Bonsai tree: Omiya Bonsai Art Museum and environs

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Omiya Bonsai Art Museum and environs

The people of Saitama City pooled impressive resources to open the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in 2010. Billed as the world’s first publicly-operated bonsai art museum, the museum is home to outstanding trees, pots, stands, and historical documents relating to bonsai. Their brochure claims that three principles form the pillars of the museum’s activities:

1. The bonsai research center - The Museum carries out research on the history and significance of bonsai from diverse perspectives. The results are disseminated in an easy to understand way through exhibitions, lectures, classes, and so on.

2. A new tourist attraction for Saitama City - The Museum aims to become a new tourist attraction for Saitama City, one where people can easily encounter the beauty of bonsai.

3. An aid to the revitalization of the bonsai industry - By providing many people with opportunities to become familiar with bonsai, the Museum works to revitalize this traditional industry.

The museum didn’t skimp on trees. A rotating collection of bonsai gives life to exhibits and to the garden at the museum’s center. Here are some of the trees on display the rainy day we visited.

Japanese maple – the tree is named Musashi-ga-oka

Large Japanese black pine in huge antique pot

Modern bonsai display

Red pine and ginkgo

Amazing white pine

Mélange of bonsai colors

Japanese maple

Bonsai garden

Bonsai garden

The rest of the garden

On our way to the museum, we stopped to pick up Yu-senpai. Yu-senpai’s nursery is about 15 minutes away from the museum and contains a great mix of varieties. His father is a fan of Japanese maples.

Japanese maple in development

Peter enjoying the deciduous trees

Japanese maples

More Japanese maples

A twisty shimpaku

We also stopped by a bonsai supply nursery. Inside we looked at crowded rooms of tools, trinkets, antiques, pottery, stands and furniture. Outside sat pallets of bonsai soil and shelf after shelf of bonsai pots. Fun shopping!

Some of the smaller pots

More pots

All kinds of bonsai related supplies

I picked up a few knick-knacks – an old woodworking tool, bamboo stands for accent plants – and spent the rest of the time perusing pots. Most were new Japanese or new Chinese. Despite the great selection, I demurred and saved my Yen for older pots.

Not a hat – the pot that made Peter smile

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Bonsai tree: Fall Color in Upstate New York

This strikingly colorful ginkgo with its thick, uniquely shaped and uncommonly well tapered trunk (for a ginkgo) is from facebook, courtesy of Bill Valavanis (International Bonsai). In fact, all three photos in this post are Bill’s.



Looks like a pyracantha. The well-chosen blue pot contrasts with and amplifies the bright vermilion berries.



A colorful piece of Bill’s nursery.

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Bonsai tree: East Bay Bonsai Society’s 49th annual show

Source: Bonsai Tonight
East Bay Bonsai Society’s 49th annual show

The East Bay Bonsai Society recently held their 49th annual show at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, California. It was another good show for EBBS with a fun mix of varieties, accents and suiseki. Below are photos from the show with a few comments about balance. For comparison’s sake, here is a link to photos from last year’s show.

Why the focus on balance? When exhibiting bonsai with other elements – second trees, accents, or scrolls – the tree will either guide the viewer’s gaze toward the accent or away from it. Trees with clear flow to one side or the other look good on their own and help create compelling displays. What if a tree doesn’t flow one way or the other? Maybe it’s perfectly balanced. Or maybe it’s awaiting further development that will guide it in a single direction – that’s part of the fun.

Korean hornbeam – does the tree point left or right?

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Bonsai tree: Sacramento Bonsai Club – 64th Annual Show

The Sacramento Bonsai Club held their 64th annual show this past weekend at the Sacramento Buddhist Church. The event left quite an impression. The exhibit showed how fun a spring show can be. The suiseki displays were a super addition to the show. And the 40 or so happi-coated club members were one of the nicest bonsai groups I’ve run into. Sacramento Bonsai Club is doing great after 64 years.
Boon Manakitivipart provided demonstrations both days and the event was well-attended. As the Sunday demonstration cleared most of the exhibit, I had a chance to to take some pictures.
The juniper below is one of two Members’ Choice Award winners at the show.

Members’ Choice Award – Juniper

The trident maple bonsai display below is a good example of some of the well-thought out displays. I like the addition of the pale-blue – almost Kokufu-felt blue – screen behind the display. It’s a nice way to highlight the relationships among display elements and it does a good job of obscuring the backdro support.

Trident maple

A number of trees were in full-bloom for the show. The satsuki azalea below was the brightest.

Satsuki azalea

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