Tropical Bonsai with Mary Miller & Friends

Would you say that this prize winning Ficus neriifolia by Ed Trout looks relaxed and sensuous (nothing like anthropomorphizing a bonsai)? Maybe, maybe not; but you’d have to say that it is powerfully stable with it’s wide flowing nebari and stout trunk. To my eyes it combines the traditional bonsai with a very natural uncontrived look. Almost reminiscent of an old live oak on California hillside. All the photos in this post are from Bonsai Mary. Mary’s website Mary Miller is one of genuine Florida bonsai mavens. Her years of experience as a bonsai teacher, author and grower come together … Continue reading Tropical Bonsai with Mary Miller & Friends

In Whose Eye? Eccentric Bonsai #2: Figurines

Using figurines in tray plantings doesn’t necessarily qualify as eccentric; it’s common in Chinese (and other) penjing plantings. Perhaps it’s the type (you don’t see many moose in China) and especially the relative size of the figurine that makes this trident maple planting unusual. This photo is from an article by Randy Clark entitled ‘Bonsai & Figurines’ that originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 95. Randy Clark is the owner of the Bonsai Learning Center. The Japanese seldom use them… …. but the Chinese (and some others) often do. When it comes to figurines, basically its: penjing ‘yes’, Japanese bonsai … Continue reading In Whose Eye? Eccentric Bonsai #2: Figurines

Pacific Rim

The two bonsai in this post, including this remarkable Korean Yew (Taxus cuspidata), are from Weyerhaeuser’s Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. The photos were sent to us by David De Groot, the collection’s curator. This famous Chinese elm (Ulmus parivflora) planting is by Qingquan Zhao, reknowned penjing artist, teacher and author of Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment.