Thanks xman. It was not a purchase I was intending to make, but I just couldn't walk away from it. It's my very first bonsai tree. I love it so much, it just got moved from it's original pedestal in the yard (a tree stump art/bench thing) to a table right by the front door. On another note, I just got my first online tree in the mail yesterday. You'all raved so much about Diana at Topiary Gardens that I could resist the online temptation no longer. I bought a cute little Oki kasme from her. I'm thrilled with her packaging and accessibility after the sale. And I no sooner get this "last purchase of the year" than I'm drooling over other cultivars on the internet. I must be sick. And apparently I'm infectious because my poor hapless friend just bought two JM's for which she hadn't planned and is now talking about a road trip down to the nursery from where I got my last batch. LOL And a clarification, I don't dislike Japanese Gardens. I dislike sterotypical Japanese ornaments or the invasive species bamboo in my own gardens. My point was that Japanese Gardens and Japanese Maple Gardens are not synonymous. Actually I recently read Ortho's All About Creating Japanese Gardens and it really got me thinking about how to apply some underlying principles in my own gardens. I'm particularly excited about "borrowed scenery", "forced diminishing perspective", and "asymmetrical balance". And most of all, I really resonate to the idea that a true Japanese Garden is a sacred place. According to Ortho, "A primary purpose of Japanese gardens it to create a place apart, a sanctuary, a setting removed from the everyday world." IMHO, the best gardens or natural spots have a beauty that catches your attention and touches your spirit. For me, they are places where I feel stillness and appreciation enter my heart.
This is the "magic" that -I think- all of us are looking for in our gardens. And for me, none other tree have been able to awake this feeling.
I very much have enjoyed this discussion. Like Kaitan, I don't worry too much about trying to conform to any particular design principle Japanese or otherwise. At the same time, I don't wan't my garden to look like my mom's house. You see, I got my collecting bug from Mom. Her obsession is these figurines from a particular period. She probably has a thousand of them. As a fellow collector, I completely understand, but her place frankly looks a little bizarre with little cherubs poking out over every nook and cranny. I don't want my garden to look like pet hoarder of japanese maples. I try and soften the look of course with companion plants and have one basic criteria for new plants: I need to be able to readily identify and appreciate the difference between a potential plant and my current selections. So, I have strayed away from typical green and red leaf dissectums, because their subleties often escape me. I don't worry about the consumerism/man made aspect of this as there are far far worse things that I could be spending my time and money on, and its not as if this is some invasive groundcover that I am introducing to the midwest. At the end of the day, this is my private little oasis.
one other thing. While I don't really consider these cultivars be man made (maybe man/woman assisted? :), I do draw the line with these: http://japanesemaple.net/herteroriginalmaples1.htm
That creeps me out. But I'm sure someone, maybe even many someones, will love it. Did you know there is a Japanese Gardening section if this forum? I'm going to start a thread there so we can talk about our own definitions of Japanese Gardening and how Japanese techniques can be helpful even in a non-stereotypical Japanese garden. http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=46480 BTW, Paxi, I know exactly what you mean about not wanting your yard to look like your mother's house. Mine doesn't just collect one thing. Nor does my husband. So while I want as many JM's as my yard can beautifully handle, I'm a bit nervous about how to get there. I really like the Ortho book. It was good for me because it was a nice simple little primer with easy ideas that sparked ideas of my own.
LOL There is a minefield if ever I saw one :) The Ortho book you refer to is a really brilliant little book If you can get a copy of a book by Maggie Oster 'Japanese Garden Style' you will learn more than you will from any one other source Unfortunately it has been out of print for some time It may well be available from your library ....
OK, that double-grafted thing is just disgusting!! Sorry, but it reminds me of those cheap-o nursery ads in the Sunday newspaper touting "Five kinds of apples on ONE TREE!!". The saving grace for me in all this is that I want to collect just about every plant in existance, so I collect hostas, conifers, daffodils, maples, heucheras, succulents, mosses and I'm starting in on ferns. I don't think my gardens will ever become a one-note. Oh yes, let's not forget my obsession with ROCKS! LOL!
