You know a bonsai show is close when someone asks you for the sock during workshop. “The sock,” in Bay Island Bonsai parlance, refers to a sock filled with crushed walnut meat. Walnut oil is great for cleaning bonsai pots and juniper bark for bonsai exhibits. And the effort required to apply it is well […]
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Bonsai Tonight – a history
Spring, 2004. A number of SOBs (Students of Boon) sat around Boon’s workshop on a sunny day sharing gossip – good gossip – about bonsai professionals around the world. We hit upon an idea, an alternative to Bonsai Today. It would be a website for anonymous posts of gossip, hearsay and in-jokes. Photos welcome, no […]
Pot selection redux
There are a number of things to consider when selecting a bonsai pot – especially when preparing a tree for exhibit. The pot needs to blend into the composition, but depending on the exhibit, this could entail very different criteria. Garish glazes might be appropriate in a show that focuses on containers. More subtle selections […]
Show pots
When a tree is ready for exhibit – needles plucked, wires wired – it’s time to select a show pot. In Japan, it’s common for bonsai professionals to repot bonsai into show pots so they look their best during an exhibit. For some of the more prestigious shows, bonsai owners rent pots for exhibit. Shortly […]
Age, character, and beauty
January has always been one of my favorite times of the year for bonsai. Full of repotting and show prep, wiring and cutback, the month entails some of the hardest and most rewarding work of the year. It also fills me with optimism for all of the bonsai work the year will bring. For all […]