Bonsai Bark’s Weekly Wire #5 10/30/11

 

Loud and clear. This magnificent Fukien tea and it’s perfect pot speak for themselves, so I won’t say anything. Except that it’s from Taiwan Bonsai World (facebook), the botanical name is  Carmona microphylla and the artist is HUANG, Qing-Quan.

Post your upcoming events here (in the comments below) and we’ll feature them in our next Weekly Wire. Most calendars on bonsai sites only run through this year, and don’t have much in the way of events this time of year anyway. It would be good if people would start putting up next year’s events (a few have begun, but the pickings are quite slim) so we’d have more to tell you about.

 

A sweet fall color larch planting from the North American Collection
(Les bonsaïs nord-américains) at the Montreal Botanical Garden.
The North American Collection is one of several world-class bonsai collections at these fabulous gardens.

 

Tradition in bonsai. Our old friend and colleague Andy Rutledge (The Bonsai Journal) puts the following question to five prominent bonsai artists: What is the role of tradition in the art of bonsai? Andy also has an excellent, in-depth article titled Life at a Bonsai Nursery about time he spent working at New England Bonsai Gardens.

 

Roy Nagatoshi’s colorful floral pattern shirt at a Bonsai Society of Greater St Louis workshop. Roy is the proprietor of Fuji Bonsai and a much loved bonsai teacher to many.

 

 

The Ottawa Bonsai Society website features galleries, articles and calendars of upcoming meetings and events.

 

 

 

 

Bay Area Bonsai riches. You can enjoy a ‘bring your own bonsai’ workshop at the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt (Oakland CA) the 4th Sunday of each month. Kathy Shaner, one of the West’s most distinguished bonsai artists, is the curator, though it’s not clear if and when she ever leads the monthly workshops.

Stay posted for more on this excellent bonsai garden. Their site is exceptionally rich with events, photos and more, and worth continued exploration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonsai Detective Art Contest Winner. Congratulations to Dave Piemme, the winner of our Bonsai Detective Art Contest. We’ll have more to say about Dave and the contest in our next Weekly Wire, so stay posted.

 

Fall Color: In the Foliage, In the Garden, and In the Collections.
At the US National Arboretum. November 5.

 

Another worthy Bottlebrush. In our last Weekly Wire we featured a Bottlebrush from the National Bonsai & Penjing Collection of Australia, which led me to comment that I didn’t think I’d ever seen an impressive Bottlebrush bonsai before. Now, thanks to Bruce Winter (Volcano Hawaii), I’ve now seen another even better Bottlebrush bonsai. Too bad it’s not flowering in this photo, but still…. BTW, there’s an article about Bruce in the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society newsletter.

 

It’s a mystery. Neea buxifolia, root-over-rock. You don’t see too many of Neea bonsai.
I’d like to tell you who this one belongs to, but lost the link and artist’s name. Anyone?

 

It’s about time. Stone Lantern’s immensely popular Okatsune Sharpening Stone is finally back in stock. It’s popularity derives from he fact that one side is rounded so it’s perfect for sharpening round blades. And like all things Okatsune, the quality is unrivaled.

 

 

 

 

Kevin Wilson’s handiwork from a bonsai carving demo in Croatia last month (bonsai4me). I’ve been a fan of Kevin’s daring approach to carving every since we ran Styling and English Yew in Bonsai Today 106.

 

Spain’s bonsai hotspot. This google map shows ten bonsai destinations around Madrid. I haven’t been there, nor did I check to see if each one is legit, but still, Madrid looks like a pretty good place for bonsai lovers.

 

A peaceful autumn day. From the Rosade Bonsai Studio newsletter.