The Magician’s Ezo Spruce Bonsai Forest

Before and after,three years later. Masahiko Kimura ‘The Magician’ styled this Ezo spruce (Picea Glehnii) planting with a high mountain stand of conifers in mind Continuing with bonsai forests from the last two days… Looking at the after forest above, you might notice how the trees on the outside lean out in search of sunlight, which is what you would expect in a natural stand of trees (more on this below) You may also notice how Kimura enhanced the feeling of age by removing or jinning about half of the limbs (this is most evident in the intermediate to after photos … Continue reading The Magician’s Ezo Spruce Bonsai Forest

Powerful & Realistic Bonsai Forest

Impressive! I don’t know what the trees are, though they look like conifers, maybe even pines. It would be nice to have a closer look, but beggars can’t be choosey When I first saw caught site of this planting on Quoc Viet Tran‘s timeline, I was immediately struck by how powerful and realistic it is. I wish I could tell you more about it, but no information is provided. I guess we’ll have to settle for simple appreciation of the artist’s mastery Continued below… NEW 20% OFF ALL BONSAI WIRE Discounts are applied at checkout Left side, closer up. I … Continue reading Powerful & Realistic Bonsai Forest

Multiple Trunks Sharing a Single Root Stystem – Clump Style Bonsai Forests

We found this extraordinary clump style deciduous bonsai on Bonsai Nakayoshi. They don’t give a variety. You can imagine that all the smaller trunks started as suckers on the roots of the main tree (you could also imagine that they started from seeds dropped by the main tree; in which case this would not qualify as a clump style bonsai). We’ve been discussing forest bonsai for a while now without mentioning clump style (Japanese: Kabudachi or Kabubuki) . Rather than boring you with my take on clumps, here’s something that I lifted from ofBONSAI Magazine: “Clump style bonsai should have … Continue reading Multiple Trunks Sharing a Single Root Stystem – Clump Style Bonsai Forests

Forests Again – Focal Point, Balance, Scale, Age & That Elusive Quality…

I stumbled across the European hornbeam (Carpinus betulas) by Walter Pall on his Bonsai Adventures blog. The shot looks like spring with some trees lagging behind others. Continuing with our forest theme, we’ll go back in time once again to a post that originally appeared about 17 months ago (we’ve added a photo and a little more text). I think it’s one of our best on forests, and worth another look. Without the dominant tree this forest planting by Walter Pall would be a whole lot less interesting. With the dominant tree the planting has a focal point, balance, scale, … Continue reading Forests Again – Focal Point, Balance, Scale, Age & That Elusive Quality…

Mixed Maple Forest

This playful mixed Japanese bonsai forest is by Juan José Bueno Gil. Rare indeed You don’t see too many mixed bonsai forests, and my guess is that you’ve never seen one with this many varieties (above). They may all be the same species for sure (Acer palmatum), but they aren’t all the same. How many varieties can you count? We’ve shown this mixed forest in Bonsai Bark before. It’s one of my favorites (though it would be nice if the photo were larger). It’s from Saburo Kato’s Forest, Rock Planting & Ezo Spruce Bonsai (published by The National Bonsai Foundation … Continue reading Mixed Maple Forest