Page 23 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2016Q2

I try to leave every
collecting site so
that no one can
tell I was ever
there.… it takes
only moments
to fill in the
depression left
by a collected
tree with dirt
and gravel and
then scatter pine
needles and moss
back across it
so that it looks
natural again.

will have both the character and root system to make
a bonsai. With junipers I estimate 1 out of 1,000. It’s
better to spend your time looking for a tree that will
survive transplanting than working hard and long on
one that probably won’t. In general, the easier a tree is
to collect the better the chances it will survive.
The final consideration is appearance to the pub-
lic, which includes both how the collecting site looks
when you are finished and how you present yourself
while collecting.
It’s a no-brainer that if you let someone dig a few
trees from your backyard and they left it full of holes,
piles of dirt, trash and let their dog run loose you
would not invite them, or anyone else, back to dig
trees again. The same sensibility should apply to any
collecting site you are lucky enough to visit.
I try to leave every collecting site so that no one can
tell I was ever there. This is not very hard to do, but it’s
easy to forget to do. However it takes only moments
to fill in the depression left by a collected tree with
dirt and gravel and then scatter pine needles and moss
back across it so that it looks natural again. I never
leave garbage, not even a gum wrapper, in the woods. digging up trees of their own. And this has happened. Top left, top right and bottom;
Gates should always be left as they were found, Neither of these things is desirable. After digging up and bagging
either open or closed. Just because livestock are not Really it all comes down to treating the trees, the this interesting ponderosa
pine, the hole is filled in and
in sight does not mean they are not there. Vehicles land and the landowners with respect—the same re- covered, leaving behind little
should stay on existing roads and trails and certainly spect you would want. It’s not much to ask, but it will evidence of human activity.
avoid leaving ruts across wet meadows or pastures. do a lot for the hobby we love.
I also try and stay out of the public eye and park my
truck away from heavily traveled roads. I have several Andrew Smith is a forester and bonsai collector/artist working in the Black
reasons for this. First, I don’t want to broadcast to just Hills of South Dakota. Smith operates Golden Arrow Bonsai, now in its 21st
anyone where my favorite collecting site may be. Sec- year of business, specializing in collecting yamadori pre-bonsai specimens
ond, people driving by might misinterpret what I’m from the mountains of the American west. He attends several major bonsai
doing. They might assume that I’m doing something I gatherings every year and gives talks, demonstrations and workshops
shouldn’t be and call the sheriff, or they might assume featuring collected conifers, all over the country.
that since I’m doing it anyone can, and stop and start

April/May/June 2016 | BCI | 21