Stan joined the club back at the start of the year. He had been dabbling with bonsai on his own for a year or so. He heard about the NIBS through the Wee Trees Forum.

After the February Bonsai School, Peter left a few bits of raw material behind for sale. Stan had a look at what was on offer and purchased this Larch.

He then took part in the June School Weekend Workshop and worked on this tree. The tree was thinned out and some minor deadwood was worked. A few guy lines were put in place as well. No other wiring was done as it was in full foliage.

This was the tree after the workshop.

This is the tree in Stan’s Garden over the Summer. Please note the beautiful whirly Line, that he is so fond of, in the background. Sorry Stan, couldn’t resist :-D

Stan brought this tree back to the October School Workshop for further work on the deadwood. We had only planned to do the basic work on this and perhaps wire a few main branches. As it turned out, we managed to get the whole tree wired and a basic shape created. It would have been better to await leaf drop before wiring but, we got carried away :-)

Stan watching Peter at work. I have had to blur out a rather offensive football logo on Stan’s top, well, offensive to me at any rate :-P

This was it after completion of the basic styling. The tree has been shaped to make the best possible image in a few years time, not to create an instant image now. That is what our workshops are about, no quick fixes. The apex of the heavy trunk is a case in point. It needs to be taller than the other thinner trunk’s apex but, this will take a year or so to develope. Hence, it is placed the way it is instead of what some people would have been tempted to do, squish it down and create  a rounder apex.

A slightly different angle that with a few branch adjustments might actually make a better front.

Stan will hate me for saying this but.. :-) I was helping him to get the tree wired and couldn’t help but notice just how good his wiring is for the length of time he’s been doing bonsai. His other work on the deadwood was also spot on. Peter and I both agreed that he’s a perfect workshop participant, he’s told what to do once, he does it without fuss and does it right first time.

Before and after in 2011

I wanted to show this tree to help members see exactly what can be achieved by picking the right material and getting the right assistance. The tree has also given Stan a lot back in terms of learning experience. I will update you next year as to how the tree progresses. well done Stan. You can relax now, that’s you out of the limelight again, for a while at least :-D