This Ponderosa pine was no doubt collected somewhere in western North America. Europeans are lucky in that regard; it’s relatively easy for them to import plants from around the world. Here in the U.S. restrictions are much more onerous. The tree belongs to (or belonged to?) Walter Pall. The photo is from The Art of Bonsai Project, as are all the photos in this post.
All of the bonsai in this post are by Walter Pall in collaboration with Mother Nature. Walter is a proponent of the ‘getting out of the way’ school of bonsai. Not that we want to resurrect the old naturalistic vs highly refined debate, but somehow, whenever we discuss Walter’s trees the questions begs to come up.
‘Getting out of the way’ isn’t really the whole story. Clearly Walter doesn’t just find suitable yamadori (trees collected from the wild) and stick them in pots. His experienced eye and hands are a big part of the process. Still, I think the objective is to do whatever is deemed necessary to let the natural qualities of the trees speak for themselves.
Some of Walter’s best trees are Norway spruce (Picea abies) and this one is no exception.
A trunk that’s full of character never hurts. It’s an English oak (Quercus robar).
Simple elegance and shaggy bark. I don’t think you’ll find such perfect Bunjin (Literati) bonsai growing just anywhere. It’s a European larch (Larix decidua). The pot is by Peter Krebs.