The recent Decked Out exhibit at the Pacific Bonsai Museum comprised about half of the bonsai on display when I visited. The remaining trees were equally impressive. Here’s a brief look at them, starting with a Japanese maple whose leaves were just starting to lose their deep green color. Japanese maple The yew below recently returned from […]
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.
Decked-Out bonsai exhibit at the Pacific Bonsai Museum
Decked-Out: From Scroll to Skateboard, is an exhibit at the Pacific Bonsai Museum featuring skateboard decks and bonsai. If you haven’t seen it, there’s still time – the exhibit runs through Sunday, October 2. And if you’re interested in owning the decks themselves, they’re being auctioned for the benefit of the museum. The auction ends […]
Bonsai on display at Kunio Kobayashi’s
One of the nice things about visiting Kunio Kobayashi’s garden is that he has many display rooms in his house that are filled with bonsai. No tour here is complete without a pass through these rooms. Here are some of the highlights that were on display this past February. Root over rock black pine Japanese flowering […]
Yew and deciduous bonsai in Kimura’s garden
Yes, there is more to bonsai than pines and junipers. Kimura thinks so too. Japanese yew – super deadwood and movement Although Kimura’s garden is full of awesome pine and juniper bonsai, it is not without outstanding specimens of different varieties. Here are a few of my favorites from my visit to his garden this past […]
Kimura’s pines
Although Kimura is best known for juniper bonsai, his pine work is very good. The black pine below, for example, took the top prize at the 2015 Taikan-ten exhibit in Kyoto, Japan. Black pine The tree is imposing – large trunk, full canopy – and has clear movement to the right side with the apex and […]