Local Bonsai Styles 2: Growing Conditions, Native Species & Culture

This venerable, naturally dwarfed Ponderosa belongs to American/British bonsai artist and teacher, Colin Lewis. Colin lives on the coast of Maine. Ponderosa pines grow in the inland mountains of the western U.S.; two distinctively different environments. Climate, native species and culture If you get a chance, take a look at the comments from the last post. They expand and provide insight into what started as a simple post with a single idea: the effects of culture (human rather than biological culture) on local bonsai styles. The first three comments deal mostly with nature (climate and other growing conditions, and native … Continue reading Local Bonsai Styles 2: Growing Conditions, Native Species & Culture

Local Bonsai Styles

Uruguay anyone? Do this and the other trees in this post, reflect a regional or local bonsai style? (from facebook; Andres Bicocca wall photos.) Correction: Andres is from Argentina. An open question Though there are no doubt styles that develop around certain teachers and certain types of trees, and in some cases there are certainly cultural influences (Japan seems the most obvious here), still, pinning down what you might call a local style may not be all that easy. You and your next door neighbor may have quite different approaches to bonsai and your trees might bear little resemblance to … Continue reading Local Bonsai Styles