Category: Create

Styles by FarrandSep 13, 201913:33

A perfect fit for kengai

Giacomo Pappalardo shows the many variations of the cascade style One of the most dramatic styles in bonsai is the kengai, or cascade. It has many variations and its style options are almost endless. Trees...

Styling by FarrandSep 6, 201920:53

Can this become a bonsai?

Bruno Wijman styles a Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) Garden material can be most interesting for bonsai. It can also be very challenging because it was not really grown for bonsai purposes. Bruno checks out a...

Masterclass by FarrandAug 10, 201915:32

On the edge

Creative genius, Ryan Neil, turns bonsai upside down You can give Ryan Neil almost any kind of material to work on and he will create something special from it. Here Ryan is confronted by an...

Shohin by FarrandJul 19, 201921:44

5 becomes 2

A boring forest is divided up and receives a fresh remake Harumi Ishii (Ueharu-En) shows us how to transform an uninteresting mountain maple forest into two stunning new creations We are separating the trunks into...

Step by Step by FarrandJul 5, 201922:27

Too dominant at the top

The charm of the Japanese beech The Japanese beech is always an exhibition eye catcher. Its smooth grey-white bark and muscled trunk give the tree a most majestic appearance. Easy to work on, as seen...

Styling by FarrandJun 22, 201915:24

The masterplan

An impossible pine is just perfect for a cascade, but it takes a little time Giacomo Pappalardo likes the dramatic moves of the cascading pines you encounter in the mountains. An unsightly pine with a...

Styling by FarrandMay 17, 201913:49

Rocking the pine

Todd Schlafer works on a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) With a background as a rock musician Todd’s career as a bonsai artist is a big hit. We met Todd during Michael Tran’s Generation Bonsai event...

Juniperus itoigawa by FarrandMay 10, 201921:50

The little gem

Reworking a small juniper Alexandre Escudero is crazy about shohin bonsai. At the nursery of his teacher Hiroyuki Tanibata, he found a little gem of a juniper. Let’s together find the beauty lost on this...

Masterclass by FarrandMay 3, 201911:00

Nature guide

Inspired by nature, Kenichi Abe shows us how to work on a pine. Styling a pine into a bonsai is a balance between pruning and wiring, as Kenichi Abe, Master of pines from the Azuma...

Styling by FarrandApr 26, 201909:00

Is this a satsuki?

Satsuki specialist Tadao Tabata saw bonsai potential in the many trunks In a field at the base of Mount Akagi more than a thousand satsuki were planted and then grown wild. Two years ago this...

Free by FarrandApr 25, 201912:50

The big Sabina

Maybe the largest potted juniper in the world, a sabina juniper standing at studio botanico of Salvatore Liporace. It is waiting to be styled by the grand master....

Free by FarrandApr 20, 201909:00

The ‘wire’ tree

Jan Culek sketches options for a juniper Although it seemed completely wired and styled, this juniper still looks like a wild bush. What it needs is a totally different approach to get it just right. […]

Masterclass by FarrandApr 19, 201909:00

The knot of El Tim

Like smooth machinery, El Tim (The Team, consisting of Leo, Alberto and Luis) work on amazing material and produce stunning bonsai. Initially, the Scots pine specially donated by Michael Tran’s Minoru bonsai, looks like a...

Step by Step by FarrandApr 5, 201921:30

Just imagine…

Improve your styling skills: learn how to make a bunjin How does one get the branches right? Using the bunjin-gi, or literati style, as a guide, we give an insight into how the branch placement...

Ficus by FarrandMar 29, 201921:50

A ‘root over statue’

Angkor Wat inspired Jerome Kellerhals to create a ‘root over statue’. Jerome guides you through the techniques of wiring, defoliating, pruning, repotting and maintenance to achieve denser foliage and smaller leaves on a Ficus. This...

Styling by FarrandMar 15, 201920:46

RAW…and too many branches

Solving the problems on a satsuki azalea Osamu Fukudate’s (Shunkaen Bonsai Museum) first entry into the Sakkafu-ten received the Satsuki award. He also won recognition from the judges at the 43rd Nippon Bonsai Sakkafu-ten. As...

Styling by FarrandMar 8, 201916:59

Another vision

Chiharu Imai looks back on some of his remarkable works Chiharu Imai is a well-known bonsai Master in the west, famed for his sensitivity and excellence of technique. Here he looks back on some of...

Masterclass by FarrandFeb 8, 201911:02

Graphic designer goes bonsai

A graphics designer becomes a bonsai Master, which, in short, is the story of Naoki Maeoka. Having graduated from the Kouka-en nursery, he now finds his way in world of international bonsaiNaoki Maeoka (46) isn’t...

Styling by FarrandJan 27, 201915:21

Just one option

Ken Fujiwara dares to take the risk Here’s a very strange, fantastic-looking white pine, where the lower branches have died and the top has been allowed to grow wild. There are few enthusiasts who would...

Step by Step by FarrandJan 20, 201918:15

Give me space

Understanding the basics of repotting through the example of a young tree One of the big objectives in repotting is to remove a tree’s old roots to provide more space for new roots to grow...

Design Sketch by RoyJan 13, 201916:00

Off the wall

Jan Culek sketches options for the juniper of John Rigg John: ‘I had this tree in the garden for about 17 years. It has lots of curving branches with partial deadwood. I have been working...

Design Sketch by FarrandNov 18, 201810:49

Multi-trunked Colossus

Jan Culek sketches options for the yew of Coen Huisman Coen Huisman acquired this rough and bushy tree from a bonsai nursery. ‘I wondered what Jan Culek’s ideas would be for this material, which isn’t...

Masterclass by FarrandNov 4, 201810:31

Back to the future

Bjorn Bjorholm reworks the tree he styled in Japan. A bonsai is never finished, over the years it will mature, perhaps even grow out of its original style. This is what happened with a juniper...

Styling by FarrandSep 9, 201813:23

Cuabilla de Costa

Suriana, or Cuabilla de Costa as it’s known in Cuba, has well-hidden qualities, as Jorge Pensado discovered Jorge: ‘My first step in cultivating bonsai was in 1996. I was self-taught since there was a complete lack...

Masterclass by FarrandSep 8, 201817:22

Good on all sides

Dominique Bosch styles a sabina juniper Dominique Bosch, an upcoming Dutch bonsai artist, has been studying under Masters like Hotsumi Terakawa, Salvatore Liporace and Taiga Urushibata of the Taisho-En in Japan. In 2017 he was...