Hands Down – Our New National Bonsai Website

How many trees do you know of that have been in trianing since 1625? It’s a famous Japanese White Pine (Pinus parviflora ‘Miyajima’) that was donated to the U.S. National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by Masaru Yamaki. The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum and the National Bonsai Foundation have a new and much improved website. If you don’t get any further than this, just do yourself a favor and pay a visit. I think you’ll like what you see. I’ve long had a soft spot for our National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. After all, it belongs to us and like … Continue reading Hands Down – Our New National Bonsai Website

Time to Celebrate…

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. It’s time to celebrate our National Bonsai and Penjing Museum once again. If you are anywhere near our nation’s capital, or plan on being anywhere near, don’t miss this phenomenal display. Even if you have no plans on being near Washington DC, you can … Continue reading Time to Celebrate…

Change Your Plans

Sometimes it’s helpful to break a bonsai down into its constituent parts. What you might see in this case, is a somewhat classical root-over-rock Trident maple bonsai accentuated by two rather long, undulating branches on either side. For some of us, there might be a temptation to cut them off; to revert to something safer and more recognizable as bonsai. Don’t do it! The photo is from the National Bonsai Foundation’s 2013 calendar. Mr. California Juniper at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. The event is the annual Potomac Bonsai Festival which happens to be coming up this weekend (May … Continue reading Change Your Plans

Explore the World of Bonsai, Humidity & Heat, Columbus Is Still in Ohio & A Very Large Bonsai Tree

This photo is from Explore the World of Bonsai, a special feature offered on the National Bonsai Foundation website. Check it out, it’s well worth a look, especially for those of us still becoming acquainted with the art of bonsai (that pretty much covers us all). Giant bonsai in a very large box. This turned up on Ruddy Valentino d’Augusto’s facebook page. It’s titled Amazing Bonsai Garden. I’ve seen other gargantuan bonsai, but this one may be the most impressive yet. This fluid Japanese maple is one of a whole series of great trees featured on Yoshimoto Ishizuka’s … Continue reading Explore the World of Bonsai, Humidity & Heat, Columbus Is Still in Ohio & A Very Large Bonsai Tree

Mixed Maple Forest

This playful mixed Japanese bonsai forest is by Juan José Bueno Gil. Rare indeed You don’t see too many mixed bonsai forests, and my guess is that you’ve never seen one with this many varieties (above). They may all be the same species for sure (Acer palmatum), but they aren’t all the same. How many varieties can you count? We’ve shown this mixed forest in Bonsai Bark before. It’s one of my favorites (though it would be nice if the photo were larger). It’s from Saburo Kato’s Forest, Rock Planting & Ezo Spruce Bonsai (published by The National Bonsai Foundation … Continue reading Mixed Maple Forest

Master’s Gallery: Melba Tucker’s Olive & Suiseki

This dramatic European olive forest on a rooted burl is by Melba Tucker. It’s borrowed from The National Bonsai Foundation‘s 2008 calendar. Though it goes without saying This old gem looks like a forest growing on a rocky ledge somewhere in Spain (or anywhere else olives grow) and, though it goes without saying, I’ll say it anyway: it’s one of the most wonderful, natural looking forest plantings anywhere. If you are ever anywhere near Washington DC, check it (and a whole bunch of other world class bonsai) out. It’s at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. Melba found this distinctive … Continue reading Master’s Gallery: Melba Tucker’s Olive & Suiseki

Ben Oki: An Old Master at Play

I could watch and listen to Ben Oki for a long time. In this one, you get to watch the old master wiring, and, as a bonus, hear a story about John Naka; another old master. FYI: John Naka was considered the dean of American bonsai. He died in 2004. Bonsai Today issue 93 features a special on Mr. Naka and you can enjoy his sketches in The John Naka Sketch Book (The National Bonsai Foundation). Two other noteworthy Naka books are: Bonsai Techniques one and two (Bonsai Institute of California).

Kato sama, Kato sensei, but never Kato san

This photo of Saburo Kato was taken by Morten Albek in June of 2005 during an interview he and two friends conducted with Mr. Kato, Japan’s most famous bonsai master of his generation. Kato sensei passed away in February 2008. I only saw Saburo Kato once. It was in 2005 at the WBC (World Bonsai Convention) in Washington DC. I was busy selling books and magazines from our booth when he walked by. He was immistakenly unmistakenly himself, very old and thin, with an air that radiated dignity. I was so taken by surprise that I blurted out “Kato san!” … Continue reading Kato sama, Kato sensei, but never Kato san