Keats The Sunshine Girl: bonsai cultivation

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Kuala Lumpur Orchid and Bonsai Show

I paid a quick visit to the recent Kuala Lumpur Orchid and Bonsai Show. The idea was to lug home some lovely orchids at prices I could afford. Nothing extraordinary happened and I bought some dendrobiums with a tight watch on my budget. Yes, me hubby would really like to hear that! There wasn't much to attract in the way of orchids though their splashes of colour drew me to have a closer look.

Though I do not cultivate bonsai trees , I did 2 rounds viewing the exhibits, a painstaking form of horticulture . And that's where I lack patience, not to mention skill. Whoever says gardening is all about rushing into achieving beauty? Sculpting and aiming for an aesthetic appeal and the uniqueness takes skill. The gardener who was pruning ever so delicately at a bonsai plant proved a point or two.

The bonsai beauties standing apart from each other makes the admirer pause and wonder. I've seen them in nurseries all clumped together and to the novice eyes like mine, their beauty is lost.

For now, the dendrobiums add happy colour to my plants . Just checking on them the snails have not made the pots their home!

Tight clusters and splashes of yellow.

Phalaenopsis display

Pink welcome

I like the shape

Elegance

What a cascade!

Beauty in starkness

Sail away

How long did it take to achieve the look?

Another bonsai beauty .

Twisting to fame and fortune?

This huge canopy was a big surprise to me. Looks like I haven't been around the Lake Garden for sometime.

Manicure time

I bought the common orchids

Didn't have to drag myself to my car. This shuttle relieved me of my load.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Awesome BONSAI

Amidst the profusion of colours at the Floria 2010, Putrajaya, the bonsai was another show stealer. The exhibits caught my attention though the dominant colour of bonsai is green, as we know it.

Up close with the exhibits, it is not difficult to see why bonsai lovers put patience and artistry into this art of tray cultivation (literal Japanese translation).

The many visits to the nurseries have not lured me to cultivate bonsai . Somehow, the appeal of the painstaking cultivation is lost on garden enthusiasts, like myself. Many nurseries do not have the luxury of exhibiting their bonsai in a 'perfect' setting - for viewers to appreciate its beauty unmarred.

This time round, it certainly was more than a cursory look. I enjoyed the exhibits which were placed at eye-level. I could just imagine myself being Gulliver in the land of Lilliputians looking at the small trees which in normal conditions grow big. I also noticed someone on duty keeping a good eye on the precious and expensive exhibits.

I wouldn't have guessed my hubby was swayed by the beauty of the bonsai . Our last stop was at a stall selling bonsai plants and the paraphernalia that go with the art for hobbyists. He bought himself a tiny one in a polybag to try his hands. That is a small step into the immense world of bonsai ! I guess fingers will have to get busy to train the young juniper plant to a desired shape with plenty of tlc too!