Hello! This is my first post to this forum. I am relatively new to bonsai, and I have become interested in this discipline somewhat by accident.

Last year I began trimming a juniper that was in the back of my yard. I planted two nursery stock junipers in 2005 when we moved into this new home, which backs up to a golf course. The goal was to create some sense of a border to help golfers respect the boundaries between the course and private property.

So, in 2021, after 16 years of growth, i decided to trim one of these junipers as it was huge and had some die-off from shading of inner branches. I was able to clean up the juniper, but trying to shape it was a disaster. The end result looked like a giant lopsided cloud! I basically left it alone and ignored it until this year, when i tried to give it some edgy shaping (removing the cloud) and in that process, when cleaning up some branches, I exposed the once completely-hidden trunk. Looking back, I realized, wow, it looks a bit like a bonsai tree.

That kicked off a bunch of research on bonsai over the past 3 months! I have been able to find a local bonsai store, join a bonsai club, attend one workshop, and also attend a show at a botanical garden, which presented dozens of trees and also had many glorious trees as part of its permanent display, including one with the estimated age of 800-1000 years! I've also acquired 3 small project trees, plus 3 trees in pots (2 jade, 1 Ficus).

Anyway, I styled juniper #1 into a cascade influenced design. It is not a perfect bonsai, as it breaks many rules (specifically with low branches and crossing branches in some views), but despite removing 75% of the foliage, it is still large, and remains a big hedge, its main role.

I am going to attach pics of this one, as well as juniper #2, as I want to take a more "pure" approach to this tree. It is smaller than juniper #1 and may be more amenable to a traditional bonsai. I will post pictures soon.

Given that I am in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area, fall is upon us. I am unsure if such a major cutting (and it WILL be major) is wise prior to the advent of cold weather. I'm also would appreciate design input on what to keep and how to style this tree.

One pic of Tree #1, and 3 pics of future project tree #2...