A slice of John Pitt’s backyard. Nice fence and simple plank on concrete block benches.
Continuing a Bark tradition
This our 11th Backyard Bonsai post. The first was Wolfgang Putz’ way back in May 2009. Aside from their voyeuristic value, I think these posts might serve as useful examples, or even inspiration for the rest of us. If you’ve been inspired to put together your own backyard display, we’d like to see photos if you get a chance.
Mr. Pitt
John Pitt is an award winning bonsai potter and bonsai artist who lives in Derbyshire, England. In addition to his own bonsai, John’s pots can be found holding some of the best trees in the world.
A bigger slice.
Individual stands of concrete block and simple boards (or tiles?). Looks like some pretty decent trees too.
The bonsai displays are part of a landscape that combines Asian and Western features.
Another of John’s varied, but related bench types features some colorful companion plants. I guess you could call this bench a cantilevered pedestal.
An old wooden beam supported by bricks. Yet another bench type.
Single pedestal stands of varying heights constructed with white and red bricks that sit on shallow concrete blocks. At a glance, the tops look like boards, though I suspect that they might be tiles.
A small sampling of John’s pots. You can see more on facebook, or on John’s website.
Speaking of backyard benches, have you seen Bonsai: Your Guide to Creating Stands and Benches by George Buehler?
Our warehouse is closed for vacation until July 12th. Orders received this week will be shipped next week.
That’s a sweet setup and has me thinking about setting up something similar in my yard.
As someone who grew up in earthquake-prone Southern California, I always look at bonsai benches through seismic filters. When I see stacked blocks, I consider that these bonsai benches should have rebar or other kinds of reinforcement to keep them from simply toppling under the influence of a 5.5-magnitude or so temblor. I also think it would be wise for benches and stands to have a small lip to discourage trees from falling off the edge during a quake, although if the quake were strong enough the trees would fly off unless tied down.
My very thoughts as well, Al. Here on the big island it would all be coming down.
Hey Al,
Good point. We don’t get many earthquakes here in Vermont (cold and a related short growing season are our big issues), but I guess you’ll are perched on the edge of the ‘ring of fire.’