Midland brooms

I'm travelling a lot with work at the moment. Mostly on trains - but also a few months of flights - if I look back its been since April last year that I've been on the road. One of the few comforts over the last month or two is the early morning views out over the midlands as I make my way up Birmingham. I sit on my train and watch the morning over the midlands and have my first coffee.

These aren’t great pictures - just an impression of the oaks in between the fields. Over the last month I’ve been watching their silhouettes darken as the buds swell.

These are the trees I see and enjoy and I feel that they should be a strong influence I’m what I am growing as bonsai.

To be fair these first 2 are near Durham. I enjoyed them on my evening walks from my cheap hotel. Their internal branch structure is very different - but they are both still brooms of a sort.

I am preparing a number( 4 oaks + 3 hawthorns + 2 beech ) of pre-bonsai trees over the coming weeks. The Oaks will have to be brooms.

The best Oaks have a distinctive squiggle in their branch structure that I want to capture. Some of the features I want to capture will dictate the size I grow for and how I try to move sap around. This will give me plenty to ponder as I travel tomorrow.