For claypa

This one's for you-

Magnificent! Thank you, I love azaleas

The above work of art was titled "Roan Mountain". It was my favorite of all I photographed. You hit the Rhodo on the head, it's Zakura Azalea (Rhodendron kiusianum 'Zakura'). The other plants in the arrangement are Shimpaku Juniper (Juniperus chinensis var. shimpaku). Pretty awesome I'd say.

Here's another one for you which was untitled but the plants are Hinoki Falsecypress (Chamacyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis') and Chinzan Azalea (Rhododenron 'Chinzan')-

That is magnificent.

Beth

European Beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Titled "Seasonal Interest Planter"

Coralbells Azalea (Rhododendron 'Coralbells)
Kingsville Boxwood (Buxus microphylla 'Kingsville')
Cotoneaster cv. cotoneaster

Japanese White Pine (Pinus parviflora)

Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

Procumbens Juniper (Juniperus chinensis var. procumbens)

Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)

Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii)

Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis)

Korean Hornbeam (Carpinus turczaninovii)

American Barberry (Berberis canadensis)

Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis)

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

Invasive Amur Maple (Acer ginnala)

Dwarf Spruce (Picea glauca 'Jean's Dilly'), Dwarf Wooly Yarrow (Achillea tomentosum 'King Edward), Creeping Thyme (Thymus praecox 'Coccineus'), Blue Star Creeper (Pratia pedunculata), and Creeping Loosestrife (Lysimachia spp.)

Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum)

Hinoki Falsecypress (Chamacyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis')

Persian Parrotia (Parrotia persica)

Swiss Mountain Pine (Pinus mugo)

Titled "River Of Dreams"

Christmas Cheer Azalea (Rhododenron 'Christmas Cheer'), Azalea?, Kingsville Boxwood (Buxus microphylla 'Kingsville')

Cutleaf Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum var. dissectum atropurpureum)

All of the preceding Bonsai specimens were photographed at the NC Arboretum.

http://www.ncarboretum.org/

WOW. I'm going not too far away next spring, guess I'll have to make time for a side trip!
I love the dwarf spruce with the dead tree. Looking at the web site, the idea behind some of the collection is to represent the southern Appalachians. They're succeeding, IMO.

I never truly acquired a taste for Bonsai UNTIL I visited the NC Arboretum. I think someday I might like to try one. I think I'd like to start with a Pine of some sort. I wonder how many years it takes to create a work of art such as the very first image I posted? 10? 20?

I could believe that. I don't think it's as old as some of the pines, which might have been collected wild plants to start. Junipers are popular first plants for bonsai

Ouch, I don't like wild collecting anything. Pine can be easy enough to start from seed or I could go online and maybe buy a baby something or other. I really do think I'd like to try one of these. I don't necessarily think I'd like to try pruning my baby though but I suppose that will come with the territory.

That Limber Pine looks and feels to me as if it has some age on it. I wonder just how old that is. I'm betting it is considerably older than 20 years.

Oh, definitely, some of those pines are quite old. The azaleas and junipers probably grow faster. Hopefully someone who knows more about this will chime in....There are responsibly collected wild plants, say where a new shopping center is being built, NOT in a National Park on the shore or some place like that! It can be a 'salvage' instead of pillaging. I know of a guy in Maryland whose G. Shephard captures box turtles...he takes the dog to new developments and collects turtles and releases them elsewhere, before they would be paved over. It can work the same with plants, although I do know a few horror stories about ancient huckleberries 'collected' for landscaping someone's house

I'm a member of Wild Ones. They regularly organize plant rescues and procure written permission from the landowners to collect. The material is gathered up and relocated. Generally to locations where a restoration is in progress to attempt to preserve local genotype but sometimes volunteers take them home. I don't though. Not because I couldn't but more so because by the time one is finished working a plant rescue... the last thing in the world one wants to see is a plant from the site where one just worked for on and off for the entire day. Sounds sort of silly but most volunteers don't want any fruits of their labor going home with them.

A dog that grabs turtles! What fun. My new Great Dane grabbed a baby bunny and brought it in the house inside his mouth recently. Bunnies are common but I still don't want them in the house.