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The World Bonsai Friendship Federation established this international day of celebration to pay homage to bonsai Master Saburo Kato's mission to promote peace and friendship through the art of bonsai.
The day is celebrated on the second Saturday of May each year, which this year is TODAY.!!
Master Saburo Kato
This 'root-over-rock' trident maple (pictured on the left) never disapoints to put on a nice Autumn show. This maple, although displaying some nice Autumn colour, needs a lot of work to increase the number of buds so that we can reduce the overall leaf size.
The image to the right is from Mr. Takeyama’s trident maples at the Fuyo-en Bonsai Garden in Omiya Village. After seeing these bonsai in 2016 I realised just how much more work we have to do, at the gallery, to really bring our bonsai to an acceptable level.
The work continues.......
Looks like a road-trip coming up to deliver a number of bonsai to Canberra. This old 'mikawa' Black Pine as among a number of trees due to be delivered soon.
There are still a number of great quality bonsai for sale on the website HERE.
If anyone is interested in purchasing we will be delivering between Dorrigo and Canberra soon.
Following on from a story I wrote on 10-Dec-2018 regarding the construction of a lower branch on this old Trident Maple:
"I have been working on this trident maple from a cutting struck in the early 80's. It should be more advanced, by now, but it has been a victim of my limited time. It is finally getting some attention. The final stage of (initial) development is to thicken the lower branch with these sacrificial growth. The rest of the tree is being refined and the leaves and inter-nodes are reducing nicely."
.... the project is now completed. The sacrificial branches were shortened and the many buds that followed have now developed into finer branches.
As with all bonsai the refinement never ends. This bonsai will continue to improve.!!
The Australian Bonsai Gallery has just picked up some very good quality Chinese bonsai pots. All by ZhengLiang from the renouned Yixing province of China.
Thanks to a 'tip-off' from a bonsai mate (thanks Dom) we were able to find these pots. The pots from this maker are hand made and very well designed.
If you have any of these pots in your collection... hang on to them.!!
Some Japanese Black Pine bonsai have been discounted for a quick sale. The Australian Bonsai Gallery has it's eye on some very expensive Japanese bonsai pots so these bonsai have to go at these prices.
More details HERE
This old 'mikawa' Japanese Black Pine starts a new chapter in it's life. Now in the care of another bonsai artist, this bonsai will continue and build on the 4 decades of care and design of the previous owner, Ian Hearn.
The new 'custodian' has inherited a great bonsai and will continue and build on this legacy.
There are a number of 'mikawa' Black Pine Bonsai waiting for the next chapter in their lives... For Sale HERE
So many Black Pines to work on over the cooler months so starting early.! This one is a bit of a favourite. It produces an incredible number of 'adventitious buds' each Spring so bud selection is a major job on this one.!
It is a bit of a monster.!! The base/nebari is ~20cm; thanks to the large sacrificial branches that were developed low on the trunk, many years ago, when it was in our field beds.
All of the foliage you see now was nothing more than a mass of small buds on a small secondary branch... so long ago.!!
This old black pine has been styled over the past 35 years in the 'Wind swept' style; and many would say, including myself, unsuccessfully. !!
Last year I decided to transform this bonsai into a 'Cascade' style. This meant some drastic pruning and heavy reshaping of old branches.
The re-styling has seen a greater focus on the nebari and trunk size, relative to the overall, reduced, size of the composition.
It still as some way to go to bring it to a reasonable level of refinement. The next few years will see a better ramification and the resultant reduction in needle size.
A smaller pot will further enhance the relative size of the nabari and lower trunk.
One of the essential elements in bonsai design and development is a good Nebari.
To all the beginners out their please consider this as an absolute necessity when choosing stock plants for development.
The physical connection between the tree and the soil is not only visually important; this connection is also a reflection of the perceived age of the bonsai. It is an embodiment of the feeling of 'Wabi Sabi'; the percepton of age that can only be realised through a focus on developing and refining this connection with the soil.
Don't be satisfied with the 'stick in a pot' that some pass off as bonsai. If there is no feeling of age there is no bonsai. !!!
