You’ve heard the phrase if you’ve heard Boon talk about show prep. Full trees demonstrate health and maturity. Although there are exceptions, most bonsai look their best when they’re full. Fullness means different things for different varieties. I consider the deciduous trees below from Bay Island Bonsai’s recent exhibit to be “full.” Chinese quince ‘Chojubai’ […]
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Three-point displays
Eighteen inches, give or take, counts for a lot at Bay Island Bonsai exhibits. Generally, trees between 8″ and 18″ tall are considered medium bonsai and are exhibited in “three-point displays” – displays with two trees and one accent plant. Composing these displays requires care. If you haven’t set up a medium display before, imagine […]
Members’ Choice Awards
Bay Island Bonsai held their 12th annual exhibit last weekend at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. The show was a big success, drawing several hundred bonsai enthusiasts from around the country. Each year a handful of trees receive Members’ Choice Awards. Here are the 2011 winners. Ogata (large) conifer bonsai – Western juniper Ogata deciduous or […]
Play of light
Sunlight coming through the windows at Bay Island Bonsai’s recent exhibit created some interesting shadows. Pine with second thoughts about becoming a Western juniper Spruce joining California juniper and Beech in spirit More photos from the exhibit coming soon!
Big cuts
On my first and only visit to Kihachiro Kamiya’s nursery in 1999, I found Daisaku Nomoto working on a young black pine. It was close to 30 years old, and the tree was beautiful to me; it had a large base and fast taper and was more full than the pines I was used to […]