Earlier this year in January I went quite mad and bought seven bare rooted Larches from a nursery in Northern Ireland for the princely sum of £9.49, my wild extravagance also extended to two Yews and a Blackthorn, the total cost being about twenty three pounds including postage and packing.
The Yews and the Blackthorn are now in large pots to let them grow on, though I think my Sue has her eye on one of the Yews as a patio pot tree. The Larches were also potted up and left for a while though I did have in mind just what I intended to do with at least two of them.
This month they were looking like this (Photo below right)and then I went to our club meeting where we had
a demonstration of group planting by Chris Thomas the Bonsai Wizard from Wales and I came home inspired to get going on my own trees.
I know I know, I should have waited until further into the winter when they had lost their foliage but I can refine things a lot more then anyway.
It’s just that a month now after my recent eye operation I am beginning to focus again and I really wanted to get on with doing something so here we are then . Two views of the mother and son pair of Larches. I know with groups the larger tree should be to the front but I really like the shape of the smaller one to the front what do you think?
Smaller to the front Larger to the Front
I know they need refining a lot more but that will have to wait till I have better three dimensional vision which does make it easier to see which twig is which, having snipped a few wrong ones these last few weeks.
But for £2.70 I don’t think they are too bad and the drawing I did back in January is coming to life now. The snag is of course that a pot to do them justice will cost a bit more that that unless I get the sand box out and make another of my concrete slabs.
And if you think they look like a very immature version of two Larches in Dan Barton’s Book of Bonsai well one has to get ones ideas somewhere.
Over thirty years recording the rural scene in water colours
Michael Coopers Studio 
Reblogged this on Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog.
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my thoughts (from a 30-year novice) are that the large tree in front gives me a feeling of space—from viewer to trees and on into the distance. the smaller tree in front brings me up closer among and nearly beneath the trees. i value both. as i am in an environment where i can see vistas but not these trees, i appreciate being drawn into the trees themselves.
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