I've spent a good portion of the past six weeks with Dombrovski and have no idea where to begin describing the experience. Alas, I will try...
I started in October with basic bonsai knowledge and skills, a good set of tools and an open mind. The plan was to assist Dombrovski through fall re-potting and winterization of his exquisite collection of roughly 150 trees, some of which have been training almost 40 years.
On the very first day, Dombrovski sat me down with a hinoki cypress in a plastic pot, told me to have at it. It felt like one of those expository writing assignments college professors use to determine the skill level of new students. It took me about an hour and a half to wire the tree and prune it out to make it look like something resembling bonsai.
"That is 100% 'by the book' - so, you know what you're doing, that's good..." was teacher's comment. Pretty proud of that. Next thing you know I had re-potted half a dozen crab apples and was being invited to assist at the upcoming Bonsai exhibit at Longwood Gardens. Of course, I would have to join the Brandywine Bonsai Society, and by the way Ron Lang was giving a lecture on pot selection at the next meeting...
I was qualified to become the man's student. Rock on.
Over the next several weeks, we re-potted, pruned, wired and mossed dozens of trees. The secrets of soil composition, root maintenance, branch development and ramification were revealed to me. These were and are as a series of puzzle pieces I needed to assemble for myself with a good memory and thoughtful interpolation. I studied the meticulous records and notes he kept, which documented his daily practice of bonsai over the past 10 years. We discussed and debated the particular merits and criticisms of the masters; Yoshimura, Kimura, Murata, Naka, Pall, Lenz (arguably), etc. We shopped for pots, went "yamadori hunting" and did our best to capture some fall foliage on film. We made plans for spring.
And yet, we have only scratched the surface...and I fully intend to continue learning everything I can from this particular man's interpretation of bonsai, which I find expert, distinct and uniquely sensitive ~ all these to a degree I have not yet seen matched in the Mid-Atlantic region.
