THE ULTIMATE PRIVET STORY

[joe cervantes]

Beautiful tree. Those privets love you for sure. Great story.Keep the pics coming! Thanks , Joe

[anttal63]

would great to see you posting back here dave ! we miss ya great trees and your humour.

[kcpoole]

would great to see you posting back here dave ! we miss ya great trees and your humour.

I think Dave got the sh%&s and left. He did not like people discussing his trees

[Willows _FUD]

would great to see you posting back here dave ! we miss ya great trees and your humour.

I think Dave got the sh%&s and left. He did not like people discussing his trees

I have only noticed this thread and you could even use a simple practice we put into our own Bonsai, which we do need to remember that we put alot of time, effort and soul into these living trees. When we struggle at first to see something, what's often required is to step back, walk around a little and view it from a different angle, then the bigger picture becomes clear.

Maybe the initial term that was said in the critique, "Topiary", could have been taken at its most negative, when you put alot of effort into something that obviously means so much, why wouldn't you take it personally. Maybe the old saying that, "What doesn't kill us can only make us stronger", look at it from a different angle and you can see it in different light.

Would we dare accuse a beautiful Broom Zelkova in Summer with full foiliage of being "Topiary", considering its just a ball, when done correct ?





and with 3 nice air-layerings with this "Topiary" you could have 3 quick and easy "Broom" Styled trees, of course that is just wrong, but some might see it differently (which is my point)



I am not trying to create dissenture amongst ranks, but merely add another perspective to what it seems a fairly contested debate.

The Privets that have been posted by dave, all i can say is that I am very envious, but it's certainly something that will inspire me to learn more and develop my skills in this wonderful passion we all share. I might have to track him down to get a copy of his book as it was a great read that story of his privet, adds more character to it where its already in abundance.

Cheers

FUD

[kcpoole]

Don't quite know what to say FUD, But Topiary is not Bonsai and to me will never be

re Your examples,
the Zelcova I do not like with the pointy top. A broom should be a nice even rounded canopy, and not something 1/2 way between and triangle and a round canopy. I do not think this one is topiary, just not a true Broom.

The next one, The branches do not all originate for the same point on the trunk, so cannot qualify as a broom, lacks ramification and leaf density to be a good display at the time the photo was shown. all the branches should be the same lenght and widest point of the tree shodu be the lowest branches, In the one shown, the bottom branches are too short, making it look like a ball on a stick.

The 3 pompoms on a stick, do not qualify as Broom for the same reasons above, but are moreso a ball than a broom. They all have a branch starting from Below the foliage line and look like a round ball

Do you have and issue with people discussing your trees? If so then I woudl not post them in a public forum.

My comments about discussing Daves trees were specific to his complaints about the members here discussing his trees he had for sale. He took issue with this as he ( I can only assume) wanted to just post the trees for sale and have every one ohh and ahh over them and raise the price, ( or justify his ( to many) elevated prices). When some comments were less than favourable, he got on his high horse a rode off!

there have been many discussions here about when and where it is OK do discuss and dissect a tree. Whether they be here, in a Formal display, or onsale at a nursery.

Personally If i post a tree here in this forum, then I expect truthful opinions and thoughts on it. that way we can all learn

Ken

[sreeve]

1 For sure Dave is passionate and has his opinions .....as do others on here.
2. Thankfully we now have rules in place where a tree cannot be critiqued when it is up for sale.
3. This medium (internet) can be pretty tough sometimes. It can never be as personal as being face to face and perhaps misunderstandings can develop.

As the old saying goes - Ït takes two to tango"

I class myself a friend of Dave's as I do a number of others on the forum. I dont always agree with him, or others and for sure people dont always agree with me.

Putting that aside, I also wish you were posting here again Dave.

Regards
Steve

[Dave54]

Hi guys.
surprised to see this thread revitalized after all this time.
I appreciate those who have commented positively and actually miss my writings.
Without getting into a slanging match with those who have the physic powers to know why I no longer write in this forum. I will just set the record straight.
Firstly, I did have a strong view that there should be no critique on material that was for sale in the "marketplace". I believe that a price is determined by the seller and the value is determined by the buyer. If the price is too expensive the product will not sell. Obviously our forum administrators agreed about critique, as this is now a rule in "marketplace".
EVERY purchaser of my material gave positive personal feedback to me regarding product and packaging. The personal "moneyback guarantee" for satisfaction has NEVER been taken up and many of my purchasers are repeat customers.
I was selling all my excess material before this forum began, with buyers seeking me out to buy and I am still selling outside of this forum thank you Ken.
To those who thought my stuff was overpriced, maybe you didn't have the vision for design and after all, nobody got forced to buy.
As far as me not liking my trees being discussed....ABSOLUTE GARBAGE !!
If you look through my postings, some trees I have totally redesigned as a result of good critique from enthusiasts who know what they are talking about.
I don't know of anyone else who puts his trees "Out There", more than me.
I do Bonsai for my own pleasure and sure it's nice if someone likes your work, but I don't really care.
During my time participating in this forum, I would like to think I shared whatever experience and bonsai knowledge I had.
Unfortunately, I choose to no longer belong to clubs because of politics and pointscoring.
Like quite a few enthusiasts before me, I have chosen to move on from this forum for the same reasons, which is a shame, because Steven has set a forum which could be a real asset to bonsai in this country.
To all the newcomers to bonsai, judge the experts by their trees, not their words
cheers
Dave

[Heshian]

Hi Dave,

I think your tree is awesome despite what others may think. I don't have anything as big as that and I love your story telling coming from a tree's perspective. Great work and well done to you.

Cheers

Mario

[Greth]

Actually, I judge experts by their words not their trees. Any rich idiot can buy a good tree, and I don't have any time for an 'expert' who doesn't care to be helpful and encouraging. If you want to encourage the hobby, the best thing to do is to make it a kind and friendly learning experience for the novice. I have a lot of collected trees, only one which is now after 3 years approaching anything like a bonsai, let alone a good one, that will take another 10 years. In the meanwhile I read and learn and hope for the lottery win which will give my collection a boost!

[anttal63]

nice one dave.

[bodhidharma]

Dave, thanks for the response. Glad you found it in yourself to explain your side as there is always two sides to the story.