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.
2020 94th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition Part 4
Additional interesting photos from Part 2 of the 2020 94 th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition and a few from Part 1 too. Enjoy and learn, I did. Displayed front Another view Chojubai Flowering Quince from the Green Club sales…
A Visit To Taisho-en Bonsai Garden
Taisho-en Bonsai Garden is operated by Nobuichi Urushibata and his son Taiga. It is located in Shizuoka, Japan, near Mt. Fuji. Breathtaking views can be seen from streets and also at the train station where I took this…
A Visit To Shunka-en Bonsai Museum
Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in the Edogawa Ward of Tokyo is owned by award winning bonsai artist Kunio Kobayashi who is well known around the world. Visits to his museum are always one of my highlights to Japan. There is…
2020 94th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition Part 3
Part 2 of the 2020 94 th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition opened this morning at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. For the first several hours it seemed as though there were more foreigners than Japanese visitors. A great…
Flower Power
A Visit To S-Cube, Masahiko Kimura, Mansei-en and Fuyo-en Bonsai Gardens
Our small group, in a private van, first visited Seiji Morimae’s S-Cube Bonsai Garden Uchiku-tei in Hanyu, Japan. As always, Mr. Morimae was extremely busy with his large sales area in the Ueno Green Club and preparing…
2020 94TH Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition– Part 2
A few more photos from Part 1 of the 2020 94 TH Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition: Green Island Fig Sekka Hinoki Cypress Trident Maple displayed by Mark Cooper from England All the front dead branches were “added” onto an…
Another Repotting Project – Cedar Elm
2020 94TH Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition– Part 1
Part 1 February 8-11, 2020 Part 2 February 13-16, 2020 The Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition is the finest and longest running formal bonsai exhibition in the word. The All Japan Bonsai Exhibition was held in Hibiya Park, Tokyo,…
Evergreen highlights and displays from the 17th Shohin Seminar
Junipers and pines were the most common evergreen species at the California Shohin Society’s 17th biennial Seminar exhibition. Here are a few that were display. Japanese black pine Shimpaku juniper Shimpaku juniper…
Deciduous highlights at the 2020 California Shohin Seminar
Last weekend the California Shohin Society hosted the 17th Biennial Shohin Seminar in Santa Nella, California. The event is about as fun as bonsai events can be. Friday features demonstrations, attendees participate in…
Chinese Elm Repotting – Key Bonsai Practice
A Quick And Easy BC Forest
2020 California Shohin Bonsai Seminar
The 17 th Biannual California Shohin Bonsai Seminar was held on January 31-February 2, 2020 in beautiful downtown Santa Nella California. Actually, Santa Nella is not much more than a truck stop on I-5, but about…
Some Things That Are Waking Up
Defining the branch structure on a Korean hornbeam
I often begin the styling process by considering how well the branches complement the trunk. On the Korean hornbeam below, a slender trunk supports a relatively full silhouette. Korean hornbeam Full silhouettes make…
Black pine – work in progress
After developing the branches on a black pine for the past nineteen years, it was time to give the tree a haircut. Black Pine After reducing the apex When I acquired the tree twenty years ago, it was much taller. After…
BC Collecting Trip #5 For 2020
Bay Area Bonsai Associates’ 39th annual exhibit
The Bay Area Bonsai Associates held their 39th annual exhibit last weekend at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California. It’s been a few years since I last posted photos from the BABA show and I’m glad I…
The Little Book of Bonsai – a look at what’s inside
A few weeks ago I told the story of how The Little Book of Bonsai came to be. Today I’d like to share details about who it’s for and what’s inside. I wrote the book for people who are new to bonsai. It’s illustrated…
BC Collecting Trip #4 For 2020
BC Collecting Trip #3 For 2020
Pruning to support development goals on crabapple pre-bonsai
When pre-bonsai are in the trunk-thickening phase, the work is simple – prune to avoid unwanted swelling and wire new shoots where you want movement. I’ve been doing this work on a batch of crabapples I started from…
Refining a field-grown black pine
The pine below is several years out of the ground and is showing signs of becoming a bonsai. Japanese black pine In the past year, I wired the primary branches and made two grafts near the apex. This winter, I thinned…