Kokufu 2014 – Time to Get Busy

I don’t think you need me to point out that this is a great tree. Or, for that matter that it’s a great photograph (web photos this sharp aren’t all that common). It’s a Japanese black pine from Announcing the 2014 88th Kokufu ten Bonsa Exhibition on Bill Valavanis’ excellent new blog. If you haven’t already made plans to visit Kokufu ten 2014, it’s time to get busy. It will be held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Gallery, February 4th – 12th. Just in case you are new to the wonderful world of bonsai, Kokufu is the most renowned bonsai … Continue reading Kokufu 2014 – Time to Get Busy

When to Hack Off 98% of a Tree

Why is this man smiling? Is it something he did? Who is he and what did he do? He’s Michael Hagedorn (we just featured him the other day) and he just did some very fierce hacking on a Zelkova. If you count carefully, you’ll see that there are 1,376 leaves on this tree. If you subtract the 31 remaining leaves (top photo) you’ll see that he cut off almost 98% of the leaves. That’s pretty radical. BTW: don’t try this on your pines. Not that you’d want a broom style pine anyway.

Apex, Canopy, Crown: Whatcha Got?

This Zelkova serrata (sometimes called Greybark elm and sometimes called just Zelkova) is a classic broom style bonsai. Often when you think of broom style, you think of Zelkova (and vise versa). However, neither broom style nor zelkova are what inspired this post (see below). Photo from Bonsai Today issue 26. You asked for it A while back someone asked for some info on designing apices (plural for apex). At the time I promised that we would post something very soon and then proceeded to neglect to do it. So, here’s the beginning of a series on bonsai apices. Better … Continue reading Apex, Canopy, Crown: Whatcha Got?

Backyard Bonsai #5: Wunderbare Gartenkunst

This shot provides a glimpse of one small corner of of Michael Veith’s magical world. His living-in-art approach, is a great way to integrate bonsai, gardening and much of the rest of what makes life interesting. The iceburg’s tip The photos here represent only a small piece of what you’ll find at Michael Veith’s world of bonsai, gardens and art. This shot from a little farther away, places some bonsai in a larger context.