The day has barely started and I'm already running out of superlatives. I guess spectacular will do in this case. It's a Korean hornbeam (Carpinus turczaninowii) that belongs to Ian Stewartson. The photo is from Bonsai Art's website.

Delving into our archives, while sticking with our German theme (see yesterday). This one originally appeared March 2013.

Bonsai Art magazine is very well named. As bonsai magazines go, it’s as beautiful and professional as they come. The problem, for most of us at least, is that it’s in German. But really, the photos and overall presentation are so good that maybe the language isn’t as important as you might think.

Here's another kusamono (see yesterday), which is Japanese for companion plantings, or herbaceous plants in bonsai containers when they stand alone. This Thalictrum (Meadow-rue), also from Bonsai Art's website, belongs to Wolfgang Putz.

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Okay, the trunk is massive for sure, but there's more to this tree (ramification and taper come to mind). It's another Korean hornbeam (Carpinus turczaninowii). This one belongs to Mariusz Komsta and the photo like the others shown here is from Bonsai Art's website. The smaller bonsai looks like a Shimpaku.

Learning from the Master, Masahiko Kimura. This is a pretty good example of what a spread in Bonsai Art looks like.

Bonsai Art's cover. The tree, a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), won a special prize at the 2013 Noelander's Exhibition. It resides at the Bonsai Museum in Dusseldorf. The artist is David Benavente.