Finally… Winners!

Tree number one (Matthew Logan’s comments… Ferry’s is too long for this spot; you can find it at the bottom of the post): Eric Wigert- Buttonwood, housed at his nursery, used as the tree on his business cards. Tree was collected in 2002. Carving work done by Lui Rayon. 48” tall 6” nebari. Tokoname Pot. Displayed at Epcot in 2005. Nice tree to look at in person. http://wigertsbonsai.com/. In the gallery 27th tree. Be careful what you promise I don’t always know how to handle apologies. It’s simple when ignorance or unkindness cause harm, but a little murkier when I … Continue reading Finally… Winners!

More Bonsai from Scratch Winners

Mark Arpag’s Dwarf Hinoki cypress is the third place winner in our Bonsai from Scratch Contest. Mark’s prize is a $150 gift certificate to Stone Lantern. See below for before photo. Judges comments “Nice crown, I like the way wire is used at the top. Wire could be used on lower branches on the right to the same effect.” Excellent; some confusing foliage/branching between the trunks; also, subdivide low branch pad on the small trunk, it’s too large for the trunk size.” “Couldn’t tell what we have from looking at the stock. Nice outcome.” “Great overall flow. Could reduce … Continue reading More Bonsai from Scratch Winners

We Have A Winner

This is the tree that gave people the most trouble. You can blame facebook if you’d like (unattributed and mis-attributed bonsai abound in that crazy free-for-all world). We have Robert Steven to thanks for setting us straight on this one. It’s a Pemphis acidula and the artist is Adjie Christian. And the winner of our $100 Mystery Bonsai Contest is…. Master Bonsai Detective, Joe Rauscher. For his diligence, Joe will receive a $100 gift certificate to Stone Lantern (scroll down to the bottom for the correct answers). A close second Ferry Freriks was hot on Joe’s heels, so we’ve decided … Continue reading We Have A Winner

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

We Have a Winner!

Ferry Freriks’ stout-trunked little Honeysuckle takes the grand prize in a down to the wire contest for a $100 gift certificate from Stone Lantern. Congrats Ferry! Oh so close Altogether 41 people (including me) submitted their choices. The total count for the first three finishers (see below for photos of the other two) were: Ferry’s Honeysuckle 84. John Romano’s Erodium 80. Brian and Jill’s (no last name) Serissa 80. Next time When I started this contest it didn’t occur that it would be so close. Next time I’ll divide the prize among the first three finishers. Meanwhile, John and Brian … Continue reading We Have a Winner!

Voila!

Much Better! Here’s the tree that is featured in our last post, in focus this time. It was sent by Ferry Freriks, who BTW submitted the first tree to our Unique Bonsai Contest. Ferry has done his research and here’s what he came up with: Hello Mr. Schoech, I tried to post a comment on the post of the Taiwanese tree, but after submitting it, the site told me it was “Too spammy”. So instead I’m sending it by e-mail. Here’s the full size picture of this tree: http://sidiao.myweb.hinet.net/2004htm/p13.htm ;-) According to the website (http://sidiao.myweb.hinet.net, the personal website of one … Continue reading Voila!

Unique Bonsai Contest: Entry #1 – Honeysuckle

This little Boxleaf honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida) belongs to Ferry Freriks of the Netherlands. Though it has room for improvement, still it’s a decent example of what you can do with a well chosen nursery plant, a few tools and a little time (four years in this case). The pot, in Ferry’s words, is “cheap Chinese.” A better pot This tree is on it’s way to becoming a worthy shohin bonsai. One of the surest ways to speed up that process is to put it in a better pot. Something just over half as deep would make the strong little trunk … Continue reading Unique Bonsai Contest: Entry #1 – Honeysuckle