The practice display at this month’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting comes courtesy of Jim Gremel. The wonderful itiogawa juniper is one of many Jim has grown from scratch. Itiogawa juniper It’s shown, below, with a colorful pyracantha – a great variety to exhibit this time of year. If all goes well, the berries will last […]
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East Bay Bonsai Society’s 48th Annual Show
The East Bay Bonsai Society will always hold a special place in my imagination as it’s the first bonsai club I joined. I had recently met Boon Manakitivipart who had invited me to visit a few local bonsai clubs. EBBS quickly became my local club. Through their monthly meetings and workshops I began to learn […]
Most ancient forest
By far the best Bay Island Bonsai field trip of the year was our visit to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in California’s White Mountain range. The slow-growing Bristlecone Pines are a marvel – and this is the best place to see them. Along the Methuselah Trail alone, 11 of the 19 known 4,000+ year-old […]
Deadwood story
In nature, animals, insects, rocks, wind, snow and self-sacrifice expose heartwood to the elements creating the oftentimes beautiful shapes and patterns we recognize as “deadwood” in bonsai. Deadwood always suggests a story – the cause of the trauma to a tree that killed part of it off. Some of these stories are more compelling than […]
REBS 26th Annual Show
The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society held their annual show on August 29 and 30th in Santa Rosa, CA. The show is the biggest in Northern California and among the best in the state. The trees, demonstrations and vendor areas are always a late summer treat. Korean Hornbeam Over the years Frank Bardella, and more recently […]




