Working on railing...

[ZenZilla]

Last summer. Stain and railing to come this spring

 

[j.w]

What a set up you have there....................so nice and inviting.............love the sound of the water falling

 

[ZenZilla]

What a set up you have there....................so nice and inviting.............love the sound of the water falling

Thanks J.W It's my secret garden for sure .... Such an awesome escape to gather my thoughts and enjoy morning coffee

 

[addy1]

That is so very nice, great job! so relaxing

 

[herzausstahl]

Glad you properly called bonsai an obsession. I like the hammock stand, have thought of building something very similar to that myself, how we'll does the "pergola" top keep the sun at bay?

 

[herzausstahl]

Also I was wondering if styled/trained all your trees yourself from collecting, growing, or nursery stock or if you bought some already trained.

 

[ZenZilla]

Glad you properly called bonsai an obsession. I like the hammock stand, have thought of building something very similar to that myself, how we'll does the "pergola" top keep the sun at bay?

Thanks the pergola does well certain times of the day I'm waiting on the wisteria to take it over and help some! Bonsai is a definite obsession lol teaches patience haha

 

[ZenZilla]

Also I was wondering if styled/trained all your trees yourself from collecting, growing, or nursery stock or if you bought some already trained.

I have styled the majority of what I have some I have let grow a little wild.... I love finding diamonds in the rough from nursery stock. Also Craigslist is a good place to look for maples and yew that people are wanting removed. So some are freebies Collecting in the wild is a blast if you have access to land.

 

[ZenZilla]

 

[sissy]

just watch wisteria .I had to cut mine way back it is around 10 ft from the house and several of the tendrils were growing up to the house .you can see it behind the swing and that was after 3 trim backs .It was also send up shoots all over the ground

 

[ZenZilla]

just watch wisteria .I had to cut mine way back it is around 10 ft from the house and several of the tendrils were growing up to the house .you can see it behind the swing and that was after 3 trim backs .It was also send up shoots all over the ground

Yes indeed wisteria can take off on you if not maintained. I had this same species at my last home and I hard pruned it every fall and a maintenance prune during summer.

 

[j.w]

I have a Wisteria that I'm trying to get to grow up a "T" bar to make it kinda look like a tree but so far no blooms. It's way far away from the house as I have heard what they can do and I'm not taking any chances. As long as you maintain them they are fine but I have a tendency to put some things off for awhile so mine needs to be far away. Love their blooms and bet yours will look lovely hanging down from your pergola Zen

 

[sissy]

here no matter how much i pruned it it still got out of hand .Mine bloomed every spring but then it is done and the nice smells is gone

 

[herzausstahl]

I hear ya, discount time at the big box stores is fun, great material to play with at 25-50% off, patience is definitely the right word, I have been self teaching myself from books, the internet (www.evergreengardenworks.com if you've never checked it out, lots of great free info, also www.bonsai4me.com, UK site, but still very relevant), I still remember killing several trees early on by trying to style all at once like the demos in the books and then placing them in full sun. But its all part of the experience! I also have one nursery around here that has a discount section so always great to look for mature stock that is having some issues but none too serious that it can't be made to work as a bonsai. I also got into it around the time my first daughter was born so that has slowed my progress in having more finished trees, mostly I have a lot in training or growing out in a garden bed. I do really like your overall design for your back yard though, how big is it?

 

[ZenZilla]

I hear ya, discount time at the big box stores is fun, great material to play with at 25-50% off, patience is definitely the right word, I have been self teaching myself from books, the internet (www.evergreengardenworks.com if you've never checked it out, lots of great free info, also www.bonsai4me.com, UK site, but still very relevant), I still remember killing several trees early on by trying to style all at once like the demos in the books and then placing them in full sun. But its all part of the experience! I also have one nursery around here that has a discount section so always great to look for mature stock that is having some issues but none too serious that it can't be made to work as a bonsai. I also got into it around the time my first daughter was born so that has slowed my progress in having more finished trees, mostly I have a lot in training or growing out in a garden bed. I do really like your overall design for your back yard though, how big is it?

Those are very cool sights I am also self taught I do belong to the Columbus Bonsai Association http://fpconservatory.org which has classes but my schedule is very busy to attend often. I have 5 different species of japanese maples in a bed on the side of the house fattening up I also killed my share of corner bought junipers lol Then I realized that any tree can be Bonsai not only junipers. I have 18 that have to come in in the winter and the rest stay out to have there winter dormancy. I cannot wait to get them outside this year. I am super excited about an azalea I picked up last year and a wisteria in training. Heck I'm excited about all of them haha thanks the design looks much better when it's green of course .... As for size that's a good question ... Never big enough!!