My recent visit to the Sierra Nevada coincided with wildflower season this year. It was a great reminder of how natural it is to pair trees with companion plants that grow nearby. Here are some of the flowers and succulents I found among the junipers. If you know their names, feel free to share them […]
Excursions
Excursion posts feature visits to bonsai gardens in the U.S. and in Japan, visits to the Kyoto's Most Renown Gardens, and trips into the mountains to see junipers and pines in their natural setting.
A natural semi-cascade juniper
I had made several visits to the Sierra junipers around Carson Pass before I first saw the giant semi-cascade. It was pretty awesome. Natural semi-cascade style Sierra juniper Much of the deadwood on this tree is a bright white color that makes a nice contrast to the reddish live veins. A strip of bright white […]
Appreciating a massive, and ancient, Sierra juniper
One of my favorite Sierra junipers doesn’t fit neatly into any categories. It’s form is somewhere between informal upright and semi-cascade. The base of the trunk is massive, but the apical foliage extends from a slender, twisting branch. I can’t say I’ve figured the tree out, but I enjoy trying. Ancient Sierra juniper The tree […]
A very twisty Sierra juniper
I had a chance this week to visit some of my favorite Sierra junipers. The best known of these trees is pictured below. A very twisty Sierra juniper The tree is compact and twisty, revealing different characteristics when viewed from different angles. From the east, the trunk appears massive and relatively straight. A single, sinuous […]
Bonsai from the Gafu-ten sales area
One of the highlights of the Gafu-ten exhibit is the sales area. Like the sales areas at other top bonsai exhibits, the Gafu-ten sales area featured bonsai at all stages of development from seedlings to show quality specimen bonsai. Some of my favorites are pictured below. Japanese black pine Japanese white pine Dwarf jasmine Japanese maple […]