bonsai 30

I attended recently the NIBS 30 year anniversary exhibition in Belfast Botanic Gardens. I had every intention of carefully studying and photographing each tree in the show, but got side tracked so many times, chatting, discussing trees, browsing trees and pots etc. 

Before I knew it it was time to go. I came away with a little more knowledge about Bonsai and feeling determined to know more, but mainly humbled by the progress the NIBS have made over 30 years.   

sales areas

stephen's beautiful maple

ben's parthenocissus

phil's cascade pine

robert porch teaching...

much more here; http://www.nibonsai.co.uk/bonsai-30-exhibition/

Mark's Trees at Bonsai30 ; https://rustedrootbonsai.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/bonsai-30-my-trees/

Piotr's Trees at Bonsai30 ; https://twinsratbonsai.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/bonsai-30-next-weekend/

the burren, more images

Some phone camera images of the burren from last August...

bridges in west cork

the burren perfumery

A pleasant place to while away an afternoon...

phoenix, arizona

During my recent visit to the US, I attended my brother's wedding in Phoenix, Arizona. Our hotel was in Tempe, a university district and while the weather was quite hot, almost 30C, the early mornings were more comfortable for exploratory strolls round the area.

desert plants

shade sails over the vegetable beds

municipal offices of tempe, arizona

xeriscaping

wild west cactus, actually saguaro or Carnegiea gigantea

no boggy ground or bull rushes here...

three blacktail jackrabbit sculpture in tempe, the grass is rake but the water is real

tempe is a fairly pedestrian friendly area

at first i thought this was a modern sculpture, but its some sort of water pipe system

shade sails are everywhere in the phoenix area

stone cobbles in gabions used nicely to divide public / private space

major construction in tempe

notice all the solar panels on the roofs, there to power air-conditioning

arizona wildcats football stadium and car park, more solar panels

a beautiful mosque in tempe, looks like a scene from the middle east..

nice simple water fountain in a shady place

part of the shady garden 'under' the municipal buildings in tempe

more shade sails, i was studying these closely as i have to build something similar soon..

monster truck!

a rare thing in the US, public transport...

the oldest building in tempe, monti's restaurant, built in 1871

these trees were planted everywhere but i didn't find out what they were...

another public space with an emphasis on creating shade