Sabamiki and uro. Aside from its overall power and beauty, there are a several things that might catch your eye: the flowers and buds, the aged bark (Ume bark develops an aged look fairly fast) and the hollowed out trunk (sabamiki). If you look closely you can also see several uro (small hollows that are [...]
Is all forgiven when a bonsai flowers? In this case, after the brilliant white dazzle (with soft touches of pink and yellow), there’s the strong trunk with a nice flaring base. But still, my eye keeps going back to the scar and the messy little stuff underneath it, and the somewhat clunky pot. Is it [...]
Japanese apricot (Latin-Prunus mume: Japanese-Ume). From Classic Bonsai of Japan (Nippon Bonsai Association). My apologies for cutting off the bottom of the pot; my scanner couldn’t quite fit the whole photo. Japan and flowering bonsai The Japanese have long revered flowering trees and flowering bonsai. So much so, that they often overlook what you might [...]
I’m pretty sure this is an Ume (Japanese flowering apricot), though I can’t be %100 sure. Whatever it is, it sure combines some very showy flowers with impressively ancient looking bark. It’s from a Japanese book (not available in English) called Gyozan Nakano, Sakai: A 35 Year Anthology. Mr. Nakano is a rather famous (in [...]
