How a stump became an elegant chokkan-style bonsai Martin Nielsen tells the story of how he managed to convert the stump he dug from the forest into one of most appreciated native trees exhibited at...

How a stump became an elegant chokkan-style bonsai Martin Nielsen tells the story of how he managed to convert the stump he dug from the forest into one of most appreciated native trees exhibited at...
The problem of poor roots on a pine can be solved Can you improve the root base of a pine, just as you can with deciduous trees? A good question, so it seems a good...
Harry Harrington’s tasks for native bonsai during late autumn With the growing season left long behind, November sees the last of the leaves fall from our deciduous bonsai, as average day temperatures and light levels...
The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch How to create bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods with interesting and unusual species. With the help of illustrations we will see how...
Thor Holvila tells us how his ideas come to life As a professional potter, commissions are a big part of my daily work, but as an artist I also have ideas about pots that I...
Styling and caring for Adenium Jerome Kellerhals’ bonsai garden is in sunny Florida, where he mainly works on semi-tropicals. The Ademium, or desert rose, is one of his favourites and, surprisingly, has much to offer...
During the growing season there is always something to do, even if the bonsai are of a small size. With the guidance of shohin expert, Hiroki Miura (Miura Baijyu-en, Osaka), the Japanese popstar, Ayaka Yamamoto,...
François Jeker has created many outstanding Buxus bonsai by pioneering with this variety Boxwood, also known as box, has a reputation for growing very slowly. However, if we know the right techniques, its branches can...
Thierry Claude works on an impossible pine Despite the many doubts of his friends, Thierry Claude persisted with his plan to create a real show stopper from a seemingly worthless pine. Ultimately, all his effort...
Harry Harrington reworks a Japanese yew with superb fluting. An elegant 88 cm Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) was bought to my garden by its owner in June 2020, explains Harry. My task was to style...
Marco Invernizzi reworks a very old mugo pine, which has a story to tell. Marco Invernizzi fell in love with the remarkable shapes of this Italian mugo pine (Pinus mugo). Although already touched by another...
Making the best out of defective material Hiroki Miura (Miura Baikyu-en, Osaka) shows how to improve material that is defective. Two trees are thoroughly analysed and new possibilities are discovered. Hiroki then applies the correct...
Learn how to create natural deadwood with the methods of Andrés Bicocca The difficulty that a defect poses for some is, for me, an infinite possibility of creation. Many times it is used to cover...
Marjan Mirt can be very proud when he sees examples of his pots all over the globe. Slovenian Marjan Mirt is a dedicated bonsai enthusiast. He retired some seven years ago and started creating bonsai...
Made Bonsai Pots – artistic team-work Manon Jamin and partner Edwin Koppers live a life filled by bonsai. Manon makes pottery and Edwin, besides the bonsai, draws the pot designs. How did you get into...
By Tony Tickle with assistance from Banquo. ‘Which is your favourite bonsai?’ is a question I am often asked when I have visitors to my garden. My usual reply of: ‘The one I am currently...
A garden filled with forests inspired by Saburo Kato Julio Carretero Álvarez and his wife, Yolanda Peña, fell in love with bonsai in an instant, but decided to approach it in a different way. The...
The bonsai passion of Sándor Papp Sándor was born close to the Balaton Lake in Hungary, to a family of restaurateurs. His love for plants began during his childhood. His grandfather worked as a forester...
The story of Linda’s favourite bonsai from the wild – both good and sad. Living in the Canadian city of Laval, Quebec, Linda Chicoine often goes on hiking tours to see if there is a...
Art and bonsai meet in one of Kyoto’s famous temples We visited the wonderful Ryousoku-in, or Kennin-ji, Temple in Kyoto. This is a historic Zen Buddhist temple near Gion. It is considered to be one...
A dull juniper is matched with a rock full of character A rather dull juniper can become very striking when a rock with lots of character is added, Nishikawa Tomoya (Shirasagi-en, Himeji) shows how that...
Sami Amdouni’s passion for smaller-sized pots By chance, Sami’s interest for bonsai pottery was sparked while waiting in the car. He now mostly creates pots for shohin with an eye for detail. How did you...
How to create bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods with interesting and unusual species. This time it’s the Actinidia arguta, or hardy kiwi, a very rapid grower. A large woody plant of the silver...
Andrei Bessonov followed his dreams by learning bonsai from Kimura As a small town boy Andrei was already much into plants, but a bonsai calendar lead him to becoming an apprentice of the world famous...
…or why sometimes you need to get rid of the tree to see the bonsai Ofer Grunwald does not fear the experiment. With a sculpture created from an image of a bonsai, he examines the...