It is October 2025 and the rains are just starting to come in finally. Our summers in California can be extremely dry so this is…

SBBK in San Mateo is having their 40th Anniversary Bonsai Show June 1-2. This is a big event with lots of spectacular trees on display.…

We have still been having such cool days and far too much rain. It has delayed a lot of bonsai work. Some trees may not…

I am seemingly off my bonsai game this year. With all the rain we have gotten since the last week of December 2022, much of…

Preparation for Winter is now ongoing. Leaves have changed color and beginning to drop. Leaf cleanup and defoliation is an important step in keep our…

This time of year, I start working with fruiting and flowering species to get them ready for setting new buds. Trimming off leaves, some gentle…

This past year has been challenging: bonsai Interrupted and entire growing season lost, bonsai trees dying inside the apartment during the construction project, construction on…

It was a very weird June. I was able to participate in the SBBK bonsai show this year for the first time in 2 years.…

A friend of mine wanted to be sure to have a presence at an upcoming show at the end of the month. She is not…

The year started off with a bang. Temperatures and rainfall was the biggest surprise, and a welcome one indeed. Also, I was honored by Bonsai…

Winter is here even though you cannot tell by the temperatures. Only the lack of sunlight and evenings in the mid 40s are the visible…

It is already late Fall and I am behind at my blog. I have so many beautiful images and updates to share. For now I…

This morning I awoke and had my mind set on re-potting some of my tropical trees in new pots that I acquired from auctions this…

Sometimes when you have a dense collection of trees you miss a repotting year on year. Today I had one of those embarrassing moments when…

I am in the process of cleaning up the collection for the Fall. Summer light is fading fast and many of the trees are tired.…

This month I am to due a tropical demo for SBBK. It will be a Zoom meeting and I have such limited time to present…

I have been working on many tropical trees this summer and learning some key lessons about up-potting trees in the summer. Several trees in the…

Had to share this special little beauty. This pearl berry was purchased from Sandy V before her passing. It has been developed as a shohin.…

I have official begun working on my tropical trees in the collection. Several will be re-potted this weekend. All of these trees have been allowed…

Last year I posted an article on boxwood care and ramification. It is time to revisit that tree and see how it developed. The tree…

Summer has come in with a roar and it is only May 25. Temperatures are reaching 100 degrees in my garden. Out come the tropical…

It has been a very odd time in our lives. 2020 started out with a roar and has gotten more and more complex.  Some bloggers…

January has been a ticking clock of work that must be done this month. Today, I finally took on the last major re-potting of the…

Every so many years, I start a project of cataloging my collection to show how a tree has advanced or declined. All of the trees…

There are times in life that the stars align and things just fall in place.  This month, I received a special honor. The honor is…

Fall is pushing in on the garden these days but we, here in northern California, are in the throws of a heat wave. Back into…

This time of year, I pay considerable attention to the olives in my collection. I have let them blow out their aggressive growth twice this…

Boxwood can be one of my favorite trees to work on. I enjoy the leaves, bark and trucks. They are also a tree I caution…

In February, at an auction in Oakland, CA I bid on a tree near the end of the auction. It was not that interesting of…

Temperatures and sun exposure this year is just weird. You may have that feeling too. Weather patterns are not at normal and some of us…

I am often asked if I ever wire a tropical tree in my collection and I say, certainly. I do all my wiring on these…

Re potting and refining trees has been the theme this Spring. Many were already done but there is always refinement and assessments required. Today I…

Normally, I wait a few more months to tackle major olive work. I wait until evening temperatures are steady above 50 degrees. This year’s weather…

Weather in northern California has been inordinately wet this year. Temperatures were unstable for a bit in February and had halted a great deal of…

Distribution Pinus nigra is a tree of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. The majority of the range is in Turkey. It is found…

Checking on trees is a year round task. We recently went down into lower 30s requiring some plants to come indoors.  Now we are back…

I have been fussing with this Chinese Quince for about 5 years now already and I have fixed many problems with its base and now…