Companion plant choice

HB Smith

I was wondering other's opinions on the choice of companion plant in a formal display. More specifically, a club member (brilliant guy that leads trips to the Amazon on an annual basis and is never at a loss to come up with the scientific name for whatever crosses his path) mentioned quite adamantly that he thought it a faux pas to pick a companion in the display that does not naturally grow with the primary tree. His example was "do not display a juniper with a violet". I am usually pretty picky about displays, and things like size, shape, color, season, texture make a big difference to me, but the origin of the companion doesn't rank high on my list of specifics. Input anybody?

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Howard

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Carl_Bergstrom

Hi Howard,

Interesting question. I'm certainly no expert at formal display, so I don't know what my opinion is worth - but I'll offer it anyway to keep the discussion rolling.

My current feeling is probably quite similar to yours - one is trying to create an artistically coherent display. To that end, displaying a high-mountain tree with a marshland accent would usually be a bad idea. Similarly, an old field oak might be better displayed with lowland plants than with mountain wildflowers or grasses.

So I want my tree and accent planting to create a coherent image, and make it easy for the viewer to establish a sense of place. I'm less concerned about actual geographic happenstance of species. I don't mind showing a Japanese mountain tree with a North American mountain grass, or visa versa. There I am simply am creating worlds that aren't but easily could have been - as opposed to the pairs described in the previous paragraph, that both aren't and could not have been.

All of this is more directed to three-point display. In a multi-level shohin display, as you know, one often shows a range of habitats - a mountain juniper on the top level; a spreading maple below, for example. There I am less certain about what restrictions are appropriate to place on the accent.

Best regards,
Carl

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Attila

Hi Howard,

This is a very, very interesting question, since it cuts to the core of what a bonsai display is about.

If I was only concerned about the visual impact, I wouldn't give a hoot about where the accent is coming from. I would only care that the tree and the accent complement each other and not clash (no flowering accent with flowering tree, size of accent, direction, etc.)

But I believe that bonsai and the arts in general is more than just visual delight. It is also about education and a sense of connection with the world around us. If this wasn't the case, the history of painting would be full of blatant inaccuracies and misrepresentations and nobody would care because the work in question "has harmony and good design", and "pleases the eye".

(Halfway through my response I sense that I am in trouble)

I was strongly for geographical accuracy in display, but then I realized that I would have no problem seing a mondo grass accent with an oak tree, which I am sure would violate geographical accuracy with most of the oak species displayed.

So I have to revert to Carl's compromising approach, which is going with the type of environment instead of replicating a specific ecosystem. Categories such as mountain, plain, desert, tropical, coastal or tundra would suffice to maitain informational integrity.

However, I still believe that a display showing species living side by side maintains the highest standard of integrity an we should all strive to learn about nature and geography to apply this standard.

Regards,
Attila

Attila

As a second thought, there is a more powerful side of paying attention to the origin of the companion: evocative power.

For example:

I love beech and beech forests, I grew up close to one.
Seing a Spring display of beech with the new green foliage and a freshly blooming Lilly of the Valley accent would bring back the memories of that forest and the impact on me would be far more powerful than using Blood-grass as accent, although I don't discount the beauty of Blood-grass.

The first display would make me fall in love with bonsai. The second one would be pretty enough to come back again.

Another one:

Displaying a California juniper for the California audience. A display using a little scrawny Sage brush or a tiny Scrub oak as accent would evoke the feel of the Southern California desert and touch the Californian nature lover in a way another foreign plant could hardly match.

If being evocative is the goal, the effect of combining plants from the same geographical environment can be very powerful. Instead of a polite "nice tree" or "very exotic", the viewer would respond with emotional envolvement and a sense of communion with nature.

TreeBay

Now I am at a loss with what accents to display with my Dawn Redwood, a plant thought to be extinct until 1941. Maybe a stuffed Dodo bird and a scroll made of some Webvan stock certificates I have lying around?



Regards,

Matt

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bonsaial1

Originally posted by Attila, et al.


How about the viewer. Should we take this into account in the display? Would the intended viewer know if they are a species that grow together or come from the same geographical location. I think bloodgrass is fairly widely distributed on this planet, and may be one of those type plants that is hard to pin down as to exactly where its place of origin is.

In the example givin above for the Ca. juniper, what if the small oak was a coast cork oak? Would that qualify as a tree in a near geographical location as compared to the scrub oak which may grow a few feet from it as compared to 200 miles? Would most viewers be able to discern the difference?

Nice topic, Al

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Will_Heath

Matt I have the same problem with my Wollemia nobilis I recently solved the problem with a fen ragwort, Senecio paludosus accent plant.

Seriously,

Keeping habitats in mind is a good guide, but also overall appearance should be considered. In example a bent, twisted, shari covered pine would look a little out of place with a very healthy flowering accent. Or would it?

Save the world, grow a bonsai!


Will

mike_p

In classic tokonoma 3 point display, the season is the most important consideration. You wouldn't have a spring flower accent in an Autumn or Winter display. Also, the scroll should compliment the season. If it's a calligraphy scroll, what it says should compliment, not contradict the other elements. If you are using a picture scroll, a young bird on a branch with new buds wouldn't compliment a winter silhouette bonsai and a dry grass accent.
If you get the seasonal elements right, then maybe you can worry about geography.
For those that want to study display, BONSAI KUSAMONO SUISEKI by Willi Benz is a good start.
Also, if you can find them, the video tapes KEI DO, The Way of Display And Appreciation are excellent. Bill Valavanis used to sell them. Maybe he still does. I bought mine several years ago and don't know about availability now.

Mike

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