bonsaiTALK 2006 Article Contest

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A Hobbit Trayscape
by Treebeard - 1st Place
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Finishing off.

The last stage was to refine all the details and finish styling the tree. I wanted the dwelling to look like it had been lived in for many years, and I wanted the tree to look a bit wild, and not like a bonsai that has been trained down to the very last twig.

figure 31

figure 32
I had built a slate path up from the gate to the front door, with a little paved area extending under the window. The cracks and gaps between the slabs were filled in with little tufts of moss (figures 31 & 32). When I built the path I made sure there was space under the front of each slab for a little reservoir of soil, so that the moss had something to grow on and into.

After the moss was inserted into the path the rest of the moss on the trayscape was tidied up. The edges of the moss sheets were knitted together with tweezers so that it looked tike one continuous spread of green. extra sections were inserted wherever there was a small gap, with particular attention given to the edge against the slab. The gaps between the fence palings were filled in with moss. Strands of moss were teased up individual palings, and at the top of the brickwork more strands were teased downwards, between and over the bricks.

All this was intended to make it look like the moss had not just been freshly applied, and that instead it had been growing there for years. Inevitably there will be a new look to it but the detailing work should ensure that it ages and matures quickly.

figure 33
The apex of the tree needed some pruning and tidying. In figure 33 you can see two thick branches near to the top, these needed removing and some thinner twigs training into the gaps left. The removal of these two branches was the biggest pruning job, with the rest of the pruning being limited to the removal of 1 and 2 year-old twigs that were growing from branch crotches and at odd angles. The main branches now had wire applied, and were bent into position. As mentioned earlier, I didn't want to over-train this tree, a slightly unkempt look was what I was after. I didn't want this tree to look like a bonsai in a trayscape, I wanted it to look like a real tree from nature in a trayscape.

figure 34
The very last thing to be fitted was the chimney stack. When I collected the slab from Walsall Ceramics I noticed they had a row of chimney stacks drying on a shelf. I had originally planned to make the chimney myself from mini-bricks, but as soon as I saw this little stack I knew it would be perfect. To fit it I carved a little wooden stake to fit up inside and pushed the other end through the moss and into the soil beneath.
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