Bonsai is Life

 

Welcome back to a brand New episode here at asean. This is a very Special week at the Garden because this Weekend we’re actually having our open House event. This is the first time that We’ve had an event like this since our Grand opening which is a little over Four years ago.

I’m really looking forward to opening the doors of the garden show to everyone and showing them what we’ve been working on for the last few years. I’m also excited to introduce all the new trees we have at the garden and to spend the weekend with some great people from around the country. My good friend Rafa Torres is actually here from Spain and he’s going to be doing some workshops and demonstrations this weekend.

I need to go to the hotel to pick something up this morning, and then we’re going to start working on a few projects. I’ve got some cool trees I want to wrap and style, and we’ve got some other friends coming over to help me prep stuff and get the garden ready.

We’re going to the hotel to pick up Rafa and get started for the week. How are you today? Very good, thank you. Ready to make some trees? Yeah, let’s do it!

The customer says they are ready to order, and the barista asks what they would like. The customer orders a large cappuccino, a large black coffee, a dark roast, and a sausage egg and cheese biscuit. The barista asks if they need anything else, and the customer says no.

Now it’s such a nice day outside, I think I’ll go finish the Scott Pines and The Nets. Oh no, I have to pick out a new tree. I hope I can find a good one.

The volunteers have been working hard to clean up the nursery and get everything ready for the upcoming open house. They have cleaned up the dead wood and painted it with lime salt. They have also trimmed the branches back. So when people walk into the nursery, it will look good.

Of the first trees that you’re going to see, the most awe-inspiring and powerful tree is here at the Garden and is in perfect condition right now. I also had a lot of help from the National Bonsai Society in cleaning up the garden, dead foliage and getting the garden looking nice and clean in general, so a big shout out to all of those people for helping out.

It would have been impossible for me to do this work by myself. Today and tomorrow, leading up to the open house, I’ve got a couple of good friends here helping me clean up the remaining trees in the garden, paint lime sulfur on things, and just make the garden look pristine and beautiful. I’ll introduce you to those guys here shortly. Excellent! Ready to paint up some lime sulfur and pluck some needles? All right, excellent. So, Rafa, tell me about the tree you’re styling. Yeah, who wants to see? And to see? Yeah, we we started working yesterday and talked about what front is better. Um, here have this first branch, I think.

It can be nice to have a branch, but it is important to connect it to the trunk. In my opinion, it is easier to work on the front of the tree and make a nice flow from the trunk.

I have some jeans that I think look cool because they are a little baggy in the area around my thighs. I might be able to make them into shorts. I need to finish the APS and then I can lower the jeans a little bit and clean them up. They will be a nice tree. excellent. What are we drinking tonight? Oedipus Doses. You remember? It’s very delicious.

You’re right, I like it. I remember the party, it was the last time, three years ago, I think. Three years ago, yeah. How do you say, uh, cheers? Cheers, all right.

Thank you for enjoying the drink! It’s made with different herbs, including rosemary. Do you like the flavor?

Hi, how are you doing today? Are you having fun? You’re going to help us with the cleanup and preparation today, right? You’re going to help us prune some trees today, right? Are you going to ignore Dadda today? Today is the final day of preparation for the open house before we open the doors to the public tomorrow morning, so we’ve got a few last minute projects that have to get done.

I have a few more people coming over to help me finish up some projects in the garden today, including my parents.

Raking up leaves and making the garden look nice is my favorite part of Fall. I love seeing the different colors start to show up.

The trees’ berries are changing color, the conifers are going dormant, and it feels like we’ve completed another cycle in the life of bonsai. I’m excited to share all of the nursery’s progress with the YouTube community and those who will be visiting in person.

It’s great that you’re taking the time to browse the products we have for sale this weekend! Hopefully you’ll find something you like, whether it’s a new tree for your collection, a pot, or some tools. We’re looking forward to a busy weekend and hope to see you tomorrow!

We’re going to the hotel to pick up Rafa and then we’re going to start our day. We’re going to be pruning a tree that we haven’t touched since June. We need to clean up the underside of the tree.

The guys have already cleaned and painted the dead wood, so it’s bright and beautiful. I want the whole presentation to be very nice, so I’m going to jump on this while the guys are down below raking up some leaves. So what are you doing today? Yeah, it just fits the details from the Bunjin. And just a small cleaning and you will see the result now. All right, excellent.

The first step in this process is to clean up the undersides of the pads by removing all of the foliage back to the hardwood. This will create a clean and defined look to the pads on the tree. The second step is to use scissors to prune back the elongating chutes on the upper part of the pad. This will create a fuller look to the pad.

But it’s a bit more consistent in terms of taper and density, so it shouldn’t take too long to get this guy cleaned up. You can see in my ACN sign here that this is the original sign that I built out four years ago for our open house. But over the course of this last year, one of the letters actually fell off in the middle here and landed on the ground.

One of our guys mowed over our lawn and ruined it, but instead of getting a new one we just put it back on here. I think it’s got kind of a hillbilly Wabi-sabi type vibe to it.

We’re putting up a sign by the road so people know where to find us. We’re a bit off the beaten path and don’t typically open to the public, so we don’t have signs all around. But this should help people find us and keep from getting lost.

I’m going to throw you a rock. Where’s your ball? Where’s your ball? Where’s your ball? Oh, once you find your ball, I’ll show you. Your ball, go get your ball, go find your ball. I don’t want to throw you a rock. You’re standing in a whole gravel pit. You can have any of those rocks, why do you want this one? Right, you want this one right here? Okay, I’m going to throw you the rock.

You think you can find it when I throw it? Um, oh, you caught it! Good girl. I’m gonna throw it again. Drop it. I can’t throw it. Don’t swallow that. It is 6 a.m. here on show day. We’re all prepped and ready to rock and roll here at the nursery. As you can see behind me.

Rafa’s Workshop is all set up for this morning! He has six people in the group who are each bringing their own tree. He’s excited to see what they bring. The garden is all set up too. Everything is in its place and ready to go. They have a couple hours left before people start arriving.

We’re hoping for a great turnout today and wish everyone luck! We’re ready to rock and roll and put on a great show!

It was great to see so many people from all over the country supporting the nursery. Rafa did some amazing demos and workshops that everyone enjoyed. I want to thank everyone who came out and showed their support. It means a lot to me and my family.

I’m going to be flying to Spain later today to meet up with Rafa. He left a few days before me, and we’re going to be doing some events and videos while we’re there. We’re going to be participating in a national show in Madrid and then going to Rafa’s nursery in Mallorca. I’ll be sure to post some videos while I’m there. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you all soon!