AllShapes Bonsai Blog

Many people like to use redwoods as bonsai.  We thought they might appreciate the perspective this video offers on ecological diversity and potential design considerations.  From the “trunks springing from trunks springing from trunks” to the “thickets of huckleberry” that grow in the canopy, to the limbs that fuse between trunks.  These are all characteristics that you can potentially integrate when working on the design for your redwoods.  Others may find aspects interesting, though not related to bonsai, such as an organism found in the oceans that lives in the canopy or species of insects that are thought to only exist on a single tree. (more…)

Although the name is similar, this is not controversial like the Secret Life of Plants.  In fact, this video series that the citizens of Britain enjoy goes a long way in demonstrating many of the attributes of plants that make for good bonsai.  The videos do not give examples of the trees/shrubs/vines/etc. that we work with as bonsai artists, but rather open the doors of the imagination.  So, I hope you can form your own conclusions, do research (or just ask the questions in the comments, we’ll do our best to answer them) as to WHY certain plants make good bonsai.  What environmental adaptations caused the attributes of your bonsai?  How are those adaptations translated into the care of a plant?  How can those adaptations be used to style a convincing tree?  The more we learn about the plants we work with, the higher the quality our art can become, and we probably won’t see plants the same way again!

Without further ado, the episodes: (more…)

This is an older movie (there’s also a book with the same content by the same name).  Lots of things are suggested and there are many arguments over it; we’ll leave it up to you to form your own conclusions, but it’s a fun movie regardless.  (more…)

Plants are still largely a mystery in this world.  Scientists are still uncovering their capabilities.  The BBC has featured some of these capabilities that suggest plants have the ability to sense their surroundings and to send messages to one another. (more…)