Bonsai tree: East Bay Bonsai Society’s 50th Anniversary Bonsai Show

Source: Bonsai Tonight
East Bay Bonsai Society’s 50th Anniversary Bonsai Show

The East Bay Bonsai Society hosted their 50th Anniversary Bonsai Show at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, California, on October 8th and 9th. The show featured a workshop, demonstration and critique by Kathy Shaner, sales and vendor areas, and plenty of bonsai and suiseki. The show program included a history of “The First 50 Years of the East Bay Bonsai Society.” I’ve reproduced it here as it recognizes the considerable effort its members have made over the years to the organization and to the larger bonsai community.

“The East Bay Bonsai Society (EBBS) traces its origins to 1961 when Jack Dutro, seeking people interested in bonsai, placed a guest book at the bonsai display of the California Spring Garden and Home Show. Over a hundred and twenty-five people signed the book and ultimately met with Jack, Harvey and Grace Suzuki, Nelson and Lillian Dennis at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland on Wednesday, October 11, 1961. Jack Dutro’s interest in bonsai began in 1939 when he visited the Japanese Pavilion at the San Francisco and Golden Gate International Exhibition at Treasure Island. Jack served as the first president of EBBS, sharing his knowledge, expertise and love of bonsai with others. Other early pioneers include Harvey Suzuki, who gave the very first bonsai demonstration, Mas Imazumi, John Castle, Jack Weeks, Gene Kremer and William Penn Mott.

Coast live oak

“EBBS membership grew to over 140 during the 1960s and 1970s when its members won numerous awards for design and horticultural excellence at the Garden Show at Oakland’s Dunsmuir House. In 1996, when Jack Dutro was age eighty-seven, the Society lost one of its most cherished members.

Sierra juniper

Korean hornbeam

“The Society sponsored monthly meetings with presentations, demonstrations and workshops lead by experts from the US and abroad, providing education geared to beginners as well as more advanced bonsai enthusiasts, and mentoring by more experienced members, including Ruben G., Bob G., Dennis V., Tim K., Bill C., Randall L., Jim G., Tom C., Chuck G., Alex C. and Inge W. The personal sharing of knowledge was reinforced by publication of a monthly newsletter, edited for many years by Bob C.

San Jose juniper

Sierra juniper

“EBBS continues to sponsor a yearly bonsai exhibit, featuring display of members’ trees, offers an extensive lending library, periodic field trips, a yearly auction in July, a picnic in August and a holiday party in December. Following a decades-old tradition, members decorate bonsai trees for the holiday season and bring them to the holiday party.

Japanese black pine

Dwarf Asian pear ‘Maminashi’

“The East Bay Bonsai Society is a founding member of the Golden State Bonsai Federation (GSBF) which now includes over sixty bonsai clubs. Jack W. and Ron R. represented EBBS at the formative meeting of GSBF in Santa Maria in February 1978, and helped organize the first GSBF convention in November 1978 in Berkeley.

Coast redwood

Satsuki azalea – kazan

“The East Bay Bonsai Society meets at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland on the second Wednesday of each month (except August). The nearby Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt is the premier bonsai display garden in northern California, and attracts thousands of visitors each year. Many EBBS members helped fund, build and operate the Garden, notably John N. and Steve F. who were instrumental in the construction phase; Bob and Polly G., Ron R. and Karl Y. who contributed to the docent program; Marie R. and Kay H. who coordinated docent scheduling; Janice D., Linda S. and Rick T. who help maintain the trees; John N., JD L. and many others who serve as docents and support the educational program.

Boston Ivy

Japanese maple

“EBBS members continue to play prominent roles in planning and organizing annual conventions of GSBF, devoting many volunteer hours, and displaying bonsai trees which have won widespread acclaim. None of this would have been possible without the collective efforts of those who initially formed the Society and who contributed so much over the years.”

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

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Bonsai tree: Bonsai museum at Shinpukuji Temple

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Bonsai museum at Shinpukuji Temple

Adjacent to the Shimpukuji Temple in Okazaki, one can visit a very fine bonsai museum. A rotating selection of trees fills both indoor and outdoor displays. When the ume bloom, they fill the indoor display area.

I like ume because they capture some very important aspects of bonsai. The bark shows great age. The flowers, in contrast to the bark and deadwood, offer evidence of life and suggest that spring isn’t far off. Ume is one of the few deciduous varieties that feature deadwood. Plus, the scent of the blossoms is wonderful. Here are some photos from Boon Manakitivipart’s visit to the bonsai museum at Shinpukuji this past winter.

Ume

Ume

Ume

Ume

Ume

Ume

Ume with suiseki and scroll

Ume

Scroll

Suiseki – apparently this stone belonged to Mr. Tokugawa

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Bonsai tree: Bonsai Bazaar!

Photo by Peter Tea. From Sam & KJ’s Suiseki blog. Apologies to Peter for a little cropping at the bottom.

The Green Club market

There’s more to Kokufu (Japan’s most famous bonsai show) than just the best bonsai exhibition in the world. There’s also the Green Club market; which has to be the best bonsai market in the world (if you know of a better one, please correct me). These photos offer a small taste. For the full meal, you’ll have to visit Japan.

Wanna buy a bonsai with a little potential? Photo from the Ineternet Bonsai Club, by William Feldman.

Bonsai abundance and they’re for sale, including this humble little tree. Photo by Uli Ernst (from facebook).

Not exactly a little starter plant. Maybe it’s a good thing you can’t make out the price. Photo by Uli Ernst (from facebook).

A lot of pots and suiseki are also featured. Photo by Peter Tea. From Sam & KJ’s Suiseki blog.

The tip of the iceberg (but you get the drift). The six photos shown here represent but a tiny fraction of the Green Club market. Photo from the Ineternet Bonsai Club, by William Feldman.

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Bonsai tree: More from GSBF Convention Exhibit

Source: Bonsai Tonight
More from GSBF Convention Exhibit

The GSBF XXXIII Convention Exhibit included more stones than bonsai. The two ends of the exhibit hall were devoted to suiseki, and some of the stones were displayed in more formal arrangements. The composition below was created by Mas Nakajima.

Suiseki display

Another suiseki display featured a large scroll and accent plant.

Suiseki display

The remainder of the suiseki were displayed along the walls of the exhibit room.

Suiseki

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Bonsai tree: Accenting bonsai

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Accenting bonsai

The East Bay Bonsai Society’s 49th annual show featured the kinds of bonsai accents one would expect – including flowering plants and suiseki – and a few that one wouldn’t. One of my favorites was a simple planting in a ceramic pot with a handle.

Accent in ceramic basket

Fern accent

Tiny accent in great pot

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Bonsai tree: 9th International Crespi Cup

This genarly, natural looking old tree is from the 9th International Crespi Cup which took place last weekend. It looks like some kind of spruce (Ezo?), but that’s just a guess. The photo is by Nicola Crivelli. I took the liberty to crop it a bit.

The Cup

The Crespi Cup is a world famous bonsai, suiseki (and more) exhibition that is held every two years by Crespi Bonsai in Milan. Though I’ve never been, I’ve heard that the turnouts are huge, almost beyond comprehension for those of us in the States who are used to shows that attract a few hundred people.



This old monster is also from the Crespi Cup, and the photo is also by Nicola (uncropped this time).

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Bonsai tree:Suiseki & Satsuki

This stone speaks of Death Valley or some remote spot on the edge of the North African desert. It’’s from the California Suiseki Society’s 15th Annual Show, via Bonsai Tonight.
I don’t think we’ve ever featured suiseki (viewing stones) on this blog. We used to feature them regularly in Bonsai Today, with occasional objections by some readers. I’ve always felt that suiseki is a natural with bonsai, so mixing in a few makes sense to me. Perhaps this is a Japanese influenced view, as it seems that you see suiseki and bonsai together with much greater frequency in Japan than in the West. Maybe this post will start a great debate on the subject (though I won’t hold my breath).

This still-in-training Satsuki azalea is also from Bonsai Tonight. It’s from The Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai’s 16th annual exhibit

Another suiseki from the California Suiseki Society’s 15th Annual Show, via Bonsai Tonight.
Melba Tucker’s Suiseki and Viewing Stones shows some wonderful American suiseki. Willi Benz’s Bonsai, Kusamono and Suiseki, goes into the subject in great detail, with an emphasis on the relationship with bonsai and kusamono (herbaceous plants in bonsai containers), as you might expect from the title.

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Bonsai tree:Suiseki on display

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Suiseki on display
Here are some more photographs from the California Suiseki Society’s 15th Annual Show.

Coastal – Italy

Figure stone – Northern California

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Bonsai tree: California Suiseki Society 15th Annual Show

Source: Bonsai Tonight
California Suiseki Society 15th Annual Show
The California Suiseki Society held its 15th Annual Show at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, California on June 12-13, 2010. Typically members display stones new to their collections – this year President & Founder Felix Rivera encouraged members to display their very best stones. The result was a wonderful collection of close to 100 suiseki.
Most of the stones on display were “mountain stones” from Northern California. I was a bit surprised by this – either most engaging stones in California make good representations of mountains, or the mountain style speaks to members. A core of over a dozen are from the Bay Area – most of the rest are located across the country. Worldwide, the active membership is about 50.
I was also surprised by the diversity of rock geology. Northern California is clearly home to diverse collections of rock making it a great place for collecting.
Here’s a sampling of the suiseki on display. I’ll post more later this week.

Mountain & arch stone – Northern California

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Bonsai tree: Bonsai stories

What to do when a big branch in the front of the tree blocks your view of the trunk? Layer it and make a new tree. Last weekend’s Bay Area Bonsai Associates show featured both halves of a boxwood created by Ned Lycett. Here’s a shot of the main tree.

Boxwood bonsai

And here’s the branch that’s now a semi-cascade boxwood bonsai.

Boxwood and suiseki

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Deciduous and broadleaf trees

Despite the fact that half of the trees in the winter exhibit are without leaves and most of the other half are fighting off winters tendency to tinge foliage with a yellowish or bronze cast, many bonsai are at their best look this time of year. Late winter and early spring are great times to show flowering bonsai, but managnig the silhouettes of trees coverd with new growth is a challenge. Fall is a good time to show bonsai as pines are in check and fall color may be evident. But it is only in winter that we can clearly see the structure of deciduous trees.
With careful technique, leaves can be shrunk to fit the scale of tree. Leaves hide the degree to which a tree’s branches are ramified. Great branch structure is a source of pride for deciduous tree owners.
Although the tree is attractive in summer, it’s far more dramatic in winter. We experience the tree in three dimensions by examining the tree front to back and top to bottom. We can also get a better sense of its age without leaves. It was a pleasure to have this tree in the exhibit.

Chinese elm

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Melba Tucker’s Olive and Suiseki

This dramatic European perfect olive forest on a rooted burl is by Melba Tucker. It is borowed from The National Bonsai Foundations 2008 calendar.

Though it goes without saying
This old gem looks like a forest growing on a rocky ledge somewhere in Spain and though it goes without saying, I will say it anyway: it is one of the most wonderful, natural looking forest plantings anywhere. If you are ever anywhere near Washington DC, check it out. It’s at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum.



Melba found this distinctive American Pattern Stone in the Mojave Desert. The photos are by Peter Bloomer. Peter and his wife, Mary Holmes Bloomer are the editors.




A Chrysanthemum stone from Japan. Read more!