I’m glad I made it to Masahiko Kimura’s garden this year. I had an hour before the sun went down which was just enough time to visit some of my favorite trees and take a few photos. Posing with a Japanese black pine Looking closely at the trees in Kimura’s garden reveals the characteristics we […]
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.
Massive field-grown satsuki azaleas
When azaleas are dug from the field, it’s common to clean the trunks and reduce the branches. The trees are then placed in greenhouses so they get the heat and humidity they need to send out new shoots. Satsuki azalea recently dug from the field This is bonsai at its most abstract. The trunks, decades […]
Field-growing satsuki azaleas at Takahashi Engei
My recent trip to Japan included some satsuki sightseeing at Takahashi Engei – a large azalea grower in Kanuma City. Kazuhiro Takahashi showed us around his growing fields which gave us a good look at the stages azaleas go through on their way to becoming bonsai. Although I didn’t see young trees on the property, […]
Onuma’s mini-sized bonsai
After spending two days in the Tokyo area to see the Kokufu exhibit, I took a day trip to Shizuoka to visit Kazuo Onuma. Onuma is a grower who specializes in mini-sized bonsai. He’s been working with trees for twenty-five years and has been serious about it for the last fifteen. The effort has paid […]
Sierra wildflowers – nature’s accent plants
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 […]