The Gateway from North to South

The weather in the middle of Taiwan is just about perfect year round for growing trees.  The sun is always shining and the soil is rich.  Yesterday, Jack my bonsai teacher and I went searching for some trees to buy.  I ended up taking some photos of trees that were just a 'touch' out of my price range.  

Please enjoy.

But first a glimpse of some normalities of growing bonsai stock.

They have all served their purpose and will do so again.

Some Chinese Elm root cuttings that have begun to grow leaves.

Some large sized juniper trees being groomed as a garden tree with style.  These were initially grown in the field.

Some pruning in order to shorten the height of this future bonsai tree.

Hundreds of juniper trees.  The goal here is to thicken up their trunks as quickly as possible.  A great deal of fertilizer is used year round.

A nice healthy juniper farm.

Their roots must be all tangled up down there?

Again some garden trees that are being shaped.

A massive tree on rock.  In the future it will probably be planted in a local park here in Taiwan.

Black pine grafting.

I walked past a parked truck and this is what I saw.

And then this on the same road.

A huge root ball.

Jack Lin to the right and a local legend called Arwin on the left.  Arwin is an excellent potter.  

Seedings.

This mix of granular white rocks (small pebbles?) and bark is used for black pine seeding.

A close up.  The bark's purpose is to aide drainage.

Below are pictures taken from a fantastic nursery.  Please enjoy some excellent bonsai.  They are also extremely expensive!  The nursery teaches aspiring bonsai artists every day.  I would love to join in, however, no one there speaks English.  

A beautiful trunk.  A very compact juniper tree.

Shari.

Very princely.  

There were rows and rows of sensational bonsai.  

I spied an unusual trunk.

A straight but twisted trunk.

I bought one of these.  Local pear tree that produces an abundance of delicate white flowers.

The nursery was spotlessly clean.  It was very well looked after.

A little guy that caught my attention in among the towering giants.

Like this one.

Brothers just hanging out.

Trunk and pot are interesting.

A perfect amount of moss and an old gnarly trunk.

The mother tree welcomes visitors as they walk into the nursery.

Just a magical place.  It has to put you at ease.

Hope you enjoyed these pictures.  Just for the record, I didn't get drunk last night celebrating the New Year and felt great in the morning on the 1st.  Hope everyone has a rewarding and fulfilling 2014.