Bonsai tree: Tax Us? Taxus? What About Yew?

 
This dynamic Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) with is fluid play of strikingly attractive dead and live wood, and its perfectly balanced foliage. Unfortunately, the artist’s name was lost somewhere in translation.
Bad puns aside, I feel like I’ve praised yew before, but can’t find it anywhere. Anyway, at the risk of repeating myself, I like yews. For landscaping and for bonsai.Yews are often over used in landscaping and as a result their beauty is not always appreciated. Also, most people don’t know how to prune landscape trees, so some of their best features are usually hidden. I especially like the color and gnarly shapes that the wood takes on with age, and the brilliant yellow green new growth in the spring.
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Bonsai tree: Win a Free Gift Certificate

 
A River in India, by Lew Buller. From his book, Saikei and Art: Minature Landscapes.


Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai (saikei) landscape: Peaceful Lagoon: Japanese Black Pine

Peaceful Lagoon, my third in a series of plantings from Toshio Kawamoto’s Saikei classic. The trees are five to twenty-year-old Japanese black pines. The pot is similar to the ones in the previous two landscapes, though quite a bit larger.
The purpose of this section is to show how to create a saikei that depicts a peaceful lagoon just off the ocean. The photo taken together with the drawings, create the impression that the author is inviting you to duplicate his work.
If you look at all the elements: the rocks, the trees, the moss, the gravel and the white sand, you can see that their placement and their relative sizes creates a near perfect effect.
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Saikei - Lakeside Planting

Lakeside with Lingering Snow, is my second picuture in a series of plantings from Toshio Kawamoto’s Saikei classic. The trees are the same as in my last post, the pot is almost the same and the landscape is similar, though this one is softer. The focal point, the large single mountain stone that elevates the planting from good to extraordinary, is enhanced by a little touch of snow. The author does not say what the snow is and it is hard to tell from the photo. Most probably, this is a Christmas Holidays artificial snow spray.
I would like to share knowledge about how to create lakeside saikei. If you look at the drawings from the book it is almost as if the author is inviting you to duplicate his work. If you do not have the book, don’t worry, I will be posting photos and the drawings.

 
Front schemata.

 
Bird’s eye view Read more!

A Couple Bonsai and Landscapes

This generally old Japanese white pine (P. parviflora) is from a Japanese gallery. Unknown artist.

Hyperbole aside, it is one of the most mind bendinglly wildly beautiful places on this planet. I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, here are a couple of trees plus a taste of what is in the store for today.


A piece of Point Lobos.
Shooting landscapes is a bit like shooting bonsai. No matter what you do, the shot is always as powerful as the real thing. Stil, this might give you some idea of the extreme natural beauty that exists here and there on this planet.


Juniperus rigida (Needle juniper, or Temple juniper). Artist unknown.


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Bonsai - Living landscapes in miniature

I found this old out-of-print classic in Green Apple Books in San Franscisco for ten dollars. It was in near perfect condition after more than forty years. The original price was $6.95. Be the way: Green Apple is one of the best surviving used independent bookstores anywhere.

Stay posted for excerpts

Though this classic is chock full of useful info for anyone interested in saikei, we will tantalize you with just the cover for now. Later and little by little, we will post excerpts for your enjoyment. Read more!