Monday 4 October 2010

floriade bonsai

At first I thought this was part of Floriade, but it turns out this garden always houses the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia. I was never particularly interested in bonsai but seeing these masterful examples took my breath away. Look at this beauty!
http://www.alexareynolds.com/garden10/bonsai7.JPG
They take a long time to craft to this level. This olive tree was planted in 1957, about 40 years later it was chopped down to start shaping this tree.
http://www.alexareynolds.com/garden10/bonsai2.JPG
This one was one of my favourites, like driftwood sculpture.
http://www.alexareynolds.com/garden10/bonsai4.JPG
What surprised me is that many of them had moss or, like this one, tiny ferns that made it look like a little forest.
http://www.alexareynolds.com/garden10/bonsai1.JPG
This one grouped together several small trees with a little path through them. Can you just imagine being one centimetre tall, standing under the trees?
http://www.alexareynolds.com/garden10/bonsai3.JPG
Or this one, with a little group of maple trees on a bed of moss.
http://www.alexareynolds.com/garden10/bonsai5.JPG
Look at the different kinds of moss, who knew they had so many colours and textures.
http://www.alexareynolds.com/garden10/bonsai6.JPG
I sense another phase coming on - a bonsai phase. Unfortunately I don't think it's going to happen this time. They pretty much have to live outside and I don't really have a good spot for one. And they're a very, very long term commitment. Perhaps I will just enjoy the beauty by the experts.

Completely unrelated, but the currawongs in the gardens were singing so beautifully I had to take a video clip. There's nothing really to look at, so just enjoy their song and maybe scroll back through these bonsai and feel the serenity.

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