Monsters

Halloween? The show was in October (last year). At first glance you might just see the tree and the cobwebs and miss the hands clutching (persenting?) the sculpted wooden pot. This photo and the one just below are from Robert Steven’s 2014 International Bonsai Art & Culture Biennale. Apropos of nothing… When I moved east from the left coast I was surprised to see what a big deal Halloween is out here. Almost like the Christmas, Hanukkah & other shortest-days-of-the-year-Holidays, only different with garden witches, ghosts and the rest. A full month or more before the actual day. Strange… … Continue reading Monsters

A Breakthrough U.S. Bonsai Event & Credit Where Credit Is Due

Ryan Neil’s massive Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii). This (pick your adjective) tree was not part of the bonsai display area, but rather sat alone in an inner lobby that you passed through on the way out of the display area. There’s no way that you can appreciate just how massive it is, and though I didn’t think to pace it off at the time, by memory (a risky proposition at best), I’d reckon that it must be about six or seven feet (approx 2 meters) across. A thanks and a tribute to Ryan Neil and friends for the just completed … Continue reading A Breakthrough U.S. Bonsai Event & Credit Where Credit Is Due

A Magical Land Where Almost Every House Has a Bonsai

We know this tree is very large, but exactly how large is difficult to tell (the uncropped photo immediately below might help a bit). In addition to its great size, it shows an excellent base and nebari, as well as some gnarly bumps that look a bit like melting wax. I think I can say with confidence that it’s Ficus. All the photos in this post were taken by Robert Steven on a recent trip to Vietnam. Robert Steven seems to teach and travel almost incessantly, and yet he still finds time to write about bonsai, run Bonsai Aesthetics (his … Continue reading A Magical Land Where Almost Every House Has a Bonsai

World’s Largest Bonsai? At Least for a Moment.

An old oak in transit. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the perfect photo from a bonsai point-of-view. But then, viewing this tree as a bonsai is just an excuse for sharing a great story about saving a venerable tree. World’s largest bonsai? If you can call a large wooden box a pot (the shape and proportions are pretty good), then you could call this massive old tree a bonsai. For a while at least. Now it’s safely back in the ground (field growing, as we like to say). This now somewhat famous tree is called the Ghirardi Compton Oak. It has … Continue reading World’s Largest Bonsai? At Least for a Moment.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Large juniper that was styled by Michael Hagedorn in 2007. Though it looks like a Juniperus chinensis, the variety is unidentified. This photo and the before photo (below) are from Michael’s Crataegus Bonsai. What a difference five hours makes Michael Hagedorn restyled this monster juniper in five hours, and though I guess that doesn’t really qualify as a whole day, still, we’ll stick with ‘What a Difference a Day Makes’ (ask your grandparents). The operation took place at Miami Tropical Bonsai in 2007 and was captured on a video that you can watch on youtube. Artisans Cup I found the … Continue reading What a Difference a Day Makes

Million Dollar Bonsai

This magnificent White pine was sold at the 11th Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention & Exhibition in at Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan, earlier this month. As you can see, the asking price was 100,000,000 yen (that’s close to 1.3 million dollars). I don’t know what the actual sales price was. Photo borrowed from Bonsai Tonight. $1,000,000 for a bonsai? I’ve heard of million dollar bonsai before, but don’t know if I’ve ever seen one (in person or in a photo). We don’t really know what this one sold for, but still, an asking price of 1.3 million dollars is a little … Continue reading Million Dollar Bonsai