Spring is a time of year when bonsai grow fast. That’s cause for both celebration and caution. For trees that have been wired, spring is when the wires are most likely to cut in. A casual glance at trees that have been wired often isn’t enough. 3 1/2 year-old black pine – the wire looks ok […]
Search Results for: juniper
Visit to Telperion Farms
Plants love Oregon – 100 wholesale nurseries can’t be wrong. Many of these nurseries focus on conifers – and at least one grows bonsai exclusively: Telperion Farms. Chris and Lisa Kirk started Telperion Farms on 100 acres east of Salem, Oregon. Numerous growing fields support pines, maples and junipers while less common varieties including hornbeam, quince and […]
The Portland bonsai tour continues
I’m always surprised at how lush and green spring is around Portland when the dogwood, rhododendron and hawthorns are in full bloom. Driving between bonsai gardens in the area provided ample opportunity to enjoy the season. Even more striking is the amount of collected material in the area. Visiting bonsai gardens in Oregon means seeing […]
Judging bonsai at Bay Island Bonsai meeting
This month’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting featured some of my favorite activities – evaluating bonsai and bonsai display. Boon regularly gives members opportunities to hone their understanding of judging by bringing trees for us to evaluate and having us score them. Scoring trees forces the viewer to look closely and think about a tree’s characteristics in […]
A visit to brendenstudio
In 2002, I visited the Bonsai Society of Dallas convention featuring Masahiko Kimura. The event’s exhibit included a composition that got a lot more attention than the others. Thirteen years later, I spotted the same composition in its creator’s garden. Shimpaku planted on shovel supported by cinder block The artist is Greg Brenden. You may know of Greg […]