After. European spruce (aka Norway spruce - Picea abies) by Mother Nature with Walter Pall

Welcome to Bark post number five thousand on Walter Pall's bonsai (wildly exaggerated to make a point about just how prolific Walter is). But even at a more realistic five dozen or so, what we show of Walter's bonsai is just a tiny sampling of what he has put up almost daily for years

This one, which was collected in Italy in 1992, is part of a string of European spruce that Walter is currently featuring. All are dynamic old yamadori in his signature naturalistic style 

Before and after

Before before. Looks innocent enough. The larger spruce behind might make you wonder why this one grew so low and wide. I suppose being in the open has some part in it and maybe it's sitting on ledge with only a thin layer of soil, causing the roots and then the top to spread. You might notice the larch it seems to be embracing. To the best of my knowledge there is only one species of larch in Western Europe, which is appropriately called European larch (Larix decidua)

We don't want to spoil all Walter's surprises so we'll skip ahead. You can visit his timeline for more photos

I cropped this one for a closer look at the trunk and other details. Apologies for the fuzz