Bonsai stories
What to do when a big branch in the front of the tree blocks your view of the trunk? Layer it and make a new tree. Last weekend’s Bay Area Bonsai Associates (BABA) show featured both halves of a boxwood created by Ned Lycett. Here’s a shot of the main tree.
Boxwood bonsai
And here’s the branch that’s now a semi-cascade boxwood bonsai.
I’ll bet a number of the trees in the exhibit have equally compelling stories. The trick is talking to club members to learn about them. I’ve yet to visit an exhibit that published the juicy tidbits, but I’d love to do so. We’ve thought providing stories of intrigue in the Bay Island Bonsai exhibit program, but have yet to follow through. It would require a lot of up front effort, but could help visitors learn more about why the trees mean so much to us. The best effort I’ve seen in this area is the guide to the GSBF’s Lake Merritt Bonsai Garden. It’s a great starting point that can encourage us to share our trees’ stories. More on that later.
Jay McDonald keeps the show trees from drying out at BABA’s 28 annual show.
Bonsai Tonight – a history
Spring, 2004. A number of SOBs (Students of Boon) sat around Boon’s workshop on a sunny day sharing gossip – good gossip – about bonsai professionals around the world. We hit upon an idea, an alternative to Bonsai Today. It would be a website for anonymous posts of gossip, hearsay and in-jokes. Photos welcome, no holds barred. And somewhere out of the din came the phrase, “Bonsai Tonight.” I can’t say for sure whether it was first uttered by Marco Invernizzi, Howard Smith or myself. I ran inside and purchased the domain without skipping a beat.
The following winter a handy photographer – thank you Sylvia – captured a few shots of us setting up BIB’s 6th annual exhibit. They were intended as a kick-off for the “Bonsai Tonight” we had discussed the previous year.
Howard combats wrinkles while Mike finds humor in hand-held steamers
I’m now one year into a very different Bonsai Tonight. Last January, time and desire came together and I made a first post. Soon after, I had the great fortune to return to Japan which led to many more. The year’s most popular post and photo came from a visit to Taikan Bonsai Museum in Obuse, Japan. It’s a truly outstanding garden.
Taikan Bonsai Museum
I find, however, that I remain inspired by the lighter side of bonsai as well.
A Windy Day, or, The Fastest Bonsai in the West
Thanks for reading. I’m optimistic for the new year and am looking forward to sharing as much of it in bonsai as possible.
Cheers,
Jonas
Age, character, and beauty
January has always been one of my favorite times of the year for bonsai. Full of repotting and show prep, wiring and cutback, the month entails some of the hardest and most rewarding work of the year. It also fills me with optimism for all of the bonsai work the year will bring.
For all of this, I’m grateful. Bonsai has enriched my life and led me on wonderful adventures around the world. Through it, I have made lasting friendships and learned to appreciate some of the more subtle beauties nature has to offer. I expect this year will be no different.
Years ago, I came across a flyer that provided a good summary of what makes a bonsai special. Age, character, and beauty, it asserted. I’ve used the definition often. If a tree lacks age, it cannot demonstrate its relationship to the environment. If it lacks character, there is nothing to distinguish it from the next tree on the bench. And if it lacks beauty, whether the elegance gained over time or the heart-rending tenacity that keeps it alive, the tree will fail to move us.
Full of age, character, and beauty, the Bristlecone Pines never fail to move me. The following grow along the Discovery Trail in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
One of the more famous trees along the trail. It lived for over 3,000 years.
It’s neighbor is still alive – it too has celebrated more than 3,000 new years.
John next to a huge Bristlecone pine.
Maybe the most photographed branch in the grove. The natural twists are outstanding.
A proud tree on the west edge of the grove.
Two Bristlecones catching last light.
Impending Exhibit
Bay Island Bonsai’s 11th annual exhibit is scheduled for January 16-17, 2010. It will be held in a new location – the Alameda County Fairgrounds – in Pleasanton, CA. In preparation for the event, I began selecting trees to display in January. In July, I put together a few trial displays to get a sense of how I might display the trees I planned to exhibit. I realized, at the time, that I had a bit of work cut out before the exhibit.
Planning, it turns out, only gets you so far in bonsai. The final decisions about what will or won’t be shown depend, in large part, on how good the trees look at exhibit time. This is why many of the great shows, like Kokufu, are juried a matter of weeks before the actual event. For the most part we have a good idea of what trees will make it into our exhibit well ahead of time, but there are always surprises as the event draws near.
I’m now considering showing up to four trees this year: a maple, a juniper, and two pines. I can’t yet say which will make the cut. Beginning tomorrow, I’ll be working on each in an attempt to get them show ready. This will entail a bit of wiring, plucking, cutback and repotting.
Trident maple
I’ve shown the trident maple above on a couple of occasions, most recently in 2005, but the other three trees have yet to be shown. As deciduous trees aren’t typically shown with wire, preparing the maple will include the usual cutback, cleanup and repotting, but it won’t, thankfully, include wiring.
Pines, on the other hand, can show well with wire. How to know when to wire and when to pass? That’s a good question that can make for wonderful debate when the tree in question is ancient and shows loads of character. When the tree is young, like the the 15 year-old specimen below, it’s harder to get away with sloppy branch placement. I’ll start by pulling extraneous needles and then see what else is needed. With or without additional wire, the tree will benefit greatly from a more appropriate pot.
Japanese black pine
A fellow BIB member and I split a juniper several years ago and I ended up with the half pictured below. Another way of putting it: the owner of the other half of the tree realized that his half would be better off without the bit you see below. It’s been a fun project.
Western juniper
The corkbark pine below previously belonged to the late Mas Imazumi – a very prominent and much missed teacher who popularized bonsai around the U.S. for decades. I’ve been returning the tree to its former vigor over the past few years and was happy to see that it filled in well this summer. I don’t know if I can get it ready for show this time around, but I expect it won’t be too much longer if it doesn’t go in this year.
Japanese black pine – corkbark
For years, I’ve been particularly opinionated about which trees belong in BIB’s exhibit and which trees don’t. Despite Boon’s encouragements, a number of us have repeatedly turned down requests to show our trees for fear that they just aren’t ready. After years of maintaining a hard line on the topic, I’m beginning to soften a bit. Not about what makes for quality trees, but about which trees are ready for exhibit. In a “perfect” world, with benches overflowing with outstanding trees, yes, I’d be happy to uphold rigorous standards. But in our world, a world rife with opportunities to improve our trees, I’m warming to Boon’s mantra of, “Show it one way this year – we’ll improve it and show it another way next time.” At least, that’s what I’m telling myself about this year’s candidates.
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