Spotted in the Wild
Historical Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and RSS posts previously curated by the club (2017–present). Not authored by the club — preserved here since the original source feeds no longer carry this history.
Bonsai Development Series #11: Culling trees with poor characteristics
I’d like to say that every pine I start from seed grows into a winner, but that isn’t the case. To avoid investing time in trees with flaws that are difficult to correct, I periodically evaluate all of my bonsai and…
GSBF convention exhibit highlights
The Golden State Bonsai Federation held their 41st convention this past weekend at the McClellan Conference Center in McClellan, California. The event featured two exhibits – one for general entries and one for judged…
Meet Harvey B. Carapella
Harvey Carapella is an accomplished award winning bonsai artist living in Rochester, New York. He worked as a graphic artist for 36 years at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he additionally taught basic…
Illuminated bonsai at the Oakland Autumn Lights Festival
Each fall, the Gardens at Lake Merritt host the Autumn Lights Festival . The event is a fundraiser for the seven-acre garden in Oakland’s Lakeside Park. Held over three evenings, the event attracts thousands of visitors…
Water-Elm #38 – “Big Hoss” – Made It
Photographing bonsai – getting the level right
I’ve long found that the hardest part of photographing bonsai is figuring out how high to hold the camera. Holding it too high can be good for showing the foliage but not so great for seeing the branch structure.…
The Suiseki Art of Mas Nakajima
Mas Nakajima created beautiful works of art by combining viewing stones with paintings. He referred to this work as Suiseki Art. Masahiro Nakajima with Suiseki Art display Suiseki Art is appreciated by the suiseki and…
Water-Elm #40 Initial Styling
What to look for at fall bonsai exhibits
The first time I visited a fall exhibit in Japan, I was struck by the number of fruiting bonsai. Every aisle offered examples of crabapple, princess persimmon, pyracantha, or hawthorn bonsai with colorful fruit. I…
Planning A Classically Styled Water-Elm
Bonsai Development Series #10: transitioning to a new sacrifice branch
Here’s a six year-old pine with a large sacrifice branch. Six year-old black pine It’s great that the sacrifice branch has grown this much, but it’s getting big relative to the future trunkline. Sacrifice branch Future…
Water-Elm #53 Initial Styling
Water-Elm #35 Initial Styling
Two year progression on a cascade black pine
Two years ago this month, Daisaku Nomoto did a demonstration at the Pacific Northwest Bonsai Clubs Association convention in Olympia, Washington. His helpers were Boon Manakitivipart, Matt Reel and Tyler Sherrod – quite…
When to keep old needles on weak branches
Here’s another black pine that’s slowly regaining vigor. There’s plenty of new foliage on the strongest shoots, but many of the weaker branches have just a few new needles each. Old black pine Where there are many new…
Water-Elm #35 Video #2
Rehabilitating a black pine – removing old needles
I’d like to write a few articles this season about fall work for pines, in particular needle-pulling and thinning. I’ll start with a simple example. One of my recently acquired pines was very weak last year. When I…
Accent plants on display at the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition
The variety of accent plants on display at the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition was fantastic. Here is a small sample. Dwarf variegated bamboo and pyrossia sp. Sedum on volcanic stone Mixed planting Equisetum,…
Water-Elm #53 Video #2
Remember This Sycamore?
Highlights from the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition
On September 8th and 9th, William N. Valavanis hosted the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition in Rochester, New York. It was an awesome event. The exhibit featured over 300 bonsai – an impressive feat considering the…
Highlights from the Northwest Bonsai Rendezvous exhibit
The Bonsai Society of Portland and Pacific Northwest Bonsai Clubs Association presented the 2018 Northwest Bonsai Rendezvous this month in Milwaukie, Oregon. The event was a big success! Three days of workshops,…