Cliff Bonsai – Before & After

As always, we’ll start with after photo. The tree is a Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) The artist is Michael Hagedorn. The before photo is below. I lifted today’s post straight from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. Michael posted fourteen step-by-step photos on this dramatic ‘cliff dweller’. We’ll just show you three of these. I encourage you to visit Crataegus – one of our favorite bonsai destinations – to enjoy the whole sequence. Here’s part of what Michael has to say about the creation of this remarkable planting… “We often think of cliff or rock faces being the place where cascade bonsai get … Continue reading Cliff Bonsai – Before & After

Old Masters Bonsai Displays

Hornbeam (Carpinus laxiflora) forest on a slab and Shimpaku juniper on a spectacular rock. This image captures only half of a display by Grand Master Saburo Kato. This post first appeared here in our earliest days (August, 2009). The displays themselves are from earlier (Bonsai Today issue 43, 1996). Our photo format is considerably larger now and I even cropped and enlarged a couple individual trees for closer views ( a little fuzzy, but might be helpful- see below). Otherwise, though bonsai keeps evolving, masterful bonsai is still masterful bonsai. Each group display in this post is by a single … Continue reading Old Masters Bonsai Displays

Bonsai Critique: Simple & Profound

One of Robert Steven’s two simulations of a tree in a rock-like container that was submitted by Kian (no second name given). In spite of the somewhat fuzzy images, the general ideas come through loud and clear. Simple changes with profound results Sometimes an adjustment to the position of a container (above), or a new container (below), can radically transform a planting. Neither of Robert’s simulations involve any changes to the tree, yet both transform a somewhat stagnant planting to something full of natural movement and interest. Robert’s second simulation.