Hemlock On Rock : Revisit
This hemlock composition is from 2016. The design challenge was to imitate a tree not dangling off a cliff, as we tend to do with semi-cascade, but rather rising from a ravine slope, low on a cliff. We used a lace rock cavity which stabilized well in an upright position, suggesting the cliff wall. Starting with […]
A Juniper Orchid (to go with our Pine Orchid…)
Some of you might remember a quirky Shore Pine that we put on a post in 2017, calling it the first Pine Orchid in the yard. Yesterday this juniper was styled, and it hangs on the neighboring post that supports the shade cloth structure (thank you Bobby Curttright). The juniper is a bit of a Frankenstein: […]
Bobby Curttright Wraps Up Apprenticeship-
After three years here at Crataegus Bonsai, Bobby Curttright has finished his apprenticeship and is setting up his bonsai business of Cascadia Bonsai. I am sad to see Bobby go. Bobby weathered his being my first apprentice with his native stoic nature, resilience, and good humor. We did have quite a bit of fun. There […]
A ‘Cliff Bonsai’—Western Hemlock Styling
We often think of cliff or rock faces being the place where cascade bonsai get their inspiration. And they do. But there’s another commonly seen growth habit in those steep, rocky areas… I collected this Hemlock, likely a Mountain / Western hybrid according to Anton Nijhuis, on Vancouver Island several years ago, where, coincidentally, it was […]
90 Year-Old Black Pine Wired by Bobby Curttright-
This Japanese Black Pine, Pinus thunbergii, was wired by Bobby Curttright. Bobby has been my apprentice for over 2 1/2 years now, and his wiring is becoming quite accomplished. The necessary fine attention to detail reaches a level of nerd-dom with the best wire wranglers. He’s been a quick study with it, and his organization and […]
The Benefits of Scrubbing Wooden Benches
Since deadwood is all the rage in the bonsai world, here’s quite a bit of it. Amazing we could find so much that was nice and straight, right? Scrubbing benches with a bristle brush removes the buildup of algae and mold, helping to resist the decomposition of the wood. You will likely find the undersides […]
Very Tall Hemlock Clump Styled
This photo essay ends with a couple of movies… They’re too short for popcorn, but long enough to sit down for. Mountain Hemlock before branch removal or wiring. Here are some pre-work branch close-ups: Last week this Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) was styled with pruning and wiring. It’s an unusual front, as the apexes all […]
Beautiful Henk Fresen Bronzes for Bonsai Display
Bobby Curttright brought by the studio a recent shipment of Henk Fresen’s wonderful bronze miniatures, and we enjoyed dreaming up what we might display with them. These are exemplary works for innovative bonsai display, such as you might see at the Taikan Ten, and of comparable quality to the bronzes that Matt Reel and I […]
Very Large Mtn. Hemlock Clump-
This is one of those trees I’ve had in my yard a long time, and never done a follow-up post about. For one thing, it’s so large it’s hard to photograph. For another, I just didn’t get around to it. All of the trunks come from one base; it’s one tree. The snows are so […]
Final Episode: Kokufu, Matt Reel, Snow
True, this is not as exciting as Star Wars, but still, our Final Episode is the photographic finale of our trip to Japan this February! Yay! Cymbals crashing, drums going nuts, frogs leaping off bridges, etc. Going back in time a bit to our first day…we all became kids over dinner. Here’s Grant and Peter […]
Michael Hagedorn 