|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sales and Coupons |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My
Template Design Sets |
>Samples by Set
>by Artist
>Storefront
>Description
>Shopping Cart
|
| Valerie suggests that educational
toys, games, and hands-on activities will enrich the educational
experience. With this in mind, consider the resources offered by
these sponsors. Check out the various presentations of products chosen
by Valerie by visiting All Stores. |
|
 
Anti-Virus,
Anti-spyware, anti-hacker, PC performance, saves & restores files, secures
identity, prevents SPAM & Email
Scams, protects children online; for just a few dollars more get all this
and wireless protection, too.l
Get
Total PC Protection with McAfee Total Protection for $79.99!
 
|
Get books and gardening supplies.
 
Want your books in ebook form or podcast?
 
 
Want an podcast player that plays on your browser? Get
it free from Google!
Sample
the podcast player.
|
|
|
|
On this page:
Photo Safari? // Hobby // Photos // Mini-Store
Why a Photo Safari?
After giving my preK-3 grandsons
a $25.00 camera for Christmas, I discovered
the joys of photo safaris. My fascination with bonsai and their shape
found purchase in my new awareness of the aesthetic
form of trees both
natural and pruned. I now observe trees wherever I go. With a digital
camera, I record my favorites. A hobby has been born! Get
tools for a bonsai hobby.
When I explored fotolia.com looking
for images for this site's science essays, I discovered that I am not
the only one fascinated with trees. (I encourage you to submit photos,
too, of your fascinations.) This page offers some of the images I dearly
love and comments about my experiences with shaping bonsai, begun
in a biology lesson, along with a few more bonsai products -- including
seeds to plant -- for achieving the perfect potted tree. For more bonsai
photographs and products, see the lesson and my collection
of bonsai factoids.
A Hobby with Potential Value
Just as an aside, three hobbies that seem to be a source of potential
wealth are art, photography, and
Bougainvillea (bougainvillea ¦glabraª)
From: Bonsai Boy of New York
horticulture. Care to see what this mature
bonsai goes for? Check out the bonsai below.
Keep reading.
 
|
Rhododendron (sambuscus thunder)
- $ 150.00
First cousin of the Azalea. Our small leaved cultivar offers pink buds with many delicate small white blooms with a hint of pink in May. Evergreen and quite cold hardy. 16 years old. 16"x15"x23" tall. Potted in a 12" ceramic green oval container as shown. Suitable 14.5"x10.5" humidity tray is recommended. To purchase add $11.95. Shipped via UPS Ground - $59.95.
|
|
Japanese Andromeda (pieris japonica 'valley valentine')
- $ 175.00
If you think pieris flowers come only in white, we have a surprise for you.'Valley Valentine' produces an abundance of beautiful deep reddish pink flowers that brighten as they mature. They open from maroon buds that decorate the tree through the winter and are presented against lustrous deep green leaves. 16 years old. 17"x14"16". Potted in a 12" ceramic green oval container as shown. Suitable 14"x10.5" humidity tray is recommended. To purchase add $11.95. Shipped via UPS ground - $39.95.
|
|
Notice that the price range is broad.
Did you look at the Bougainvillea at
the Bonsai Boy of New York site? Wow! Yet the tree to the right is
only about $25.00 from the same people, and the seeds are less than
$5.00. Some seeds and the "Karate Kid Juniper" are pictured
with the Bonsai
Factoids.
An idea for a Teachable Moment is
to show the movie Karate Kid (1, 2, or
3) along with the teaching of a bonsai lesson. Get it from Netflix.com
Of course, you can show just segments. In that case,
Movielink(R)
-Downloadable movies are here
Keep
reading.
 
|
Willow Leaf Ficus-Small (ficus nerifolia/salicafolia)
- $ 24.95
Also known as Mexicana Ficus. Elongated, light green leaves have a striking resemblance to the popular weeping willow tree. This tree does particularly well indoors in low, moderate or high lighting conditions. 4 years old 5" - 8" tall Suitable 4 1/2"x 6 1/2" humidity tray is recommended. To purchase add $3.50. Shipped UPS 2-3 days - $10.95.
|
 
|
|
Photos
Before pruning and wiring a bonsai to develop
its shape, you must decide what you want the tree to eventually look like.
For making this decision, it helps to study the natural growth of trees.
Hence, I have collected these pictures.
 |
This bonsai was carefully shaped to look this. The
trunk was wired when the tree was only months old and bent a little
each week or month until the desired curve was achieved. The shape
of the foliage was also carefully planned and nurtured. The shape
of the bonsai is maitained throughout the life of the tree with careful
pruning.
But, is this shape natural? |
| © Nicholas
Rjabow - FOTOLIA
"Bonsai" |
Follow the links of each picture to see (or buy) the
actual picture in true size. |
Yep, trees do grow leaning over. In nature, a frequent, strong,
prevailing wind or seedling that sprouts in shadow and grows towards
a sunnier exposure will lean. What kind of root structure is needed
to maintain the center of gravity? Do the densities of sections of
the trunk keep the tree in balance? What does hold the tree up?
© Galyna Andrushko - FOTOLIA
Another leaning tree example is a photo by me. See
it below. Feel free to copy it. If you
post it, please link back and credit me. Just copy the link below
the photo. It links to this page -- so don't click it now. |
 |
|
My favorite shape of tree in nature
is more symmetrical. However, when a tree is bent in an interesting
way it has real character. When it is placed near water or over
a boulder it becomes a beauty. Bonsai growers shape trees to be
this interesting, and use large rocks or fountains to complete
the artistic image. Roots are even trimmed and placed over rocks,
covered and grown for weeks until the
|
| Tree
over Pond in LA © Valerie Coskrey |
roots are old enough to be exposed. Obviously
the trees of such intricate shape and artistry took years to
develop and much care.
Take a look at this example of special shaping of roots for a
forest effect.
A grower must be flexible enough to accept that what
was originally conceived might not be the end result. The actual
growth of the tree will alter the design. Another factor in
the final shape of the tree is the grower's insight in changing
his design as he grows his tree. Producing the work of art known
as a bonsai is a truely satisfying hobby.
The books
and products below and listed in the lesson will
instruct the beginner inthe hobby of growing these beautiful
bonsai works of art. (See
also bonsai, part 2.)
Continue reading about my photo safari in search of the perfect
bonsai shape.
|
|
