Japanese artist breathes new life into bonsai May 18, 2007

by Elaine Lies of Reuters website
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The tiny trees used in the Japanese art of bonsai may live for centuries, but the ancient traditions that produce them are being given a modern twist by female artist Kaori Yamada.

Bonsai — the art of cultivating miniature trees — has long been seen in Japan as a hobby only for elderly men. But Yamada, who hails from a family of bonsai artists with a history spanning more than 150 years, has managed to make it trendy.

“When I started this job, we were a bit worried about whether the art of bonsai would last since the people who took part in it were dying off,” she told Reuters.
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Saika Bonsai - The Female’s choice May 17, 2007

by Tokiko Oba of The Daily Yomiuri website
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In Japan, bonsai was once considered a hobby for elderly men. But that image has changed in recent years, with a new type of bonsai winning fans among women. Bonsai artist Kaori Yamada is one of the key contributors to the art form’s newfound popularity.

“People are busy today, and they’re always in a hurry, not wanting to waste a single second. But bonsai slows you down and makes you concentrate on the plant in front of you. Besides, it takes months for a tree to bud or bloom. There’s joy in the waiting, and I think that’s what many women have found pleasurable,” the 28-year-old Yamada said.
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Bonsai projects for 2007 May 17, 2007

Deciduous/Flowering
Pomegranate
Trident Maples

Tropical/Indoor
Fukien Tea
Ficus Retusa
Ficus Tigerbark
Hawaiian Umbrella
Jades
 
Evergreen/Conifer
Serissa Snow Rose
Shimpaku Junipers
Chinese Sweet Plum
Pines
Azaleas
Green Mound Junipers

Bonsai Samples 2 May 15, 2007

       

The art of making a bonsai from a shrub May 14, 2007

Many people are considering bonsai simply as a tree, but it’s not. Bonsai is a peace of art, the recreation of nature in a miniature style, a secret wish to exalt the nature and also to bring the nature into the living space, just accomplishing the outside growing conditions.

You can have your own bonsai, but you have to love it and put your entire feelings in caring it, because you have to know that bonsai is a pretentious and very spoilt tree.
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Plastic Pots for Bonsai May 14, 2007

Are Plastic Pots OK For My Bonsai?   This is a very common question we get asked.   Plastic pots are absolutely fine for the early training of your plant.

We know that they are not as pleasing to the eye as clay pots, but if you purchase them form a good supplier then they will have been carefully designed to ensure both good growth and good drainage.

As clay pots have a porous texture that allows the roots to breathe even when the soil is packed tight, tey provide a greater advantage over the plastic pots.

The foundation of growing a good bonsai tree in a pot, before the days of plastic pots, were firm planting and a soil based compost.

For the more advanced specimens, bonsai pots will of course be needed these need and must be chosen with great care, matching the pot or the dish to your tree.

The main reason for growing your bonsai trees in training pots is that they will then have excellent root systems to make for easy establishment.

Suiseki May 13, 2007

Suiseki are small stones shaped by nature, unaltered by man, which suggest familiar landscapes such as mountains, islands, waterfalls, shorelines or seascapes.   Further, to be classified as suiseki, the material must be dense, dark in color and possess a subtle patina.   These stones are displayed in hand carved wooden bases, called daiza, or in trays of sand, called suiban, where the sand represents the earth’s surface, either land or water.   To complete the display, the stone and its surroundings are shown on a low table or slab of wood,called jiban.
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Bonsai trimming shear May 12, 2007

Designed for trimming roots, branches and twigs with ease, these traditional trimming shears are an absolutely essential cutting tool. The handles are designed to be large enough to accommodate your fingers and allow you to pick off prunings without having to out the shears down (a great time-save, believe me!).  The rivet holding the two halves together should be loose enough to allow the handles to open and close easily, so as not to have to be pulled apart. In addition, the blades need to be kept very sharp, so as to cut the stems cleanly without crushing them.
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How to Grow Bonsai Trees May 11, 2007

Bonsai originated in China about 1,000 years ago but was later developed by the Japanese. This particular style of growing trees has become popular in many parts of the world, being both a spiritual and artistic form.
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Bonsai, pronounced as “bone-sigh” is a Japanese word meaning “tray-planted” or “tree in a pot”, which refers to dwarf trees or to the art of training and growing the miniaturized trees in containers.  By simply placing a tree in a tiny pot does not make it a bonsai tree. Instead, the overall artistic effect is of great significance in growing bonsai trees.  
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Bonsai are dwarfed through pruning the roots and branches, wiring the trunk and branches, and using other techniques to make the tree take on the look of a mature tree. Achieving a perfected bonsai is considered a great accomplishment.
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Juniper tree May 10, 2007

Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae.   Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America in the New World.

Considered a very hardy conifer, the Juniper is a non-flowering tree that makes a great choice for bonsai because of it is so easy to prune and train.   With rapid growth patterns, you would typically see long, flowing branches that can be trained in just about any bonsai style with the exception of the broom style.   Most often, the Juniper’s branches respond exceptionally well to wiring and reshaping.   Just keep in mind that because some species are stiff, trying to shape into something other than its natural form can be challenging, although not impossible.   The advantage to using the Juniper for bonsai is that because of the degree of hardiness, this tree can remain indoors or outdoors, even in the winter months although it should not be subjected to temperatures below 59 degrees.   One of the most important aspects of growing the Juniper outdoors is that the rootball, along with newly wired or trained trees should be carefully protected from frost.
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