This European olive is a very substantial tree. But then, substantial European olives are quite common... though olives as substantial and developed as this one aren't quite so common.
Another foray into our archives. This one originally appeared December, 2013. It was titled ‘Wild Trees & Massive Trunks.’
All of the trees in this post are European olives. The photos are from José Gómez del Río on facebook.
Another rugged olive with a great trunk and a good pot choice too.
This wild unrefined look is typical of olives. As long as we’re on the subject of pots, you might notice how the tree just barely fits into this one.
A marked contrast from the first three. I like the movement and the details in the trunk, but does the tilted apex create an unbalanced feel?
A rugged forest somewhere in the foothills of the Pyrenees?
Another very unusual tree.
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Do you recognize this tree? We devoted a whole chapter to it in 
In John's own words: "I just thought I’d share a Red pine tree that resides here at Aichi-en as I did some maintenance on it (pulling needles, reducing the shoot’s to two and thinning), plus it is a hard to get a decent picture of it where it is positioned at the nursery. This tree I find, has a good feeling for me and is a personal favourite, although it’s hard to choose here. It in fact technically, has an obvious ‘rule’ fault but, I don’t think takes anything away from it. Rather, I think it adds to its character."
Here's John's caption for this one: "Recently I was given this exposed root White pine to wire. It is a customers tree that he wanted wired. I must say that I like the tree and I’m glad I was given it to work." This is not the first time for us with this tree; we featured it 
To get your
Bonsai, woodworking and suiseki aren't the whole story. Here's a couple shots of a garden that Pierre designed and built for a client.
A couple things qualify this bonsai as unusual. First, as you can see, it's got all kind of lines looping and jutting in an almost chaotic fashion. But there's a method to the madness. All the loops and juts not only add interest and excitement, but they come together in a way that creates both balance and tension. Second is the fact that it's a Procumbens juniper. A species that you don't see that often as specimen level bonsai. You do see a lot of dwarf Procumbens as little beginners' trees here in north America, but that's another story.
