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Michel · 02-24-2010, 08:23 AM

Hi,

I promised You guys the account of a bonsai with
a really moving story about it; here it is.

Juniperus Communis

Escalles – Cap Blanc Nez – Pas de Calais – France

1944: During the liberation of northern France,
a bomb fell next to a small beach house situated
beyond a high dune, dominating the landscape.
The bomb wasn’t intended to hit that house,
but one of the bunkers next to it.
Anyway, the roof went and the brick walls were rubbled.
Some time later on, a seed falls into a crack of one of
the remains of a wall, starting its own lonely battle
against the odds, with the salty air and the in this
case “extremely poor soil”.

Early 1989: During a big cleanup of some final remainders of the war,
the last remains of the house are completely blown up. A small juniper
with a stunted growth, flies off through the air,
desperately clinging to its few bricks foothold,
but manages to survive both the violent take off as well
as the bumpy landing, several dozens of meters further out . . .
A few weeks later it is discovered by a keen eyed Belgian
amateur bonsaiist, and makes its journey to Antwerpen.

In 1995 it is wired for the first time and trained
into a multiple trunk, and since it is obviously loving
its unique foothold, it is allowed to keep it.

This is the story told to me by the collector
– and the actual owner – himself: a good friend in Bonsai,
Mr. Huub Behets, chairman of the Vlaamse Bonsai Vereniging
(Flemish Bonsai Society).
According to him, he pieced together the first part (in bold italic)
as an educated guess, but it won’t be far besides the truth;
The rest is KNOWN to be real.

Huub also told me that he regretted finding only this recent pic,
showing the tree being far away from former glory and beauty,
even somewhat tattered right now as it suffered from a Juniper
moth attack in 2008.
As Huub and his family were on summer holiday at the time,
the infestation wasn’t detected straight off and took the
opportunity to really damage the plant.
Since then, the only concern has been to nurse the plant into
full health again. Soon Huub can start restoring it to its former glory,
which it held a few years ago when I first saw it on a prestigious
exhibit, and learnt about its moving, touching history.

02-24-2010, 08:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
Michel Experienced beginner Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Antwerpen, Belgium Posts: 119	D-day bonsai Hi, I promised You guys the account of a bonsai with a really moving story about it; here it is. Juniperus Communis Escalles – Cap Blanc Nez – Pas de Calais – France 1944: During the liberation of northern France, a bomb fell next to a small beach house situated beyond a high dune, dominating the landscape. The bomb wasn’t intended to hit that house, but one of the bunkers next to it. Anyway, the roof went and the brick walls were rubbled. Some time later on, a seed falls into a crack of one of the remains of a wall, starting its own lonely battle against the odds, with the salty air and the in this case “extremely poor soil”. Early 1989: During a big cleanup of some final remainders of the war, the last remains of the house are completely blown up. A small juniper with a stunted growth, flies off through the air, desperately clinging to its few bricks foothold, but manages to survive both the violent take off as well as the bumpy landing, several dozens of meters further out . . . A few weeks later it is discovered by a keen eyed Belgian amateur bonsaiist, and makes its journey to Antwerpen. In 1995 it is wired for the first time and trained into a multiple trunk, and since it is obviously loving its unique foothold, it is allowed to keep it. This is the story told to me by the collector – and the actual owner – himself: a good friend in Bonsai, Mr. Huub Behets, chairman of the Vlaamse Bonsai Vereniging (Flemish Bonsai Society). According to him, he pieced together the first part (in bold italic) as an educated guess, but it won’t be far besides the truth; The rest is KNOWN to be real. Huub also told me that he regretted finding only this recent pic, showing the tree being far away from former glory and beauty, even somewhat tattered right now as it suffered from a Juniper moth attack in 2008. As Huub and his family were on summer holiday at the time, the infestation wasn’t detected straight off and took the opportunity to really damage the plant. Since then, the only concern has been to nurse the plant into full health again. Soon Huub can start restoring it to its former glory, which it held a few years ago when I first saw it on a prestigious exhibit, and learnt about its moving, touching history. __________________ Greetz, Michel Last edited by Michel; 02-27-2010 at 04:27 AM..