This one is more about its outrageously rugged shape and texture (who says Japanese bonsai is too stylized?) than its rather subdued flowers. But that's okay, it's not every day you see a tree quite like this.
Our friend Bill Valavanis has done it again. This time it’s a very impressive collection of photos from the recent 2016, 90th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition in Tokyo (report one & report two).
Unlike me, Bill actually travels to the source and takes the photos himself. In appreciation of his efforts, you might want to click over to Bill’s blog and see them all for yourself (report one and report two). You can always come back here later.
Anyway, if you’re still here, or just back from Bill’s blog… I’ve decided to pick out few flowering or otherwise colorful trees from Bill’s photos. A little late winter blush can’t hurt, though much of the color here tends toward the subtle end of the spectrum (unlike the Satsuki in our last post).
Undulating noodle trunk and bright yellow flowers. I'm going to guess Winter jasmine.
Soft flowers and nice shadows. I'll guess quince.
This time it's berries that provide the color.
Most of the color here belongs to the pot. Though there is the brilliant moss and those tiny almost bright spots on the base of the trunk.
Bill identifies this one as a Flowering apricot (Prunus mume). Both the pot and the stand (especially the stand) express a formality and elegance that you might find in an old world museum. The tree however, is anything but formal and elegant.
Looks like another flowering apricot. And speaking of stands...
The shiny reddish orange trunk color almost steals the day. Except for the other great features and that little salamander. Stewartia?
Good red (vermillion?) bonsai pots are few and far between.
As long as we’re showing the some of the best bonsai in the world, we might as well show you some of the best bonsai and garden tools…
and for 25% off even.
25% off Okatsune Bonsai & Garden Tools
Including Okatsune Masters Grade tools