This Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) is going to stay put right where it is. Photo by Andy Smith, from the home page on Andy’s Golden Arrow Bonsai.
Andy Smith
Andy Smith is a bonsai artist and professional woodsman who specializes in collecting trees from nature. Though I’ve only met Andy once, and have never been collecting with him, I can say with some degree of certainty, that Andy knows what he’s doing when it comes to collecting and caring for yamadori. If you would like to learn how to collect the right way, check out Andy’s DVD, How to Collect Wild Trees. Andy also has a DVD on styling collected trees that’s entitled Finding the Bonsai Within, Ponderosa Pine Wiring Techniques, Working with Difficult Trees. Andy lives in Deadwood South Dakota.
What’s in a name?
If you were going to specialize in collecting bonsai from nature (yamadori) what better address to have on your masthead than Deadwood, South Dakota?
This is one of Andy’s all-time favorite pines. Estimated age 250 to 300 years old. From Golden Arrow Bonsai.
ANDY IS A LUCKY GUY TO BE IN AN AREA WHERE HE CAN COLLECT COOL , CONTORTED TREES WITHOUT RETRIBUTION.WE CAN’T REALLY DO THAT IN KENTUCKY;THERE ISN’T THAT KIND OF MATERIAL AVAILABLE. NATURE DID THE ARTWORK AND HE HAS TO KEEP THEM ALIVE……………YOU CAN’T FOOL MOTHER NATURE CAN YOU ?
LEE SQUIRES
Same here in Connecticut…The climate is such that trees don’t live that long (they end up sick or roting and dying young…). Only weeds thrive around here.
RG and Lee,
Yeah. Collecting back east (Kentucky included) can be a little disappointing. There are very few old naturally dwarfed trees that are relatively easy to get to. My solution is to collect trees that are still young but have some potential and then field grow them (see previous posts on field growing ). Larches and Cedars (Thuja) are good for around here, though I am experimenting with several other varieties. Nick Lenz is an east coast collector and his book Bonsai from the Wild opens up a range of possibilities.
Since so many of us can’t collect material anything like what Andy does, we just have to go to a show where Andy is selling his raw material and doing workshops or demos. One such show is the 2010 Mid-American Bonsai Alliance (MABA) Show in June of next year, at Grand Rapids Michigan. Check out http://www.wmbonsai.com for details.
After reading your artical,I am not sure which tree ia about 250-300 years old.
It should be the pine right above the caption that say 250-300 years old. Maybe it came out distorted on your computer?
Do you mean the photo rifgt above the caption “This is one of Andy’s all-time favorite pines. Estimated age 250 to 300 years old”?
You only tell me the large photo or small one,thank you.
It’s the small photo.