Revisiting a Powerful Mugo Pine & Contemplating Two Mysteries

The first mystery. Last time we featured this tree ( a few posts back) I found it on Carlos van der Vaart’s facebook photos (it’s also on his website’s gallery). This time it turned up on Mauro Stemberger’s website as a lead tree on ‘refinishing tips‘. So whose tree is it? Another mystery If you compare this latest iteration (above) with the earlier one (below), it’d easy to see how tree has been improved; the large hanging jin was pushed away from the trunk and twisted a little. The mystery here is; how was such a dramatic change accomplished with … Continue reading Revisiting a Powerful Mugo Pine & Contemplating Two Mysteries

Mugo Pines: A Well Kept Secret

This powerful, well groomed yet craggy Mugo pine jumps off the page. It would be exceptional even if it didn’t have that wild and strange piece of deadwood that doubles back on the trunk; a feature that makes this tree uniquely distinctive and even more wonderful than it would be anyway (though I might remove the straight stick at the end that goes behind the trunk). I might also take issue with the crown; it’s a touch too perfectly groomed and symmetrical for my taste, but still, this is an exceptional bonsai. Worthy of the finest collections anywhere. I found … Continue reading Mugo Pines: A Well Kept Secret

Some Noelanders Mysteries Solved

Another great unidentified tree from the Noelanders Trophy VII No NameBonsai Gallery (see yesterday’s post) that is featured on bonsai4me. I love the way this tree’s wild essence has been left intact, just the way Mother Nature intended. This comes through loud and clear in the deadwood that speaks of great age and looks so perfectly natural; as though the artist never touched it. Mysteries solved Thanks to our friend Ferry Freriks (you might remember Ferry as the winner of our $100 Unique Bonsai Contest), many of the mysteries in yesterday’s No Name Bonsai Gallery have met the light of … Continue reading Some Noelanders Mysteries Solved