Landscape shots

Here are some photos from the first in a series of contained patio beds, using as few mediums as possible to create a calm, minimalist look. The mediums used are: One blue diamond azalea, two half man basalt boulders, crushed salt & pepper granite, and finally a mixture of awned haircap moss and tall clustered thread moss. There are two more installations yet to be completed. Photos coming soon.

Peter

Winter garden shots

The round winter sun is slowly climbing higher and higher into the sky. Just a few weeks ago its light was hidden by the neighbors red cedar, throwing cold shadows across the garden. Now its light shines right into the bonsai courtyard and into the black bamboo and weeping white pines at the gate. I can hardly wait for spring.......

350 year old mountain hemlock

I recently acquired this very old mountain hemlock with enormous potential through a trade with a good friend. Some styling and pruning has been done already, with a little more left to do before the tree's finished form is "realized". The tree itself is perfectly healthy. However, the lower trunk has suffered some considerable rot in the past, and had to be carved out to the hardwood. As far as appearances go, it really isn't very nice to look at, at all, and a solution is in the works. Some have suggested using a type of tree putty (the kind used for sealing cuts and wounds) to fill in the carved out area, then apply hemlock bark as naturally as possible over the fresh and sticky tree putty, hopefully concealing all evidence of the 'wound'. Others have suggested a more esoteric method, by searching out the lifelines of the tree, carefully peeling them off the trunk, wrapping them in sphagnum moss/soil etc, then removing the unwanted lower trunk and starting over again with a shorter tree. I'm not sure i like either.....perhaps I'll try the tree seal method first.......

Peter

350 year old Hemlock

Mountain Hemlock planted on sandstone

White pine after the snow