I stumbled across this European hornbeam (Carpinus betulas) by Walter Pall on his Bonsai Adventures blog. The shot looks like spring with some trees lagging behind others
Following up on yesterday’s forest post, here’s one that originally appeared here in 2014. I think it’s one of our best on forests and worth another look
Focal point. Without the dominant tree this forest planting by Walter Pall would be a lot less interesting. With the dominant tree contrasted with rest of the trees, the planting has a focal point. With that focal point to organize around, balance, scale, a feeling of age and that more elusive quality we call interest, are easier to establish
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Same forest. Same time. Different backdrop. Walter usually shoots his trees with two or three different backdops.Continued from above…
Balance. If you look at the silhouette of the whole planting you’ll immediately see how everything flows from the dominant tree, creating an overall sense of balance and harmony. This has a lot to do with the natural strength and dynamism of scalene triangles and something called The Golden Mean or Golden Ratio (Magic Thirds)
Scale. Notice how the large tree is in the front. Not only does this show off its size and power, it also highlights a sense of depth when contrasted with the medium sized trees in the center axis (left to right) and the smaller trees in the back. Rather than seeing these trees as smaller as they go back, we tend to see them as further away.
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Contrasting these two shots provides a pretty good idea of how different backdrops effect our perception
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Age. When it comes to age, there are two types of natural forests: ones where all the trees are more or less the same age and size (for example a stand of trees that grew up after a forest fire) and an old forests with trees that show a mix of ages and sizes
This planting is a good example of the latter, with the main tree emphasizing and even exaggerating the contrast. You might even imagine that at one time the dominant tree stood alone and seeded the others
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Same planting, fall foliage. You can see how the individual trees turn and drop on different schedules
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Walter Pall often shows several photos of the the same bonsai with different backdrops and at different times. I think this is a good idea, especially given that no single photo can completely capture the power and dynamism of a good bonsai
One of the rewards of cold hardy bonsai
Impressive! I don't know what the trees are, though they look like conifers, maybe even pines. It would be nice to have a closer look, but beggars can't be choosey
When I first saw caught site of this planting on Quoc Viet Tran‘s timeline, I was immediately struck by how powerful and realistic it is. I wish I could tell you more about it, but no information is provided. I guess we’ll have to settle for simple appreciation of the artist’s mastery
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Left side, closer up. I cropped the original photo for closer looks (here and the next two). One thing that distinguishes this plant from many others is the in-scale foliage. Still we're not close enough to be tell what kind of foliage it is
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I’m pretty sure Quoc Viet Tran is a Vietnamese name, so you might assume the planting is in Vietnam. though as mentioned above, Tran provides no caption, so it’s all guesswork at this point
Right side. Another mystery about this tree is the long narrow whitish things on the ground. They must be little soaker hoses, or am I missing something?
Middle section, with a good look at the pond and rocks
The famous Masahiko Kimura with his demo planting sitting on a Green T Plus at the World Bonsai Convention.
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This dynamic and wild looking Shimpaku juniper, aka Sargent's juniper (Juniperus chinensis var. Sargentii), with its barely visible living vein (or veins?), was donated to the U.S. National Bonsai & Penjing Museum (Japanese Collection) by Kenichi Oguchi in 1976. It has been in training since 1905. The Museum's logo (below) was inspired by this tree
Today we’ve got two special events from the U.S. National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, sandwiched between a couple Junipers from the Museum’s Japanese Collection. Stay posted for more events and more magnificent trees from the Museum’s new website
This Shimpaku juniper was donated by Doug Paul in 2015. Age and years in training unknown. To my eye, a couple things make this tree unique; the two almost equal in girth trunks (in most twin trunk trees, one trunk is clearly stronger), and the ground cover like foliage on the right that appears to be growing from a third smaller horizontal trunk
The Museum logo
This might pass as artistic, but it's really just a miserably failed photoshop effort. The bonsai drawing is by Rueben Roig
I was going to do a post on the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum’s powerful new website, but WordPress decided to upgrade last night, and now I need to relearn how to put up a new post. Meanwhile, we’re digging deep into our archives for this one (Feb 2015). I know you’re probably sick of hearing about football by now, but there’s always our FREE Green Dream Fertilizer Special to peak your interest.
Speaking of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum's powerful new website, here's a little taste for you. And here's your link (it's a click worth making). We'll provide the details on this tree tomorrow along with more trees and some upcoming events at the Museum
Just a little unconventional? Here's what Michael Hagedorn wrote about this planting... "One of our experiments years ago in a Seasonal class: A collected Vine Maple on an internal armature of nylon boards, wrapped with sphagnum moss and planted with Licorice Ferns...sounds like a dish on a menu..."
Michael Hagedorn is an American bonsai artist, teacher, author and one of the great innovators in our world bonsai community. If Michael is, in his own words “a tad touched in the head,” then maybe we could all use a little crazy
All the photos and quotes in this post are from Michael’s fb timeline
Another example of Michael's not-so-conventional bent. We'll let him explain.... "Shore Pine on a wall...this is one of our tongue-in-cheek bonsai. My apprentice Andrew says, 'Such a weird tree, I love it'. I collected it in Canada and it had a bizarre root system, so planting it on a nylon slab and bolting it onto something just seemed the way to go...there's a post about constructing it on my blog"
I cropped this one for a closer look at the trunks and deadwood
Michael's interests range way beyond bonsai.... "Koi by street artist Jeremy Novy, in a client's bonsai garden. We watched him stencil these on, layer after layer, quickly and with a lot of confidence. Thought it added a bright and playful touch to the garden. With time the erosion of the top layer of paint makes Novy's koi look like they are swimming inside the stone."
Again, the the words of the artist himself... "Intaglio print from the early college days, just as I got into ceramics. I was quite taken with the Redbuds of Upstate New York, and remember looking up into the flowering branches of one small tree on the campus of Hamilton College, making a quick sketch, and scampering off to the print studio. I do less scampering now but enjoyed finding this the other day. Did a lot of tree drawing back in high school."
I know this to be one of Michael's favorite trees. His caption for the New Year.... "Some cheer for the New Year in the form of a dwarf flowering quince 'Chojubai'---happy holidays everyone!"
I like this twisted tree a lot. I think the words 'simple and unpretentious' suit it, but maybe you can provide your own words. Here's what Michael wrote... "Ponderosa Pine collected by the Backcountry Bonsai guys, styled years ago in a Seasonal class. Much of the deadwood was hiding under bark and was created courtesy of borers of the Rocky Mountains. We've written them a thank you note but the posting address was a bit vague."
Michael's innovation shows up all over the place including in this Micro Home he choses to live in so his apprentices can live the main house.... His own words again... "New doors on the micro home, next set in tomorrow.Ya, I know, crazy, no need to tell me: two sets of oversized French doors on a building only 24' long says something about 1. Being a tad touched in the head. 2. Liking the outdoors. 3. Not minding wasps inside the house."
Here's what Michael Hagedorn wrote about this tree... "Another tree from my apprenticeship days, prep work for the Kokufu show. Always liked this tree. Although arguably junipers are best with more dynamic and energy, the quiet presence of this one had a charm of its own. All I did was clarify some of the padding and make minor adjustments throughout." I cropped Michael's original photo (see below) for an up close look at the the trunk with its beautifully contrasting shari and living veins
“A trip down memory lane…” Lately Michael Hagedorn has been putting up trees from his Japan apprentice days with Shinji Suzuki. You can visit Michael on fb where I found these trees and on his Crataegus Bonsai website. Both are clicks well worth making.
In Michael's own words again... "A trip down memory lane...work from my apprenticeship. This photo is from the Kokufu show, I think it was #80, my last year with Suzuki in 2006. I hope the tree is doing well."
Michael again... "Here's another White Pine wired during my apprenticeship. Old fella, root over rock, although you can barely see the rock any more. The tree grows and the rock doesn't, what are you going to do..."
The original photo of the tree at the top
John Kirby's Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora var Kokone) in a Haramatsu-Tosui container and on a perfectly matched rosewood table by David Knittle (you can see the whole tree and table below). The tree was displayed at the 2018 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Festival, where it was awarded the Best in Show, People's Choice & the American Bonsai Society's award.
If you haven’t already planned your weekend at the 2019 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Spring Festival, there’s no better time than now. We’ll be there, enjoying the action while vending some of our Bonsai essentials (including some out of print gems and other items you may never see on our website). We hope to see you there!
The following is lifted straight from the MABS site…
“2019 will be held on April 12-14, 2019. It will take place at the Holiday Inn in Harrisburg/Hershey/Grantville, PA 17028 (Exit 80, I-81 ). Headliners will be:TAIGA URUSHIBATA representing Japan,MARC NOELANDERS representing Europe, and JENNIFER PRICE representing the USA. The annual MABS Spring Festival commences on Friday evening, April 12, and continues through Sunday afternoon, April 14“.
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Both of these specials end tonight, Jan 31st at 11:59pm EST.
Ponderosa Pine bonsai displayed by Mike Andrews at the 2018 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Festival and awarded the President's Award. The sculpture is bronze hares frolicking in springtime by Paul Jenkins. The stand is by David Knittle
More from the MABS website, continued from above….
“Renowned international professional bonsai artists present lecture/ demonstrations, workshops, and critiques of bonsai. Registrants have weekend-long opportunities to observe and spend time with the artists at breakout sessions between demonstrations, and to view the MABS member clubs’ Bonsai Exhibit.
In addition, a wide range of bonsai vendors are on site offering a large selection of bonsai, bonsai-related plants, containers, tools, books and other supplies. Each featured guest artist presents two lecture/demonstrations. Each bonsai creation is raffled following the completion of styling by its respective artist. There are also silent auctions and a very active live auction of donated bonsai materials at the Saturday night banquet.”
I picked this one up off the MABS site. I don't know who the artist is or anything else about this tree, though it looks like a sinuous root planting. My apologies for the fuzz. I blew it up a bit for a closer look
The lead tree from above with David Knittle's stand, uncropped. We showed this one not too long ago in a post that featured David's stands. So just in case you missed it, here it is in different context
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The perfect blend of greens and reds highlights an altogether perfect tree. It's a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) that has been in training since 1906. It was donated to the U.S. National Bonsai Museum by Ryutaro Azuma in 1978
The National Bonsai Foundation and has a wonderful new website that features the U.S. National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, home to some of the most outstanding bonsai in the world. Today is just a teaser from the Museum’s Japanese Collection. We’ll have more trees and more about the National Bonsai Foundation and the Museum soon. Meanwhile here are three maples from the Japanese Collection for your enjoyment
More perfection. This one is a root-over-rock Trident maple (Acer buergerianum) that has been in training since 1916. It was donated to the museum by Takeo Fukuda in 1978
Another root-over-rock (roots-swallowing rock?) Trident maple. This time in fall color. It was trained to grow over this rock as seedling beginning in 1919. It was donated by the Prime Minister of Japan, Keizo Obuchi in 1999
It's a little surprising that there are so few good shots of bonsai in creative settings. This one was borrowed from Peter Warren's Surayama, as were all the photos in this post.
Still catching up form vacation, so for expediency’s sake we’ll plunder our archives. This one is from June 2015. It was titled ‘Surayama – Shimpaku, Spruce & Several Others.‘
This photo is from a series Peter calls Noelanders trees. (Noelanders refers to the Noelanders Trophy Exhibit). He doesn't say what it is, but I'll guess that it's a Norway spruce (Picea abies) root-over-rock. You might notice the wavy drum pot.
This Shimpaku juniper with its fluid deadwood and heavy crown is another from Peter's Noelanders trees. I'm guessing that the companion is a root-over-rock Trident maple.
This powerful tree with brilliant berries must be a Japanese winterberry (Ilex seratta). It's hard to tell what's going on with the companion. Like the previous two, this one is labeled Noelanders tree.
A closer look.
This one is a Rosemary. I'm not sure I've ever seen a pot quite like this one. I wonder where it came from
