Nipping & Snapping at Noelanders – Part 2

This one has that wild, almost untouched look, that takes you straight to a rocky ledge off in the mountains somewhere. I don’t know what it is but I like it and its pot. This photo and the others shown here (and in yesterday’s post) were taken by Graham Potter at last weekend’s Noelanders Trophy. Yesterday I wrote “There’s a long discussion on facebook about Noelanders Trophy and some ‘haters’ (an overused word that some people use just because someone else expresses a dislike or a contrary opinion), but I’ve decided that this is a part one post, so we’ll … Continue reading Nipping & Snapping at Noelanders – Part 2

Nipping Around & Snapping at Noelanders Trophy

Though every one of Graham Potter’s snaps of trees he liked, also struck my fancy, this one really got me. The gnarly ancient looking little tree with its smattering of red flowers and buds (I’ll take it to be a quince), all the action on the surface of the soil which reinforces the feeling of age (and naturalness) and of course, the pot (all those words and it’s not even a proper sentence). Here’s part of what Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai had to say about last weekends Noelanders Trophy: “We were so busy over the weekend I barely got … Continue reading Nipping Around & Snapping at Noelanders Trophy

Saving a Yew from the Wood Pile

Friday. This and the other images in this post were are lifted from Graham Potter’s video, ‘A Yew saved from the woodpile.’ Graham Potter’s bonsai videos are remarkably popular (the one featured here has been viewed over 138,000 times on youtube and who knows how many times on Graham’s Kaizen Bonsai website) and it’s no wonder. Not only are they very well-made and highly instructive, but they are also, at times, simply astounding (too much coffee this morning?). This one features a five day transformation of an old English yew (Taxus baccata), some great highbrow music and a wealth of … Continue reading Saving a Yew from the Wood Pile

Wire Cutters: A Little Tip from Graham

Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai holds up his stainless wire cutters so you can get a good look. From one of Graham’s excellent bonsai instruction videos. No more twisting I always thought bonsai wire cutters were shaped the way the are (with stubby blades) so that the tip of the blade doesn’t damage the bark when you remove wire. I still think this is true. However, Graham Potter says that it’s designed this way so the wire doesn’t twist when you cut it. This is news to me, but as I reflect on it, I think it makes sense. Anyone … Continue reading Wire Cutters: A Little Tip from Graham

Trunk Splitter, Stump Splitter, What Else?

Graham Potter using a trunk splitter to tear into a large branch stump. It’s from a video on styling an old larch (one of Graham’s excellent videos) on his Kaizen Bonsai site. Why split? Did you know that you can bend thick trunks by splitting them (in half, in thirds, in fourths, etc)? After splitting and bending, you can tie the pieces back together (just the way they were) and, if you do it right, they’ll fuse back into the single trunk you started with (with its new shape, of course). For a detailed description of this process, see page … Continue reading Trunk Splitter, Stump Splitter, What Else?

Jin & Shari #6: Carving an Old Hornbeam

Here’s a great example of an English hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) that started as large tree that was cut down and carved. The artist is Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai. Carving video by Graham Potter If you are interested in carving as well as reducing large field grown trees, check out the video below. It might just open up an entirely new way of doing things for you and your bonsai.