If you look next to every great tree at the Kokufu bonsai exhibit, you’ll find a small companion plant at its side. Korean hornbeam display Accent plants, or shitakusa (“under weeds”) as they are known in Japanese, accompany every display at the Kokufu-ten. Accents can feature one or more species, and they are typically planted […]
Accents
Sierra wildflowers – nature’s accent plants
My recent visit to the Sierra Nevada coincided with wildflower season this year. It was a great reminder of how natural it is to pair trees with companion plants that grow nearby. Here are some of the flowers and succulents I found among the junipers. If you know their names, feel free to share them […]
Learning about accent plants at Bonsai on the Bayou
The exhibit at Houston’s Bonsai on the Bayou featured a special display of accent plantings. The artist behind many of these, as well as many of the other accents in the exhibit, was Sooncheng Cheah. Sooncheng has been making accents for years and was recognized for her work at the 2016 US National Exhibition at […]
Accent plants: Pyrrosia ferns
If you’ve been to a bonsai exhibit in Japan or flipped though a Japanese exhibit book, you’ve likely seen accent plants featuring pyrrosia, an epiphytic fern. Accent featuring pyrrosia at the 2011 Gomangoku exhibition in Okazaki, Japan Although there are close to one hundred species of pyrrosia, many used for bonsai are cultivars of Pyrrosia […]
Accent plants on display at the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition
The variety of accent plants on display at the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition was fantastic. Here is a small sample. Dwarf variegated bamboo and pyrossia sp. Sedum on volcanic stone Mixed planting Equisetum, selaginella, and moss Mixed planting Hen and chicks on volcanic stone Violets Dwarf pitcher plant Hen and chicks in Bunzan pot […]