The inspiration for this planting is a scene from Pear Lake in the high country above Sequoia National Park.  The setting is a granite dome in the middle of the lake that has a stand of lodgepole pines growing on it.  I first obtained the two main trees in 1980.  They were growing in metal nursery cans.  I planted a forest with the two main trees and five others in a bonsai container.  In the early 1980s, I collected the granite slab on a trip to collect suiseki, and rearranged the trees into this final composition on the slab in 1990. One thing that makes this planting unique is the proportion.  I've maintained very tight foliage pads with delicate twigging throughout its life, so as to keep the very tall, slender trunks highlighted as the main feature.

Chinese Juniper / Juniperus chinensis ‘Foemina’

Estimated Age: 70 years old
Time in Training: 35 years
Origin: nursery stock
Container: Granite Slab collected from the Mojave Desert
Stand: Black Lacquered Board