Scouting in N.Wales

A couple of photos from a recent walk I took in a new area of North Wales, which looks promising for yamadori.

Windswept Taxus Update

I am still calling this my "windswept" yew, although how much of a wind influence will be in the final design, I am still unsure. It is currently growing well and looking healthy if a little messy. Soon I will prune and re-wire it.

New Spanish Pine!

Today I received a new yamadori Scots Pine, collected in Spain, 2012. It is a very interesting tree with lots of character. I will look forward to styling it soon.

Life... Eventually!

I am afraid to say that this year I have had a few deaths in my garden - a well established pine, a newly collected Taxus (the best I have collected so far) and a newly collected hawthorn. I was surprised to see that two of the hawthorns I collected this year failed to come back in the Spring as I had never lost one before... then two days ago, I noticed some buds finally popping on one of them.

I am pleased not to have lost this one, as I am quite fond of its unconventional shape - somewhat reminiscent of a Chinese dragon.

XL Hawthorn Update: June 2015

The big hawthorn is growing well, and today I gave it its second pruning of the season. Here is a photo after...

Kusamono: Dactylorhiza X grandis

Hybrid orchid in Erin pot