Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in PHOTOS 0 comments

Visiting the garden of master M.Kimura – February 2018

A little reportage of the visit to the garden of the master M.Kimura.  Some masterpieces in the garden.     An overview of the garden!     The details make the difference!     The pond     Some precious pots.     Thanks to Marco for the kind company.     The inevitable photo!
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in PHOTOS 0 comments

Kinkaku-ji – “Temple of the Golden Pavilion”

 
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in Preparation 0 comments

Buxus – Sookan style

This buxus is in my collection since 2009, purchased by a friend a few years after collecting it from the wild. As always, I wait at least a year before starting any work on it. A time necessary in my opinion to know and asses, firstly, the health of the plant and, secondly, to cultivate it according to the working necessities. In April 2011 I organized at my laboratory the “Buxus day”: a day in which I invited my bonsai friends to work on 8 boxwood samples, which were part of my collection. This is the tree:   A detail of his “tough” nebari.   The meeting was just an excuse to spend time with friends and the work done was essentially cleaning and selecting the ramification. We immediately decided to move and lower the branches before they got bigger and then impossible to move. The boxwood is very hard and difficult folds. The branches must be positioned before they become too rigid. With the same diameter with other species, the range of folding of boxwood branches is considerably lower.   Since the day of collecting the tree has never been re-potted. The clay-based soil began not to drain any […]
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in Preparation 0 comments

Juniperus Chinensis var. Itoigawa

I’ve always liked this multi-trunk juniper! This bonsai is a very fascinating specimen: many light trunks with the finest vegetation of the itoigawa. The Costantino Franchi Museum in Pescia hosts this lovely piece. In 2009 the juniper looked like this: Front   Left side   In December of the same year I decided to work on it. The vegetative masses are not yet very thick and dense, but it is still time for a reorganization of the pads. In this process, after the usual cleaning, the main objective is the selection and reopening of the vegetation. All this happens without substantially changing the character and shape of the bonsai. What I am interested in highlighting is the character and personality of each single trunk to achieve what is the real goal: the harmony of the whole.   Here is the final result:   The individual tufts are opened and positioned to form pads and secondary-tertiary pads.   A detail of the Nebari and trunks.   The juniper in 2010 and 2011. The pads begin to swell!   In April 2012 I proceed with the re-potting. In this regard I choose a lotus flower vase of the same width as the […]
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in Preparation 0 comments

Juniperus Chinensis

I began to work on this juniper chinensis var. Kaizuka owned by the company “Franchi Bonsai” in 2012, one year after its arrival. The trunk of this bonsai is quite peculiar as it descends straight down and, after two bends, one of which is very sharp , goes up close and parallel to the descending part. The branches are basically situated only at the end of the trunk and the presence of old shari give some movement to the more cylindrical and straight areas. The vegetation is not of the most valuable. The Kaizuka variety has, by nature, a long and not very turgid scale and also turns quickly to needle. Here is the bonsai in March 2012 before being working on it for the first time Front / Back   Right side / Left side   The first phase is the cleaning of the foliage, where all weak and hanging vegetation is eliminated. Then follows the cleaning of the bark and perfecting the shari. Once all this has been done, all that is left to do is to proceed to pruning by selecting the useful branches for the project. Although there is already a well defined structure of branches, […]
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Nov 15
by Francesco Santini in Working 0 comments

BONSAI NIGHT VII – 2017 August 5th

This year as well we could not miss the traditional meeting at the BONSAI NIGHT…. from sunset until sunrise we met in my workshop to work our trees, have fun and have a meal together. From 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. doing what we like to do. The recipe is always the same….the most simple: good friends, bonsai, and the desire to share our passion in joy…. in the silence of the night! A heartfelt thanks to all the friends who participated!
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Nov 15
by Francesco Santini in DEMO 0 comments

“Very chic” Cupressus Sempervirens

Only who has known Mario knows that “Very chic” is not a self-celebration quote of this tree but a routine phrase (almost a catchphrase!) he used to repeat. Today Mario is not here anymore, but his memory is very much alive in me. Precisely for this reason I have decided to call this cypress “Very chic”!…in his honor! This cypress tree, which was his property, became part of my collection last year. A simple tree, but with a lovely feature: the presence of a double trunk. After a year of cultivation and free growth, I decided to work on it during the competition for instructors in Arcobonsai. Here is the cypress seen 360°: Front / Back     Right Side / Left Side   Closeups Gentle movements but also some small rigidity which I will try to correct tilting it, the creation of some shari and the correct positioning of the branches.   The strong vegetation guarantees an adequate state of health.   And now, let’s rock and roll! For this work I was joined by a very dear friend: Gimmi Maccioni. He is at his first experience in a work of this kind. I wish him the best of […]
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Nov 15
by Francesco Santini in Preparation 0 comments

Dress redux for a Juniperus var.Formosana turned into Juniperus var.Itoigawa

I decided to wait several years before styling this Formosana juniper (commonly known as Taiwanese juniper) grafted with a Juniperus chinensis var. itoigawa. The juniper came into my collection in 2006 as a prize at the KOKORO-NO BONSAI TEN exhibition in Naples. It is a tree with a beautiful trunk up to about half of its height, then ending with a very thick cylindrical section. The vegetation is strong and this witness the perfect health condition of the bonsai. Here is the juniper from the four sides:   The trunk has a nice movement in the first section and the nebari includes a woody appendage that represents what remains of a second plant that no longer exists.   Every tree that enters my garden is properly cultivated and prepared for at least one year before  styling. At the beginning of 2008, in view of a workshop, I carry out the preliminary operations: cleaning the bark and the vegetation, highlighting the dry parts and creating new shari. The juniper is ready to be worked:   Detail of the dry wood and shari:   The decision is drastic: cut all the upper part in order to lower the plant and eliminate the […]
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Nov 15
by Francesco Santini in Preparation 0 comments

Juniper by CHIANTI BONSAI

The juniper chinensis owned by the company CHIANTI BONSAI of our friend Luigi Daddi has been a lovely occasion for a refinement work in march 2017. The bonsai is about 40 cm high and has already  shown the signs of age: the size of the branches, the living vein already swollen and outlined clearly show this is a very good bonsai. Making bonsai does not always mean making “bends” or fill with wire all the branches. Sometimes the work may seem simple or insignificant, but it is not always so. This is the case of this juniper where, together with Luigi, we decided not to change the shape but to finish the foliage and the various details. Simple work (doesn’t mean easy). Perfecting a bonsai doeasn’t mean to exceed in wiring as this would give artificiality to the foliage. Instead I find it very stimulating to work the foliage with less wire as possible, some small pull or stroke of scissors. in this way the foliage is very soft and with a more natural bearing. Of course, such a process can be performed only if there is already an adequate and well-defined structure of the branches. Here is the plant […]
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Nov 15
by Francesco Santini in Uncategorized 0 comments

Bonsai trees stolen from FRANCHI BONSAI

Unfortunately another bonsai tree has been stolen from Franchi Bonsai in Pescia (PT). Despite some new security systems, in recent days has been stolen a specimen of Korean Hornbeam  (pot size cm.35×35 height cm.20). If someone has information about this, please contact us at 0572 429262. Korean hornbeam:   the theft of this latest bonsai is added to the long list of bonsai stolen in 2016. Below you can see some photos of the previously stolen specimens:   Acer Palmatum   Acer Palmatum   Acer Palmatum   Pinus pentaphilla   Juniperus chinensis   Juniperus chinensis   Juniperus chinensis   Juniperus chinensis Again, if anyone has any information  please contact us at 0572 429262. http://www.franchi-bonsai.it/  
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