Small Is Still Beautiful 1/3/13

Kishu shimpaku juniper by John Brocklehurst. Mark Cooper took the photo at the 2012 Noelanders Trophy. I like the natural, fragile looking deadwood twigs and a whole lot more about this tree.

Shohin again. We’ve been featuring shohin bonsai (small bonsai) a lot lately. Maybe it has to do with fact that we’re all aging and, as we age, smaller bonsai have larger appeal (easier to handle, take less space on our condo’s balconies and are a little less taxing on our social security budgets). Or maybe it’s just that we like them so much.

All the photos in this post were taken by Mark Cooper at the 2012 Noelanders Trophy. I found them in two places (here and here) on Morten Albek’s excellent Shohin Bonsai Europe blog. Unfortunately, the artists are not listed with most of the photos. My apologies for not taking the time to try to dig them up (I normally have a very strong aversion to rationalizations, but still, if only you knew how much time research already consumes and then there’s the thing about running a business, not to mention…).

 

It seems like we haven’t seen that many good Japanese white pines (Pinus parviflora) lately. This powerful yet graceful little gem will help remedy the situation. No artist is listed, nor is the name of the little companion.

 

This Japanese black pine has a lot to say about age and movement (needle reduction too). The stained pot is a bit of a mystery. I understand how difficult the whitish residue is to remove, but cleaned polished pots are the norm at bonsai shows. Still, it’s a great little tree. No artist is listed.

 

A muscular little European olive and a very funky (in the good sense of the word) pot. Then there’s old Chinese sage enjoying the shade. No artist listed.

 

Morten Albek’s classic Shohin book (the only one in English) is now on special at Stone Lantern.


Show Comments

2 thoughts on “Small Is Still Beautiful

  1. Please don’t stop talking about shohin bonsai. I think shohin bonsai is just magical. I look forward to all the photos you send. Thanks Neil

Comments are closed.