Front Yard - Fall

Japanese Garden Front Yard fall

This is a portion of my front yard.  It's not a very good picture considering the fact that my moss-rock stones appear washed out, when in actuality they are a dark redish orange color.

Japanese Garden Front Yard Fall 2012

This picture is slightly better, although my cloud-pruned bushes are not in it.  My small crype myrtle is red, as it's in the middle of fall.

Bougainvillea Bonsai

This is my Bougainvillea Bonsai.  As with a concept in Japanese gardening, I'm borrowing the background of pines and a Magnolia tree.

Dead Wood Bonsai

This is a slow process but I think in the end it will turn out to be something my family and I will really appreciate. About year ago I pulled up this old bush out of my front yard and set it beside my house.  And there it stayed.  I'd seen various bonsai's utilizing dead wood so I thought I'd attempt to do the same thing here.  For some great examples please here.

The pic to the left is at the very early stages.  I cleared off some unwanted wood, prior to removing roots and flatting the base.

Simplicity

Near Koi Garden

My family and I went to dinner and a walk about two weeks ago.  We passed through the Koi pond garden and near this little grassy area.  I really enjoyed the beauty and simplicity of it.

Another Chinese Loropetalium, and a little progress.

Chinese Loropetalium/ Bonsai training

I got another Chinese Loropetalium from a local nursery at a huge discount - my MO.   I cut it back hard, and am starting its training into a bonsai.

Not long ago I conducted a little Fukinaoshi on one of my Wax Myrtles.  It had grown to large and the shape was boring and too normal.  But today I noticed that it is starting to bud (notice the small green buds) which is progress. As it grows I will start the training process.

The Budda Belly Bamboo

Budda Belly Bamboo

I originally bought this bamboo plant in the spring of 2009 before I realized how much I enjoy Japanese gardens.  It is known for its swollen internodes and unique style.  While mine is actually in the ground, when they are placed in pots their internodes swell-up because of various reasons such as lack of water.  As you can see, mine gets plenty of water so it doesn't get the characteristic swelling.  Regardless, I really like this slow grower.

It's been moved around a couple times but I think it has found its permanent home.

Current Project: Crepe Myrtle and Bush

In the fall I drug my family to the Houston Japanese Garden.

I wanted to see how they use plants, stone and borrowed landscape typical of south east Texas.  To my enjoyment, they had some very interesting Crepe Myrtles.  These where not the typical lolly pop shaped trees commonly used by landscapers and home owners.  No the artist allowed these unique trees with their beautiful bark to spread out and grow in very interesting ways.

As you can see to the left, the branches shoot out towards the upper horizon as opposed to the usual vertical display.  They are very appealing.

Training a Crepe Myrtle sapling 

Now what I have done, is started the long process of training one of my voluntary crepe myrtles. Using wire, I have begun to distort and reshape this little sapling.  At this point in the season, the fleshy stems are very bendable.  But as the season marches on, they become woody and hard which should allow me to clip the wire off and the stem should maintain  their unique shape.

Fukinaoshi - Wax Myrtle Style

In my mack yard I have a huge Wax Myrtle.  These evergreen shrubs are very common in southeast Texas.    I've been battling with the idea that I need to do something with it.  It was leaning against my fence, and with every gust of wind, slowly destroying it.  So after some thought, I went to Fukinaoshi town on it.  For those that don't know, Fukinaoshi is the Japanese term to "re-do."  I cut this shrub back hard with the exception of one branch which I've been training to grow horizontal for about a year.

Wax Myrtle cut back hard

With the brown wood back ground the post-fukinaoshi shrub is hardly visible.  If you look to the left of the picture you can see the branch that's being trained.  You might want to also notice the off shoots which I'm training as well.

Wax Myrtle Japanese Garden Tree

To the right is what I hope to create.  It shouldn't be a huge leap seeing as how these shrubs are fast growers.  As each new sprout shoots up, I'll clip them in just the right spot creating more and more off shoots.  I hope that within a year, this shrub has a mature interesting look.

Project $5 Chinese Loropetalum / UPDATE: 6/11/12

UPDATE: This guy is going into shock pretty hard - hope it survives. Any advice?
Cheap nursery stock is about all I can afford.  Even if I could afford more I doubt I would.  I'm very new at creating bonsai trees so I'd hate to purchase a specimen at full price, only to shock it to death through my amateur hands.  So what do I do?  I troll local nurseries waiting for sales, and this brings us to my Chinese Loropetalum.  Normally this 10-gallon plant would have sold for at least $40 but I bought it for $5.

Cheap Nursery Stock - Chinese Loropetalum

I have a couple large Loropetalum in my front yard.  They are pretty much out of control, but my wife really loves them because they are a purple island in a sea of green plants and grass.  This evergreen shrub has purple leaves most of the year, and pink spider leg like flowers throughout the spring and fall.  

Now to be sure, the nursery didn't just give this away - it was somewhat in bad shape plus they needed to make room.  But when I look for trees or shrubs I look for interesting characteristics.  This guy had a great trunk/stem.  It was distorted and kinked, and with a little training and lots of time, it has the potential to be a great bonsai...eventually.  So here we go...

With time...comes a little progress

Once this bush drew my distain.  But after cutting it back hard last fall, allowing it to grow and train, it has become one of my favorite.  With the background being mostly green, I highlighted the edges to show the

tree's true shape.  I don't know the name of this shrub, but it grows very fast, and easy to train.  Just to the left, there is another one but it's shape is lacking.  I'll have to cut it back soon.

Front Yard - Japanese Garden

I finally got around to the canvas that is my front yard.  Yes, I've done a few things to it here and there with regards to Japanese Garden style.  For example, I have a couple bushes, unsure of the type, in a portion of my front yard.  They were here when my wife and I bought the house.  I hated them, even removed three out of five.  But once I started really getting interested in the Japanese Gardens i thought I'd try and give them a chance.  So I conducted a little Fukinaoshi, and hacked them back pretty hard.  Additionally, I started pruning a couple trees with my garden style in mind.  

Committing Fukinaoshi!

Ok.  The past weekend, after the holidays and my son's birthday, I started on my trees.  Living in The Woodlands, there are plenty of trees on my property.  None of them can be described as a Japanese Garden tree, although several are being trained.  The picture below is of a young juvenile pine tree, possibly a Slash or Loblolly pine.

I will continue with the pruning and training. I've conducted a little Fukinaoshi on this pine. For those of you that don't know, Fukinaoshi is the Japanese practice and mean's to "re-do."  I have taken off a large portion of this pine's vertical branches. This is a before picture - more picture to come.  Any suggestions would be helpful.

The Bonsai Attempt

Ok so as I stated in a previous post, I purchased a relatively small Juniper plant for around pennies on the dollar - a common theme around my house.  As I perused the plant collection at a local garden center, I was searching for a specimen that stood out.  One that had a thick interesting distorted trunk, and long arching limbs so that I can start my "cascading" Bonsai.

It doesn't look like much but through my untrained western eye I believe it has potential.  I took a gander at the trunk, one of the thinker ones in the collection.  It had a couple of offshoots that bent up and down, twisted to and fro.  A couple of the limbs, as you can see in the picture above, are fairly long and have already started their descent.  To me, this was a blank slat.  First things first, I had to get it out of the plastic container, and into something a little more appealing - something that would also show off the tree.

Bonsai - Attempt

Ok, yesterday I purchased a cheap Juniper from a local garden center.  At $8.99 I think it was a steal.  What I am going to attempt to do is train it into a Bonsai, this will of course take time.  Now the difference between a Bonsai tree, and Japanese garden tree is that one is in the ground, one is in the pot.

I will be reviewing some guidelines and techniques via http://www.bonsaiempire.com/ so wish me luck.  Below is a wonderful example of the "cascade" style of Bonsai using a Juniper.

I found this picture on the internet.  This is a wonderful example of a Japanese Garden.  Notice the beautifully sculpted pine tree on the "island" within the sea of sand.  The large stones stand out as other mystical islands within the racked waves.  Represented here are a few key points to Japanese gardens.  (1).  The ever present stone.  (2). The representation of water.  (3.)  The mighty pine, sculpted to look pleasing and mature.  

Bonsai Bougainvillea

I love the Bougainvillea bush/tree.  These draught and heat lovers are plentiful and large in southern California - in east Texas...well not so much.  We get an abundance of rain, when not in a historical draught, and the temperatures can occasionally dip below to tolerance of these plants.  Currently, I've got three of these plants in pots and containers.  Two are the size you see below and the third is larger.  I'm attempting to develop all three into a bonsai style.  Take a look at my work so far.

I know I know...I've got work to do, but the art of bonsai is not something that happens over night. Take a look at some very beautiful bonsai Bougainvillea below.

Even without the colorful "blooms" this specimen is awesome to gaze upon.

Here is another great bonsai Bougainvillea.  The idea is to make small bush/tree look mature - and the artist who created this bonsai did just that.

The Majestic Pine

When people think of a Japanese garden, pictures of bamboo and Japanese maples come to life.  But there is no other tree that defines a Japanese garden like the pine tree. The Japanese people hold it in an elevated position for symbolic reasons.  First off, the pine grows everywhere on the island nation.  From the north to the south, in the mountains and along the rocky coastline, the pine tree is everywhere.

This tree represents longevity because it grows to great age and even looks older - thus evoking wisdom and knowledge - traits that are greatly admired in the Japanese culture.  These trees are resistant to change, maintaining their green throughout the different seasons.  This represents power against insurmountable forces.

When my family and I first moved to The Woodlands, I didn't really care for the pine trees.  They are everywhere - dripping their sap and pine needles on everything.  But as I've been studying the art of Japanese gardens, I've learned to really appreciate these majestic trees.  I have even gotten my wife to admire them, and look for the odd shaped pines that are unique and pleasant to gaze upon.

The picture above was taken down the street from our home.  If you look closely you can see the bent and twisted trunk that zig-zags towards the heavens - its horizontal branches stretching towards the horizon.

The Houston Japanese Garden

Unofficially, or as an amateur, I study Japanese gardens.  So recently, my family and I took the short trek down to the Houston Japanese Gardens.  In a small relatively unknown section of Herman Park stands the gardens and its ponds. I wanted to get a first hand look at the various techniques used. 

Near the entrance to the garden is this wonderful lantern.  While I could be wrong, I believe that this lantern is called an Arata or an Kasuga. They were initially used in gardens to help guide people to a tea ceremony.  Notice the thick bamboo.

As we proceed into the garden you notice an old walkway where natural powerful stone is used. Take not that one usually never sees straight lines in a Japanese garden.  This is because there are rarely straight lines in nature.

Tucked behind a large grove of Azaleas is this Crepe Myrtle.  Visitors to the Houston area will notice that Crepe Myrtles are an abundant tree where the bark is particularly beautiful and unique. However, this Crepe Myrtle has been trained.  It's branches spread out and grow into a unique style.

In some form or another, real or representative, water is a must in any Japanese garden. Here at the Houston Japanese garden the turtle filled pond is bordered by large boulders, beautifully shaped trees and groves of wonderful bushes.  Notice the building in the back ground, a common occurrence in gardens on finds in Japan.

Probably one of my favorite pictures from my short visit, this photo captures the tea house in background where a mirror image of the garden is displayed on the pond.  In the foreground, one gets a view of the Crepe Myrtles, round bushes and the ever present stone.

The ever present pine tree, accompanied by three large stones.  Notice the number three.  This is a typical technique used in the Japanese garden. Odd numbers appears more natural.

My visit to this particular garden was positive.  However, I didn't notice many trees that where trained in the traditional Japanese garden tree style.

The Japanese Garden

Creating a Japanese Garden means using natural products centered around stone, water and fire.

Stone Symbolizes Eternity, Permanence and Resistance
The Pine Tree symbolizes Strength and Longevity