Preparing Accents for Winter–

Preparing Accents for Winter–

Accents are popular with many bonsai enthusiasts. Some of us grow them to the detriment of our bonsai, we are so engaged and enraptured with them. And they are delightfully distracting. In the late fall the accents—or at least the ones that go brown on us—should be trimmed back to set them up for spring. […]

Accent Plant Smorgasbord!

It’s been a busy month! And it’s nice to come back from tilting at windmills and other kinds of fun to see what’s been going on while away. I always look forward to see what’s blooming on the accent bench, and what’s getting ready to bloom. They’re a cheerful bunch! I’ve shared photos of accent […]

Floating White Egret Flowers

This orchid, Habenaria radiata, (syn. Pecteilis radiata) is from Asia and is one of the most delicate and lovely of the terrestrial orchids commonly used as an accent for bonsai. It grows from a bulb that over-winters without leaves. A couple years ago I put two bulbs in this pot and they’ve trebled in number, sending up […]

Three Years Of A Spruced Up Engelmann

Three Years Of A Spruced Up Engelmann

This Engelmann spruce was originally owned by a guy up in Seattle and I suspect it grew in a mica drum pot for a couple decades. Collected in the Cascades many years ago, it has nice flaky, mature bark and sports a healthy community of lichen up and down the main trunk. It was growing […]

Companion Plant Photo Gallery

A few of the blooming companion (or ‘accent’) plants, one stone and a shoe on my benches outside: