Hi Everyone
A couple of weeks ago I found out that Scotland has a National collection of bonsai trees
The collection has a bit of a back story,I found out about it by search for Bonsai collections in Scotland.This is what I found.
"The collection is based around the "Graham trees" as they are known. Bill Graham, of Maybole in Ayrshire was a master butcher, and when he retired he concentrated on creating and collecting bonsai. Over nearly thirty years, he developed his knowledge and his collection of 300 trees, When Bill died in 1983, his widow donated the trees to the Local Authority Parks Department of Kyle and Carrick so that some them at least, could continue to be displayed at their Annual Flower Show."
A beautiful example of a Japanese white pine
"Eventually, Patrick Gibb, then principal organiser of the Show, passed the "Graham Trees" to the Scottish Bonsai Association in November 1984. Mrs Graham then legally gifted the tree to the Scottish Bonsai Association.
By 1986 it had been agreed that the trees would pass from the SBA to a Trust set up which was to become the National Collection. A group of members (some of the bonsai stalwarts on the committee were Craig Coussins, Ian Baillie, Hector Riddell and Jim Russell) set up the first ever National Collection of Bonsai in Britain. Those trees that could be saved, as some were in a poor state, were viewed by Peter Adams, a well-known Bonsai artist, to decide their development.
The Collection's first home was at Malleny Gardens in Balerno near Edinburgh. This arrangement was engineered by collaboration between the National Trust for Scotland and the National Collection. A display cage was built and the Collection was then displayed there from 1988 until 2000, when it was moved to Suntrap Gardens.
In 2011, due to the National Trust for Scotland and Oatridge College deciding to close Suntrap, the collection had to find a new home. The Trustees were delighted to accept the offer from Billy Carruthers of Binny Plants in West Lothian to home the Collection. It was rehoused in a new display cage, and is available for viewing at any time during Binny Plants opening hours."
Source of Information - http://www.scottishbonsai.org/page.cfm?page=12
The nursery ,known is Binnay Plants is a short drive from where I live on the East coast of Scotland.It took around 30 minutes to drive to this location in the countryside near Edinburgh to photograph this collection of historic Bonsai's.
Since they are housed in a glass display it was hard to get good shots but I did what I could to document these historic treasure trees.
When checking out this collection I couldn't help think of the character Mr Miyagi from the Karate Kid movies.
The red bark on this one is extraordinary.
I think this old Hinoki Cypress is the most impressive one in this collection.
The twisting trunk and branches are very impressive.
I hope you guys enjoyed checking out these shots of some historic little trees.