The day before the New Zealand Bonsai Expo opened, I visited the venue. Setup for the bonsai displays had yet to begin. As I walked the empty aisles, I was curious what I’d find the next day. About 24 hours later I walked into an exhibit with wonderful New Zealand natives including totara, manuka, kanuka, […]
Exhibits
Exhibits are where we can see bonsai at their best. Explore posts from Bonsai Exhibits in the U.S. including the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition and Japanese events including the world-famous Kokufu and Taikan-ten exhibits.
Draft judging instructions for the PBE
For years now I’ve wanted to write a guide to help judges think through the process of scoring the trees displayed in the Pacific Bonsai Expo. It’s one of a small number of exhibits where the exhibitors are the judges, and we don’t expect the members of the judging panel to all have broad experience […]
Bonsai United: new exhibit at the Pacific Bonsai Museum
“How do landscape, native flora, and cultural practices shape bonsai expression?” This is the question Aarin Packard and the Pacific Bonsai Museum investigate in their current exhibit, Bonsai United. The exhibit investigates ways in which the environment, the culture, and the expression of bonsai differ in fifteen countries around the world. Shimpaku grafted on Sierra […]
Highlights from the MidAtlantic Bonsai Societies’ 2026 Exhibit
The Mid-Atlantic Bonsai Societies is a network of eleven bonsai clubs in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Each spring these clubs are invited to display trees at the region’s annual convention, the Spring Festival. Peter Warren, Kaya Mooney, and I were invited guests at the event and we had a great time. […]
Shohin bonsai at the 100th Kokufu exhibit
Each half of the Kokufu exhibit features a small number of shohin displays. The exhibit is set up to present the large trees first, then the medium bonsai, and finally the shohin. They’re the last bonsai you see before leaving the exhibit. Six-tree shohin display Like the larger trees in the exhibit, shohin bonsai are […]