I built this wind break/deer fence/ Bonsai display garden. I feel the urge to want to maximize the space to fit as many trees as possible, even though that’s not the objective of this space. With that said would you all do about 9-11 monkey poles with a shelf off the wall? The black brackets are already there just above where the current stone line is. Would this be too cluttered along with the monkey poles? Also I realized after the shelf height is terrible being at the back of everything unless the shelf was purely functional for the smaller trees still in development?
16ft by about 8 feet wide at the narrowest , the direction of the path is going to be adjusted. To encourage children and pets away from the trees at full speed!
Any input would be great!
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I think you really need to hone in on what you are trying to accomplish? Is this about showing all your trees or your very best trees? When displaying the negative space (between your trees) is almost as important as the trees as this will help frame them. But a more densely packed aesthetic could give more of an appearance of a forest? If you are using monkey poles will the shelf behind them effect this negative space? Are you planning on having equal spaces and the same heights for the monkey poles or something more organic with different spaces and heights. Would different heights allow you to maximise the use of the area whilst still keeping negative spaces?
Sorry, more questions than answers but these are some of the things I am thinking about whilst trying to plan an area on my garden to display my bonsai.
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As it is more functional, in that case pack them in! The main consideration is to leave enough space in between trees to allow air to circulate to reduce risk of disease and pests and to ensure that branches are not shaded out. I have made the mistake before of packing trees on a bench too closely and losing most of the branches on the back of a Mugo pine because I did not rotate the tree and the back cannot have been getting enough light.
Considering that most bonsai nurseries stack their trees pretty closely on the benches it should not need to be too much space unless something in your local environment demanded it.
I have seen some of your prebonsai on the forum such as the big maple and loblolly pine and if they are all that size you get fewer in but if it is a mix of sizes then you might need some variety of spacing or consider having alternating heights of your posts to allow for more trees in the area and still having some air space between them.
9-11 sounds reasonable as that allows around 1 post per 2feet which seems like a good figure.
Thank you for the inputs these are all great. I am thinking that over time I will display my “top 9” in this area. This is what I am leaning towards with a little more variation of height. I figured I can add the shelf and it would be easy enough to remove…when I get closer to having 9 trees worth displaying. Sort of like the carrot to keep me improving my skills and trees!
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