Viewing post #1100250 by nersveen

My goal was to make a Shohin (bonsai under 8") rock and water feature elm grove set on a marble tray.

First I chose attractive placement of the rocks then cemented them to each other and to the marble penjang water tray. I placed them to look like a creek bed with some rock outcroppAfter the quick cement had dried I washed everything to remove and cement and glue residue, after which I placed and wired down the root balls of each of the three trees before filling in with bonsai soil to make an attractive grove of trees in the hills along a creek with rock outcrop pings scattered throughout. The trees were great bonsai stock and required no further wiring, as they all had great shapes. I then mossed up the hills and potions of the rock before placing some mondo grass as an accent planting.

I did all of that in 1.5 hr long workshop at the California Shohin (<8" bonsai trees) biannual gathering. I was amazed at how good it turned out in just an hour and a half.

Over the last two years I practiced "clip and grow" bonsai methodology and the canopy of all three trees gained great branch structure and ramification.

I entered this penjang in the spring bonsai exhibition in San Francisco where many people found it to be an "enchanting elm grove along a creek".