For those who have yet to visit the Omiya Bonsai Museum, I highly recommend it. The collection is small, but the quality is high. Indoor displays teach bonsai basics. An outdoor garden allows for strolling among famous trees. My favorite exhibits include an overview of the history of bonsai and of the Omiya Bonsai Village. Old […]
Search Results for: pine
Displaying a Japanese maple
This month’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting focused on Japanese maple. After studying how and when to pluck, prune and pinch maples, we worked on a maple display. Bay Island Bonsai meeting at Boon’s workshop The tree to be displayed is in the large category – it’s over 16-18 inches tall – so the idea was […]
Bonsai Society of San Francisco 2016 exhibit
The Bonsai Society of San Francisco held their annual exhibit last week at the San Francisco Garden Show in San Mateo, California. Hats off to BSSF members and officers for putting on a great event. The trees were fantastic – full, healthy, and beautiful. Enjoy! Bonsai display at the San Francisco Garden Show Japanese maple […]
Getting the balance right – a follow-up
One of the more common challenges with refining pines is balance. Last summer I wrote about a red pine forest with uneven growth (see “Getting the balance right“). To improve the balance between trees, I decandled the weak trees early and the strong trees later. Here’s how the pine looked last spring before decandling. April […]
Highlights from Shinji Suzuki’s garden
It’s inspiring to walk through a beautiful bonsai garden. Japanese maple A visit to Shinji Suzuki’s garden is a visit to a lot of really, really, good trees. Looking up at a Chinese quince The garden is arranged in a series of greenhouses with courtyards between them. In winter, nearly all bonsai are brought indoors […]