Ume Modoki

Flowering Bonsai – Some of Us Can Dream

Sabamiki and uro from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. Aside from this magnificent old Ume’s 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 left on deciduous trees where branches have rotted and fallen off, though bonsai uro may well be man made). This winter to end all winters seems like a good (if a little perverse) time to look … Continue reading Flowering Bonsai – Some of Us Can Dream

A Congenial Way to Start Your Day

Aside from the very distinctive shari and jin (two types of deadwood), there are a couple other things about this Japanese white pine that you may have already noticed. First it seems somewhat top-heavy, and second, this top-heavy quality is exaggerated by the pot, which is quite small relative to the size of the tree. Still, amazingly it works quite well. Even better than quite well. The bonsai shown here are all from a gallery in Bonsai Today issue 96. Reminds me of the older galleries from the very earliest Bonsai Todays. How important they were back in the dark … Continue reading A Congenial Way to Start Your Day