This past weekend the Bay Area Bonsai Associates – better known as BABA – held their 32nd annual exhibit at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, California. The exhibit opened on Saturday evening with dinner and a demonstration by satsuki expert Suishou Nakayama. Nakayama worked on several large azaleas that were raffled off while describing his approach to azalea styling and maintenance.
The exhibit itself was great, featuring a variety of bonsai providing evidence that spring is nigh. Of particular note were the exhibit’s many shohin bonsai.
Shohin display
San Jose Juniper
Pomegranate
A friend at the event asked which trees in the exhibit stuck out to me. I answered by pointing to a small black pine nearby. The tree was grown from seedling cutting made 23 years ago. Through the owner’s skill, the tree has developed into one of the better home-grown shohin pines I’ve seen.
23-year old black pine
Another of the owner’s pines sat atop a second shohin stand.
Shohin bonsai
Black pine – what a tiny pot!
Deciduous bonsai
Satsuki azalea – Akemi no tsuki
White pine
Potentilla
Many of the small and medium sized bonsai in the exhibit lined the walls of the hall.
Small and medium-sized bonsai
Shimpaku
Ume
Gooseberry
Satsuki azalea
Contorted quince – tree and pot by Jim Gremel
The exhibit also included a number of suiseki, including a box display featuring small stones.
Small shohin
Figure stone – what do you see?
One of my favorites was a new addition to Kora Dalager’s collection – a stone with two fronts.
Pointing to the left
Pointing to the right
As for the demonstration, Carl Morimoto did an admirable job translating the oftentimes humorous Nakayama. In response to a question about fertilizer, Nakayama answered that he feeds his trees meat, pork bellies and tofu skin. A mix of organic compounds, in other words – a summation made clear by Rick Garcia who helped with the demonstration.
Suishou Nakayama and Carl Morimoto
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