This stellar Saikei by Johnny Uchida was sent to us by Noah (no last name). Johnny Uchida is the owner of Grove Way Nursery in Hayward, California.
Still recovering from my all too short (one week) vacation, so we’ll dig back into our archives. This one is from all the way back to 2010.
Here what Noah (see caption above) has to say about this planting: “This saikei was done by Johnny Uchida of Grove Way Bonsai as an example for beginning students. Mr. Uchida is the sensei of Yamato Bonsai Kai in Northern California. The trees are cryptomeria and hinoki cypress and the composition is made with locally sourced rocks, gravel, moss, lichen and various accent plants.”
Continued below…
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I visited Grove Way about twenty years ago (closer to 30 years now). I was struck mostly by Johnny Uchida’s Japanese black pines. At the time, I think it was the best collection of black pine bonsai I had ever seen (it still stands as one of the best). Unfortunately, Johnny wasn’t home when I visited (his wife showed me around), so I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting him.
You can see the hidden 5th tree in this bird's eye view. The three trees on the left are cryptomeria and the two on the right are hinoki cypress (Cham. obtusa) though they appear to be two different varieties. The the one in front looks like Kosteri. I'm not sure about the other one.