January 2022 – A New Year

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 Empire by getting a spotlight on my work:

https://www.facebook.com/bonsaiempire/ or their external site: https://www.bonsaiempire.com/

The posts were shared on their Instagram site

Excerpted from their site:

Bonsai Empire

We celebrate Bonsai Empire’s 21st birthday, with today: Gerald Carpenter

“Picture one: Sierra Juniper, style set by Bonsai Master Mitsuya from Japan. The tree continues to change to a much more delicate version today.

Picture two: Boxwood. One of my favorite species. Working on creating an “oak style” design.

Picture three: Tropical trees are a favorite love of mine. I began my bonsai learning on the East Coast doing trees like this. It is a Strangler Fig, often known for its areal roots or creeping style, this one is a shohin slant.

Picture four: Daimyo Oak, grown from acorn carried from Japan and planted in 1960. It has originally grown by a founder of Kusamura Bonsai Club, sent to the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt where I purchased the legacy tree in an auction. I continue to work with masters to enhance the design. This year it will move to a larger artisan pot and be left to blow out for future strength. www.artsofjc.com“This post was shared to celebrate Bonsai Empire’s 21st birthday. We share photos from well known Bonsai experts, museums and magazines in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Along with that fun news, I also got to spend some great time working in the GSBF Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt with Sensei Kathy Shaner. What a beautify time of year Winter is in the garden. You can find the garden on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BonsaiBGLM and our our external site https://bonsailakemerritt.com/

Our entrance tree is a favorite of mine that I have the honor of working on. It was designed by a founder of one of my early clubs (Kusamura Bonsai Club). This Green Atlas Cedar clump was originally a group that has fused together. Be sure to visit the site and or visit the garden.

Clump started by James Ransoholf.

I took this photo of our Korean Hornbeam that is just too elegant not to post. I hope you enjoy.

Korean Hornbeam holding on to Fall colors. It has only just gotten cold enough to produce these amazing foliage colors.