We’ve featured this tree before, but now I can’t find it (read, just back from vacation, too much to do and don’t want to be bothered). It looks kinda Ilex like, but neither my guessing skills nor my memory are up to much. Anyway, it’s a great little tree (if you can take your eyes off the pot long enough to see it… which is not to say that I don’t like the pot, because I really like it and I also think it’s a daring choice for the tree). This photo and all the photos in this post are from Mario Komsta’s facebook photos.
I just spent a little time bouncing around facebook and stumbled once again upon Mario Komsta’s photos. Mario is a talented young bonsai artist from Poland (living in Spain now) who, in addition to his considerable bonsai skills, also happens to take great photos; mixing straight shots of bonsai with more artistic shots, something you don’t see that often. Here are just a few to get you started. You can visit Mario on facebook for more.
I have a soft spot for good companions. Especially ones that are distinctive enough to just stand on their own, though I guess you wouldn’t call them companions in that case (Willi Benz’ Bonsai, Kusamono and Suiseki is THE book if this is something you’d like to explore).
Bonsai Bark!
The tight coiling trunk makes for a pretty distinctive tree. It looks like a Japanese black pine. It also looks very familiar. So familiar that I’m wondering if we’ve already featured it. With over 700 posts so far, it’s a distinct possibility.
An old Shimpaku juniper with the obligatory deadwood. Not that this tree isn’t a very good and quite distinctive bonsai (it is both), just that Shimpaku and deadwood are everywhere. But then, they go so well together.
Mario features lots of shots like this, where he’ll show you the whole tree and then focus on a distinctive feature of the same tree. BTW, I took the liberty of cropping this photo just a bit (a couple others too).
There’s something about Japanese maples (Benichidori and Shishigashira in this case). Which reminds me, with the ratcheting up of temperatures lately, we’re beginning to see Japanese maples here in northern Vermont. In fact, my neighbors have a red one in their yard that’s been going strong for seven or eight years now. This was unthinkable twenty years ago.
Wayne, I notice the showing of bonsai with the “dropping” branches . They drop from all kinds of positions and heights on the tree. Is this a “fashion”? Reality is rarely like this. As much as we consider bonsai to be an art as well as horticultural exercise, these dropping branches seem to me to be contrived. They are used to “fill a picture” and most of the world sees trees some other way. Your comment please.
Hi Pieter,
Some conifers growing in the wild do have dropping branches. Especially older ones and most especially in places where they bear heavy snow loads. However, there’s no question that given the desire to express age on bonsai, this tendency is often greatly exaggerated.
Then there are trees that grow down over cliffs and steep mountain sides. In some cases part of the tree will grow up a bit and part will trail down following gravity. Many juniper bonsai (and others) seem to mimic this tendency.
My best guess is that there are other reasons, but at least it’s a start.
Hi, that first tree, the one youve forgotten the name of, it looks kike an Eleagnus to me. I cant tell how small the leaves are but that golden tinge to them reminds me of Eleagnus (Oleaster)
Thanks Larry,
That does ring a faint bell somewhere. I suppose if I weren’t so lazy I could find out for sure.