Ezo Spruce by Any Other Name…

One glance at this Ezo spruce and you know it belongs to Walter Pall. Walter sometimes refers to this natural looking untouched-by-human-hands style as ‘naturalistic bonsai,’ though if you go to Walter’s Bonsai Adventures blog where this photo is from, you’ll see just how touched-by-human-hands it actually was. And just how accomplished Walter is at turning pedestrian bonsai into naturalistic gems. Ezo spruce are sometimes referred to as Jezo or Yezo spruce (Picea jezoensis or Picea yezoensis) and even Sakhalin spruce, though that’s a really a different species (Picea glenii). Most (or perhaps all) of the specimen quality Ezo bonsai in … Continue reading Ezo Spruce by Any Other Name…

Can’t Really Pick a Favorite, But…

Suthin has a way with Hinoki cypress. And a way with bonsai altogether. The more I look at this tree, the more I like it. If I were to go back through our nine hundred or so posts so far and pick my favorites, this one would surely make the grade. This photo and the others in this post are from Suthin’s facebook timeline. It would be very difficult if we had pick a favorite bonsai or a favorite bonsai artist. There are simply too many good ones, with so many different types of trees and styles. However, if I … Continue reading Can’t Really Pick a Favorite, But…

The Finest of the Fine

This luminous Tensho Satsuki Azalea belongs to Joseph Noga of Winterville, NC. You can find it and the other photos in this post, in Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. The finest of the fine It’s not that these are the finest bonsai in the world and it’s not that they aren’t either. It’s more the combination of top quality bonsai and top quality photography has resulted in some of the finest bonsai photos you’ll see anywhere. In this vein, it’s important to bear in mind that these digital images, though very good, are inadequate. For the full effect and for … Continue reading The Finest of the Fine

Snake Dance & Lazy Posting

Snake Dance by Gede Merta of Bonsaibali. It’s a Pemphis acidula. This photo above shows a truly remarkable tree. Enough said. Or…, maybe not. If you look below you’ll see the photo as it originally appeared (on facebook). Clearly, the photo above, without the distracting writing, better shows off the tree. Still, it’s hard to fault Mr. Gede Merta for displaying his name so prominently. Otherwise, you’ll no doubt find the photo displayed on facebook free from any attribution, and in the worse cases, free from any suggestion that the tree might not belong to the person posting the tree … Continue reading Snake Dance & Lazy Posting

Growing Better Roots & Trunks

In addition a one of the most perfectly developed crowns you’ll ever see, with its amazing profusion of tiny leaves; this Trident maple (I must’ve been drunk, any fool can see that this is a Zelkova) provides one of the best examples of trunk and surface root (nebari) development you’ll see anywhere. Neither are overstated; providing a welcome relief from overdeveloped trunk taper and nebari that you sometimes see in Trident maples. But then, you might expect perfection from this tree, it’s from the Grand Master Saburo Kato’s collection (Kato-sama’s most excellent book, Forest, Rock Plantings and Ezo Spruce Bonsai … Continue reading Growing Better Roots & Trunks

Mixed Maple Forest

This playful mixed Japanese bonsai forest is by Juan José Bueno Gil. Rare indeed You don’t see too many mixed bonsai forests, and my guess is that you’ve never seen one with this many varieties (above). They may all be the same species for sure (Acer palmatum), but they aren’t all the same. How many varieties can you count? We’ve shown this mixed forest in Bonsai Bark before. It’s one of my favorites (though it would be nice if the photo were larger). It’s from Saburo Kato’s Forest, Rock Planting & Ezo Spruce Bonsai (published by The National Bonsai Foundation … Continue reading Mixed Maple Forest

Bonsai Gallery: Five Magnificent Trees

Forest on a slab from Bonsai Today issue 23. Though the photo is uncaptioned it looks like it could be an Ezo spruce forest by Saburo Kato. Slant style Japanese maple in fall color. From Bonsai Today issue 14. Artist unknown. This is one of a handful of outstanding Japanese winterberries (Ilex serrata) that pop up here and there in Bonsai Today. It’s from issue 14 (it appears on both the cover and inside, though with different backgrounds). Artist unknown. Trident maple forest from Bonsai Today issue 14. I counted 29 trees, though it’s difficult (if not impossible) to tell … Continue reading Bonsai Gallery: Five Magnificent Trees