A Simple Air-Layering Technique

This image is from Bonsai Today issue 48. The details are a little on the small side, so we’ll break it into pieces for you. Step 1. 4mm is almost exactly 5/32″ BTW: if you need a quality grafting knife…

Contest #6: Paint-by-Numbers!!??

The image that was in this space has been removed at the request of the artist. My apologies for any problems we’ve caused for the artist or anyone else. I picked this image up on Bunjin Journal. It’s a strange and wonderful site, with some parts just wonderful and some parts wonderfully strange. The image originally came from The Art of Bonsai Project. Be brave! You have one month. You can print and paint then scan it, or you can color using Illustrator. Or you can do something else. Anyway, just do it. Be brave! It’ll be fun and you … Continue reading Contest #6: Paint-by-Numbers!!??

Speaking of Kusamono & Companion Plants

An exquisite kusamono from our Japanese mystery book. Because I don’t read Japanese, I can’t say what the grass is (can you?), who the potter is, or even, what the name of the book is. However, I can say, with complete confidence, that the whole arrangement is beautiful. What does Kusamono mean? In his book Bonsai, Kusamono, Suiseki, Willi Benz says “Kusa = grass and Mono = object.” He goes on to say “If a Kusamono-Bonsai is the main object of a display, we use the term Kusamono. But if a Kusamono-Bonsai is used as an accent or complementary plant, … Continue reading Speaking of Kusamono & Companion Plants

Wendy Heller’s Bonsai & Companion Pots

One of Wendy Heller’s pots with a hen-and-chick type succulent that I dug up in my yard. Some very sweet little pots A couple years ago I worked with Wendy Heller on a publishing project. In the process, I had the good fortune of getting to know Wendy a bit (phone and email) and decided to purchase a few of her very sweet little pots. I’ve been gradually filling them with little plants (mostly companion type plantings, though I do have one small bonsai in the works), and the more I see them and feel them in my hands, the … Continue reading Wendy Heller’s Bonsai & Companion Pots

Contest #5: We’ve got a Winner (Sort of)

Still a mystery I lifted this shohin black pine is from the American Shohin-Bonsai Association gallery. I couldn’t find who the artist is anywhere (and their contact link isn’t working), so I figured if I used it for our contest, someone would let me know. No such luck, so it’s still a mystery to me. No longer Mr. Second Place! However. two people did answer some of the of questions correctly (at least I think they were correct; the site doesn’t say anything, so I’m guessing). Of the two Vinicius Costa (formerly known as ‘Mr. Second Place’) was first, so … Continue reading Contest #5: We’ve got a Winner (Sort of)

Green Workshop: Yet Another Watering Problem

Tomohiro Masumi watering Shohin bonsai at Koju-en in Kyoto. From Shohin Bonsai by Morten Albek. Yet Another Watering Problem… The following is by Michael Hagedorn from his website Crataegus Bonsai. Probably the worst thing we might encounter when we have a hose in our hand is a tree that, when we think about it, has not dried out in three days of sunny summer weather. That ought to send off all kinds of alarm bells in your head. If none go off, install some.

Jin & Shari #5: Carving Jin with a Draw Knife

In this series of photos (from our Juniper book), Hideki Nakayatsu turns a needle juniper on its side to work on the apical jin (jin can be either a dead branch or a dead top of the trunk). He is using is a draw knife to carve natural looking grooves in the wood. Though there are other ways to get grooves in deadwood (dremels come to mind), a draw knife is a tried and true old standard. This close up, though far from perfect, shows the grooves a little better. Deadwood naturally cracks and grooves along its length as it … Continue reading Jin & Shari #5: Carving Jin with a Draw Knife

Contest Deadline; Midnight Friday Night

It’s time to wrap up our latest contest. Submit your answers (if you have any) by 11:59pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Time, USA), Friday the 24th. If no one comes up with all the correct answers, then whoever comes closest is the lucky one. Ties go to the earliest submission. Good luck!

Green Workshop: Bonsai Branching Basics

Both illustrations in this post are from Bonsai Today issue 92. Learn the rules first, then break them Though nothing is written in stone, understanding the basics can be very helpful. If the points shown here are not that familiar, you might want to take some time with each one. As you apply them, your bonsai will immediately improve. Once you get the basics, you can experiment with breaking the rules. A little story to make a point I’m told that when the first Westerns saw Japanese bonsai they (or at least some of them) thought there was some sort … Continue reading Green Workshop: Bonsai Branching Basics

Bonsai Today Sale: 40% to 50% off!

John Naka‘s famous ‘Goshin’ graces the cover of Bonsai Today issue 93. Inside there’s a tribute to Mr. Naka and a range of how-to articles and other useful and inspiring photos and information. This and a host of other back issues can now be yours for forty to fifty percent off. I love summer… …my bonsai and garden are in ecstatic celebration and there’s cold drinks on the deck in the late afternoon (just before the mosquitoes take over). I hate summer… …it’s too short, my lawn needs mowing every fifteen minutes, and just when you’re relieved that black flies … Continue reading Bonsai Today Sale: 40% to 50% off!