Eccentric Bonsai: A Very Unusual Satsuki

What a strange and compelling tree! The trunk is massive from left to right, but looks like it might be somewhat flat from front to back, though it’s hard to tell from this angle. The branching is undefined (partially caused by the way the foliage and flowers are growing in the crotches) and unbalanced in a way that might make you wonder if someone was drunk or if there was some sort of pruning accident (no insult intended; just felt like saying something provocative). Still, there is something dynamic and compelling about this tree, at least compelling enough to motivate … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: A Very Unusual Satsuki

Eccentric Bonsai Half Way Round the World

I found this unusual little gem in Shohin Bonsai Europe’s Guest Gallery. It’s by Tedy Boy (that’s what it says) of Indonesia. The crown and the rest of the foliage seem to be almost disembodied, like floating in space. I think that’s because you can’t see where it attaches to the trunk. To add to the eccentric flavor, the background and funky plastic stand (upside down tub?) are pink. It’s not everyday you see a bonsai with a pink stand shot against a pink background. BTW: it’s a Phemna microphylla. Unusual: good Some of the the trees we show in … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai Half Way Round the World

Eccentric Bonsai: A Very Wild Mugo Pine

Almost like magic. This wild and wonderful mugo pine showed up on facebook a few weeks ago. It was posted by Bonsai Creativo School and Academy. Wild, wonderful and no so traditional There are at least two things that come to mind when I look at this wild mugo pine. First, that it represents a break with traditional bonsai styles, particularly traditional Japanese bonsai. It just doesn’t look like what bonsai used to look like not too long ago. The second thing about it is that it’s a mugo pine. It wasn’t too long ago that the only pines you’d … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: A Very Wild Mugo Pine

Eccentric Bonsai: Two Trees by Budi

This tree isn’t exactly eccentric. Just powerful, handsome and unique. It’s by Budi Sulistyo and graces the cover of his excellent tropical bonsai gallery book (you can see the whole cover below). Such a contrast I think this next tree (below), also by Budi, falls into the eccentric category. This ficus microcarpa by Budi Sulisyo from an album entitled ‘Stone Pot’.

Eccentric Bonsai: Shinji Suzuki’s Cascade Juniper

The styling progression on this cascade Shimpaku juniper by Shinji Suzuki is remarkable (you can see the whole step by step progression in our Juniper book). So is the end result. Remarkable and very unusual. Shinji Suzuki styled it when he was 24 years old. I wonder if he would do it differently now. It’s not just the wild mixed interlocking swirls of live and dead wood… … nor is it just the very long piece of deadwood that runs through the center like a dagger, all the way from near the top to the very bottom… nor the delicate … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: Shinji Suzuki’s Cascade Juniper

Eccentric Bonsai: Fearless Master Kimura Again

Though it’s not as powerful as many other Kimura trees (see below), nor is it considered one of his classics, still, I can’t say enough about this tree, so I won’t say much except I apologize that it is a little cramped on the left side and that it’s a Yew and it’s from The Bonsai Art of Kimura (out of print though occasionally the ‘let’s reprint’ thought flits around). There are eccentric bonsai and then… … there are eccentric bonsai. That is, some trees we feature are just eccentric. Others are masterpieces that are also eccentric (unusual in some … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: Fearless Master Kimura Again

Eccentric Bonsai: Kimura Rises to the Challenge

After. Finished for the moment. The challenge was for Masahiko Kimura to style a bunjin (literati) bonsai with only one branch (see below for where he started). It’s eccentricity lies in its striking simplicity, if that makes any sense. It a Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora). From our Masters’ Series The Magician, the Bonsai Art of Kimura 2. From an article that originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 69.

Eccentric Bonsai #8: Crafty Nick’s Crazy Cedar

You like unconventional? Crazy? How about daring and masterful? Notice how the color and design of the pot plays with the wild shari (deadwood) and the small touch of moss on the left mirrors the foliage. Just another bonsai from left field by crafty old Nick Lenz, master left fielder, author, and preeminent (whatever that means) master of cedars, larches and other collected North American gems. This photo is from North American Bonsai (American Bonsai Society – compiled and edited by Martin Schmalenberg), now on sale at Stone Lantern. When is a cedar not really a cedar? The tree featured … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #8: Crafty Nick’s Crazy Cedar

Eccentric Bonsai #7: Nick’s Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy bonsai by Nick Lenz, who, in addition to be one of our most talented bonsai artists, is also a master of the unusual. This photo appears in Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild (Stone Lantern Publishing). Nicknamed OSAMA Nick Lenz calls his charming looking, but otherwise nasty little bonsai, OSAMA (no explanation needed). Halloween bonsai Though you may not take poison ivy bonsai seriously (or take it at all, for that matter), Nick does. Here’s a few of his words (lifted from his book): While poison ivy may be considered a Halloween bonsai, the species has great charm … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #7: Nick’s Poison Ivy

Eccentric Bonsai #6: A Unique Masterpiece

This Kuromatsu (Japanese black pine) won the environment minister’s prize at the 20th Green Festa Kokubunji bonsai fair in Takamatsu’s Kokubunji town, Japan. It is 46 centimeters (18.1″) high and about 80 years old. It is owned by Michiyo Yano from Onohara in the city of Kanonji, Kagawa Prefecture and appears on the Bonsai World website. Eccentric? So what’s eccentric about a small masterpiece that won a major Japanese prize? Two things catch the eye. A large wound First is the large wound on the lower left side of the trunk. Often large wounds are unsightly and spoil the beauty … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #6: A Unique Masterpiece