For the past twelve years, the Kokufu-ten has been divided into two halves. For these double shows, the organizers set up the exhibit and open it to the public for a few days, then close for a day or two to reset the show with all new displays. This year the exhibit featured a whopping […]
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Special trees at the 100th Kokufu exhibit
Last month the Japanese Bonsai Association hosted the 100th national exhibit, the Kokufu, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park, Tokyo. The event was busier than it has been in recent years, and a larger percentage of the visitors were foreign. As for the bonsai, there was a good number of special trees […]
Kouka-en in the snow
For much of the northern hemisphere, seeing snow-covered bonsai in winter is nothing out of the ordinary. For Keiichi Fujikawa, proprietor of the Fujikawa Kouka-en bonsai garden in Osaka, the sight is far from normal. Snow-covered bonsai at Kouka-en Shimpaku juniper When our small tour arrived at Fujikawa’s garden, I asked how many times it […]
Highlights from the Bay Area Bonsai Associates 42nd exhibit
Last month the Bay Area Bonsai Associates held their 42nd annual exhibit at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California. The event featured an exhibit, sales area, and Saturday evening demonstration by Adam Toth. Japanese black pine California juniper I appreciated that the show included a good mix of deciduous, broadleaf evergreen, and coniferous […]
Pruning flowering quince
I usually aim to prune flowering quince such as boke, toyonishiki, or chojubai in fall after most of the leaves turn color and begin to fall off. In recent years, however, my garden has lacked the cold required to make this happen. Flowering quince in early January When this happens, I defoliate the trees and […]