Pipctures from the GSBF Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt

[jquast]

A few weeks back after visiting the Bay Island Bonsai exihibition I spend a little time at the Collection North and took a few pictures. Didn't have too much time to spend walking through the garden but plan a second visit shortly. If anyone is visiting the Bay area this is definately worth the visit.

Here are a few pictures from the garden.

Jeff

 

[jquast]

A few more.

 

[yenling83]

Thanks for posting Jeff! I took a stroll around this garden at the BIB show as well. My fav's are that CA and Trident-304 & 207. I would work on refining both and shorten that trident, but very nice trees!

 

[dick benbow]

do you know who the curator is?

 

[edprocoat]

Jquast, thanks for the pictures its always nice to see Bonsai. I have to be honest though I really do not like any of those trees. The bases look so out of proportion to the trees that they look more like sculptures with tree branches coming out of them. I have seen thick based trees that look real but those look faked in a bad way. The junipers especially, the first one in the second post looking like a wooden sailfish leaping into a tree and the next looks like somebody set a small juniper on a pile of firewood, the same as the third one in that post.

ed

 

[jquast]

Jquast, thanks for the pictures its always nice to see Bonsai. I have to be honest though I really do not like any of those trees. The bases look so out of proportion to the trees that they look more like sculptures with tree branches coming out of them. I have seen thick based trees that look real but those look faked in a bad way. The junipers especially, the first one in the second post looking like a wooden sailfish leaping into a tree and the next looks like somebody set a small juniper on a pile of firewood, the same as the third one in that post.

ed

Here is a bit of the history on the "wooden sailfish" juniper posted below. I think that the fanned deadwood tells a story of survival where the live vein struggled to find a position allowing for growth year after year causing it to move in a lateral direction on one side over hundreds of years. It is quite impressive in person and the picture does not do it any justice. To get an idea of the size of the tree just use the four inch post that the stand is supported by as a guage.


From the GSBF website: 148 California juniper (kashu-shimpaku in Japanese) (Juniperus californica) —informal slant style Donated by Harry Hirao. This tree, collected from the high desert region of southern California, has a narrow reddish lifeline to its foliage.

 

[PaulH]

do you know who the curator is?

Kathy Shaner is the curator.

Thanks for the pics Jeff.

My favorite tree in the collection is Mas Imazumi's Black pine. A true California bonsai treasure.

 

[edprocoat]

Here is a bit of the history on the "wooden sailfish" juniper posted below. I think that the fanned deadwood tells a story of survival where the live vein struggled to find a position allowing for growth year after year causing it to move in a lateral direction on one side over hundreds of years. It is quite impressive in person and the picture does not do it any justice. To get an idea of the size of the tree just use the four inch post that the stand is supported by as a guage.


From the GSBF website: 148 California juniper (kashu-shimpaku in Japanese) (Juniperus californica) —informal slant style Donated by Harry Hirao. This tree, collected from the high desert region of southern California, has a narrow reddish lifeline to its foliage.

I can see its huge, its just that in my eye it looks contrived. Sort of like a large badly done Tanuki. I know Harry Hirao is a respected artist and I have seen trees of his I am impressed by, this one is not in that group.

ed