During the 2006 MABA Symposium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I had the pleasure of working with Joe Herbert. Joe is a talented bonsai lover who took the Ficus microcarpa 'Tigerbark' and shaped it into a sprout style grouping. During the limited time of the workshop Joe styled out the tree retaining most of the low sprouts to form a group planting, removing unnecessary branches and wiring the key branches to shape.

At home he spent many more hours completing the detailed wiring as well as selecting a blue oval pot to complement the tree. Fine gravel was used to give the illusion of the tree growing near a lake or ocean and thus completing the scene. Joe is undecided as to whether to add stones to the beach to further amplify the waterside illusion but he does like calling the composition "Island Breeze".

Ficus microcarpa settled into its blue oval pot, 2006.