Masters’ Gallery: Group Displays #2

The small Zelkova in the forest plantings on each side create the feeling distant panoramas. The center tree in the curved pot is a Nanking cherry (Prunus tomentosa). The artist is Saburo Kato‘s brother, Hideo. There are also two barely visible companion plants (five elements in all). Masters’ Gallery This is the second post in our masters’ gallery series. It and the first post in this series are from an article by Saburo Kato that appears in Bonsai Today issue 43.

Master’s Gallery #2: Group Displays

From left to right: unidentified grass, Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii), flowering ‘Nippon Bells’ (Shortia uniflora) companion plant, suiseki (viewing stone), another unidentified companion, and a very stately Needle juniper (Juniperus ridgida). By Masao Komatsu. Group displays Each group display in this post is by a single artist. Each display shows mastery in two art forms: bonsai and bonsai display. The photos come from an article by Saburo Kato in Bonsai Today issue 43.

Speaking of Kusamono & Companion Plants

An exquisite kusamono from our Japanese mystery book. Because I don’t read Japanese, I can’t say what the grass is (can you?), who the potter is, or even, what the name of the book is. However, I can say, with complete confidence, that the whole arrangement is beautiful. What does Kusamono mean? In his book Bonsai, Kusamono, Suiseki, Willi Benz says “Kusa = grass and Mono = object.” He goes on to say “If a Kusamono-Bonsai is the main object of a display, we use the term Kusamono. But if a Kusamono-Bonsai is used as an accent or complementary plant, … Continue reading Speaking of Kusamono & Companion Plants

Wendy Heller’s Bonsai & Companion Pots

One of Wendy Heller’s pots with a hen-and-chick type succulent that I dug up in my yard. Some very sweet little pots A couple years ago I worked with Wendy Heller on a publishing project. In the process, I had the good fortune of getting to know Wendy a bit (phone and email) and decided to purchase a few of her very sweet little pots. I’ve been gradually filling them with little plants (mostly companion type plantings, though I do have one small bonsai in the works), and the more I see them and feel them in my hands, the … Continue reading Wendy Heller’s Bonsai & Companion Pots

Speaking of Pots…

The pots in the post are from another Japanese book that has been in my library for a long time. So long, that I don’t even remember where I got it. Nor do I know who made the pots or basically much of anything about the contents (I don’t read Japanese). If you read Japanese, scroll down and check the text at the bottom of this post and let me know if you can make any sense of it.