plants every day . I usually put up around 12-15 tree's / landscapes at the Horticultural show which has always received good feedback .This certainly wasn't a BMW saga , but it was a Woolies Wonder . I was taken back by how many people do Bonsai in this area and have never met or seen anything of them until now . We may just end up with a few more members from the N.E Victoria Region .I know one of the Trainee Managers from Sydney is as keen as mustard and has tried Bonsai ,but kills a lot plants more than he would like too . Never know he may very well become a member . Cheers Alpine

Congratulations Alpine, glad it went well for you ...some lovely trees there too!!
Cheers, Dario.

Hi Dario , thanks mate , it was a worthwhile challenge .I would most certainly do it again given the opportunity .Its a pity the pics are all blurry , but here is a couple morethe rest of them are a disgrace .I should have used a tripod but i had limited time to rotate and setup prior to the 7.00 am opening time .. All in all i was happy to have contributed and it gave me the inspiration to trim a few more tree's , Cheers Alpine

Hi Ian is that a mel in the centre of one of the last photos you posted ?

Tony

Hi Tony , mate its assumed it was a Picea Albertainia , but Grant Identified it as a Picea Glauca a sport from the Albertania. If you do a search here on picea you can see the progression from tub to pot .Cheers Alpine

You’ve done a great job there Alpine! Keep it up and kudos to you mate

btw, I enjoy following your blog mate

Cheers,
Carlos

Hi Carlos , Thanks for the feedback on the blog , finding time to post is a problem at the moment as i have far too many commitments to take care of .Plenty of work going on around here , spring is here with snow on the hills so to speak . Today is a day for the bikes so i'm outa here and off into the hills for a gentle ride and to check on some Trimmed Yamadori .Will take the camera for a few outdoor play shots and to show off a few possible collectables .Cheers Alpine

Hi Alpine, just wondering when your local horticultural show is happening? Hope you had a good ride today, and yeah, when you get a chance it would be interesting to see some of your yamadori in waiting and possible collectables! That spruce looks terrific...from the photos I also thought it was a native of some sort until I zoomed in...will search for the post now.
Dario.

Hi alpineart,

That was a lot of work taking them to the display and then home. I hope you got them back home all intact

Congratulations on the display. I hope some positive will result from this display.

Best regards.

Hi Dario , the local hort show is on in September ? i will definately be putting on a large display .Last year i took the Bungles the day i finished it .This years there will be 3 car /ute /4x4 loads on display . I will take some pics of the collected stock i have tomorrow and post it up , between repotting pines , sorting roots on Yamadori elms along with a few other chores i should be able to take some good shots .Cheers Alpine

Hi Daviet , it was a bit involved . 80 klms round trip every day and the work to pull the tree's back was sometimes til 10-11 oclock at night . The short notice was a challenge but the benefits to all of us in the bonsai community and here on Ausbonsai was priceless . They estimated 25,000 visitors to the Snow over the 2 week period , bus load after bus load of Japanese , Korean , American and English Nationals flocked to the high Country Snow fields as happens every year . They all need groceries to take with them and Bright is basically the last shopping strip to Mount Hotham .All the tree's endured the enviroment very well and arrived home safely .Cheers Alpine