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Understanding Your Bonsai
As the year runs out, here is a possible bonsai promise to yourself for 2025. Learn to observe and understand your bonsai. In the fast-paced world we live in, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, even when it comes to…
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Setting Up a Bonsai in Your Tokonoma or Living Room
Embracing Winter Elegance: Setting Up a Bonsai in Your Tokonoma or Living Room Winter is a season of quiet beauty, and what better way to celebrate it than by incorporating a bonsai into your home decor? Whether you have a traditional tokonoma or a modern…
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The Beauty of Autumn Berries on Shohin Bonsai
As the crisp autumn air settles in and the leaves begin to change, thereās a special charm that graces our bonsai collections. Among the most captivating sights are the vibrant autumn berries that adorn small shohin bonsai. These tiny fruits not only add a splash…
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Bonsai pots and the aesthetical impact
Bonsai pots have a rich history and greatly impact the bonsai practice. Both aesthetical and practical the bonsai pot makes the difference on every tree. The balance between horticultural and practicality must go hand in hand with the aesthetics. In this episode, we change pots…
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Bending trunks. Is it possible?
Bending trunks or thick branches demands some special techniques; in this lecture, I show you how to manage that. This technique isn’t for any tree; therefore, it is shown on a species that tolerates this kind of work. Junipers are flexible to a certain point…
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The mystery of Japanese maples shifting leaf colours in summer
In the Kisetsu-en bonsai collection, there are several pieces of the beloved Japanese maple, Acer palmatum. They all have slightly different habits of leaf development in spring and some colours up differently in autumn. Two of the small Shohin stand out in their different behaviour…
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Mame bonsai is fun
The smallest bonsai is categorized as Shohin bonsai and a subcategory is Mame (bean) bonsai, only measuring up to 10 cm / 4 Inches. Shohin bonsai measures a maximum of 20cm/10 inches from the rim of the pot to the top of the tree (give…
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Pushing bonsai ideas
Pushing bonsai ideas is the most important part of my bonsai teaching. Techniques and caretaking are equally important parts of any workshop, but I try not to pressure certain styles or ways of designing a bonsai onto the participants. Instead, I try to set up…
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The private bonsai collection of Samuel Thompson
At the recent Australian bonsai event, I was headlining with Marija Hajdic there was time for an evening visit after the workshops were done during the day. Despite having a narrow time slot and being busy all day we managed to force through a visit…
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The bonsai collection and events in Canberra these days
The days in Canberra at the Bonsai Reshaped 2024 are busy. Next week a members video from the Arboretum will be posted, but until then a few more posts from the event. Yesterday the big evening with the demo on stage was done, and the…