When everything goes just right, a tree collected from the mountains begins to grow and gain vigor. After a while, it’s ready to begin the journey of becoming a bonsai. The Sierra juniper below is showing strong signs of vigor. Although it’s strong enough to begin styling work, I wanted to know what I was […]
Sierra juniper
Sierra junipers in the snow
I’ve always wondered what Sierra junipers look like in winter. We often hear about how alpine trees are “buried in snow” through the winter months, but I hadn’t seen this first hand. After many visits to see these giant, natural bonsai over the years, I recently had the opportunity to see them after an early […]
Refining a Sierra juniper
Ned Lycett was one of the happy exhibitors at the inaugural Artisans Cup held in Portland, Oregon, last month. The tree he displayed was a Sierra juniper he collected in 2006. Here is the tree as presented at the Cup. Sierra juniper by Ned Lycett aka Deadwood Bonsai This month, Ned got to work on […]
The twistiest of junipers
This is the first juniper I fell for on my previous visit to Meiss Meadow. Twisty Sierra juniper It’s one of the twistiest specimens I know of. The deadwood is great. Deadwood detail From some angles it’s difficult to tell if the trunk line is coming or going. So many twists How large is this […]
Spectacular Sierra junipers
Among my favorite trees in nature is this Sierra juniper. Spectacular Sierra juniper The tree sits on a throne facing East where it enjoys limited protection from the wind. It gives evidence to a protracted and tortuous existence. How big is it? Standing on the rock behind the tree for perspective Pretty big. The deadwood […]