Another Mid Winter Tease

The new growth on Spruce is often a brilliant yellow. Almost like yellow flowers. In this case the spruce is an Ezo (Picea jezoensis). This one resides at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum as do the other trees in this post. Continuing with our long trek home from vacation, I found just enough time to sneak another one in from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. Like yesterday it’s also from our archives (June, 2015). SITE WIDE SALE ENDS SOON 20% OFF EVERYTHING PLUS AN EXTRA 10% TO 20% OFF ROSHI TOOLS AN EXTRA 10% OFF BONSAI POTS For a lot … Continue reading Another Mid Winter Tease

Bonsai Brilliance at Japan’s Satsuki Azalea Festival

This Satsuki azalea with its powerful trunk and nebari would be a remarkable even without its brilliant flowers The bonsai featured here are from the 2018 Satsuki Azalea Festival in Ueno, Tokyo (even though they are from last year, this is the first time we’ve shown them). You can see these and more flowering Satsuki on Naoi Kenichi’s fb timeline. Continued below… 20% OFF BONSAI WIRE SPECIAL ENDS SOON Choose from our vast array of sizes & types of wire Special ends Thursday, Jan 3rd at 11:59pm EST Here’s something from Wikipedia on Satsuki azaleas… “Satsuki azaleas have a diverse rnge of flower forms and color patterns with multiple patterns … Continue reading Bonsai Brilliance at Japan’s Satsuki Azalea Festival

Colorful Shots to Brighten up Your Mid-Winter

This photo was taken to emphasis the flowers, rather than the tree. If you were to take a photo of this tree when it’s not in flower, you’d take it a from a point a little lower to better show the powerful trunk and nebari. Sometimes photos just seem to appear on my desktop without any reference. This is the case here, so my apologies for failure to attribute this multi-hued Satsuki azalea to its rightful owner (best guess; Japanese owner). Today, it’s just a few colorful shots to brighten up your mid-winter experience. Got a strange old pot … Continue reading Colorful Shots to Brighten up Your Mid-Winter

Three Monster Satsuki Bonsai

A prize winning Satsuki azalea from Bonsai -Matsuda Seishoen displaying it power, balance and tranquility. A rare and wonderful trunk The trunk on this Satsuki azalea (above) is near perfection; heavy and powerful with great texture, color and a well balanced yet completely natural looking nebari that adds stability with the way its fingers clutch the soil (okay, okay, getting a little carried away, but still…). Japanese style Some people say that Japanese bonsai are often overly stylized. If you are of that opinion, then you might think that the foliage pads on this tree are too neatly trimmed and … Continue reading Three Monster Satsuki Bonsai

A Touch of Spring

The flowers are white, and we’ve got plenty of white stuff on the ground here in Vermont. That’s as far as it goes, but we can dream. The photo is from Bonsai Guest House Osaka (facebook). Here’s their website. It’s hard to tell for sure, but I’m guessing it’s a Ume (Flowering apricot). I’m told that Ume is one of the few deciduous trees holds deadwood for a long time. More than just a touch. I like it when azaleas show some leaves when they bloom, like this one. Sometimes you see them completely covered with flowers, which can seem … Continue reading A Touch of Spring

Satsuki Art Blooms at the National Museum

The sky blue pot is the perfect compliment to the light pink flowers on this powerful Satsuki Azalea that resides at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington DC. There are a multitude of cultivars in the Satsuki group of azaleas. This one is a ‘Nikko.’ It was donated to the museum by Masayuki Nakamura. As you read this… … one of the best and most breathtaking exhibits of blooming satsuki azaleas is taking place at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. It has already started (May 29th) but don’t despair, it runs until June 13th. Even if you … Continue reading Satsuki Art Blooms at the National Museum