Each fall, the Gardens at Lake Merritt host the Autumn Lights Festival. The event is a fundraiser for the seven-acre garden in Oakland’s Lakeside Park. Held over three evenings, the event attracts thousands of visitors of all ages. More than five thousand made it to the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt to see trees illuminated […]
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Photographing bonsai – getting the level right
I’ve long found that the hardest part of photographing bonsai is figuring out how high to hold the camera. Holding it too high can be good for showing the foliage but not so great for seeing the branch structure. Holding the camera too low reveals more of the branch structure but doesn’t offer a good […]
What to look for at fall bonsai exhibits
The first time I visited a fall exhibit in Japan, I was struck by the number of fruiting bonsai. Every aisle offered examples of crabapple, princess persimmon, pyracantha, or hawthorn bonsai with colorful fruit. I hadn’t realized what a good opportunity the season was to show off trees with fruit as I hadn’t been exposed […]
Bonsai Development Series #10: transitioning to a new sacrifice branch
Here’s a six year-old pine with a large sacrifice branch. Six year-old black pine It’s great that the sacrifice branch has grown this much, but it’s getting big relative to the future trunkline. Sacrifice branch Future trunk If I had reduced the sacrifice branch a year or two ago, it would have grown less but […]
Two year progression on a cascade black pine
Two years ago this month, Daisaku Nomoto did a demonstration at the Pacific Northwest Bonsai Clubs Association convention in Olympia, Washington. His helpers were Boon Manakitivipart, Matt Reel and Tyler Sherrod – quite a team! Here’s the finished product. October, 2016 After the demo, I brought the tree home, repotted it in winter, and decandled […]