Bonsai tree

Is all forgiven when a bonsai flowers? In this case, after the brilliant white dazzle (with soft touches of pink and yellow), there’s the strong trunk with a nice flaring base. But still, my eye keeps going back to the scar and the messy little stuff underneath it, and the somewhat clunky pot. Is it just me? From Jose Pañeda’s Photos – mis bonsáis.

Those magical few days…

I remember the first time I saw a what I thought was a so-so bonsai displaying gorgeous flowers. It was in Bonsai Today (long before I became the publisher) and the photo was from Japan. After some puzzling, it became apparent that the tree had been styled to display the flowers. Everything else was secondary. So secondary, that I imagine the tree would find a home out of sight on a back bench somewhere for most of its life. Except for those few days or weeks of magic each year, when the flowers appeared.

Gorgeous flowers, okay tree. This Camelia appears on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 66. Without the flowers, you’d probably never see it in the pages of a quality magazine, let alone on the cover.

Gorgeous flowers, excellent tree; the best of all possible worlds. No need to hide this gnarly old Ume on a back bench when the flowers are gone. This photo which appeared in an earlier post on Bonsai Bark, is from the Bonsai Guest House in Osaka Japan.



Absolutely unforgiven. This mess is from a commercial site (not worthy of link). It can be yours for only $150. No shame.

Source: Bonsai Bark