Australia’s National Bonsai Convention wrapped up this past weekend. Here’s an overview of the event, a selection of trees from the show, and a few notes from my trip up north to Queensland.
The view flying into Canberra, the capitol, where the convention took place.
This Australian native, Jelly Bush, Leptospermum polygalifolium, greeted visitors in the entry to the show.
A large White Kunzea, Kunzea ambigua
Atlas Cedar, Cedrus atlantica
Honey Myrtle, Melaleuca linariifolia
English Elm, Ulmus minor subsp. minor
Cork Oak, Quercus suber
Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum
Japanese Red Pine, Pinus densiflora
White Cypress Pine, Callitris glaucophylla
Saw Banksia, Banksia serrata
Blue Atlas Cedar, Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’
Chinese Juniper, German Ivy, Pomegranate, Satsuki Azalea ‘Rimpu’, Cotoneaster, Silver Birch
Three young stars of Australian bonsai: from left, Marcela Ferreira, Sam Thompson, and Jarryd Bailey. Jennifer Price joined me as out-of-country guests. A wonderful and impeccably organized convention!
Jennifer and I had our workshops here at the National Arboretum.
A pre-workshop walk led to a knoll of pines overlooking the city. The lake is man-made but looked natural. Beautiful planned city.
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Now let me backtrack a bit. Before the Canberra convention I took a trip north to Queensland and the Daintree rainforest, said to be, genetically, the oldest rainforest in the world (though another rainforest in Indonesia also claims this). Here are a few photos and notes from that trip.
Like most large-tree forests, a rainforest is impossible to photograph. Here the complexity is so vast and the layers of sub—middle—and upper vegetation zones so intense that you might be better off with a microscope. What struck me was how quiet it was. Which, when you think of foliage in suburban settings, the more trees and canopy it has, the quieter it is. There were animals and birds in there, but you only heard fairly close ones.
A tree kangaroo. An uncommon animal that forages in the trees. The rainforest is low on forage on the forest floor, and one kangaroo long ago, being a smart little tyke, just ran up a tree for lunch. When I saw this one I thought it was a monkey. Then I thought, wait a minute, they don’t have monkeys here…
Mangroves in Cairns, Queensland. Some of these are 50’ trees. And often (unlike this photo) there are many species of mangrove in one stand.
These are mangrove roots—snorkels of sorts—which bring in oxygen to the roots in the anaerobic soil. Reminds one of the “knees” of bald cypress.
In the wet forest edge by the mangroves, moray-eel roots that recall figs.
This one is right out of Jurassic Park—a Cassowary. The thing off the top of its head is a bony horn. It is a bird, which, when I saw one, is not entirely clear. It was crossing a road in the Daintree. Six cars had stopped, hazards flashing. I thought my heart had stopped. I had hoped to see one on my adventure up there, but these are endangered, and rare. They are also huge, about 5’-6’ tall, and are considered the world’s most dangerous bird, striking out with their big talons. I stayed in the car. But I was happy to tick this unexpected bird-monster off the life-list. Photo: tropicalnorthqueensland.org
This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on my visit to Australia. Part I is Visit with Jarryd Bailey in Tasmania, and I’ll wrap up with a photo essay on Australia’s National Bonsai and Penjing Museum.