The barker calls bids before a small crowd on a patch of dirt on a bright day in Inazawa, Aichi-ken. Lots speed by at a rate of two per minute. The trees are going fast. Youkakai Youkakai, or 8th day auction, is a local event held on the 8th day of each month at Kouyo-en. The […]
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.
Wiring a large Japanese black pine
As summer growth hardens on Japanese black pines, the time comes to pluck needles, cut extra shoots and wire branches that need moving. I recently worked on the black pine below with Boon Manakitivipart at the Shinpukuji Temple near Okazaki in Aichi, Japan. Black pine in Fall I’m used to doing fall work on Japanese […]
GSBF Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt
I stopped by the Golden State Bonsai Federation’s Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt after visiting the East Bay Bonsai Society’s 50th Anniversary Show. The weather was perfect for a stroll through the garden. Here are some of the trees that were on display. San Jose juniper Seiju elm grove Hinoki cypress Flowering apricot Monterey cypress […]
Sequoia deadwood
Deadwood, beyond fire scars, is not a major characteristic of mature sequoia. It is, however, a major characteristic of their environs as dead trees take a very long time to decompose. The beautiful and sinuous grain of the deadwood offers suggestions for our own deadwood carving. Nature, it seems, always gets it right. Toppled tree […]
Giant redwood – Sequoiadendron giganteum
I don’t know why it struck me so, but one of the first things I noticed about the giants in Sequoia National Park is the ground immediately around their feet. Typically, very little grew close by, and the ground was blanketed by fallen foliage. The golden-brown setting made the base of the giants stand out. […]