A Word About Display Stands

In order to be displayed at a show, a bonsai must be placed on a stand made of wood or stone, called a dai. In the photo at right, one of my precious few traditional dais is shown. It was made by an older Japanese member of our bonsai club. Sadly, due to age, he is no longer making dais. I found in my wanderings around the web that dais for smaller trees were difficult to find and expensive, and dais for larger trees were just plain nonexistent.

It took a few years of headscratching, uh,
meditation, but I eventually figured out how to make my own stands. The one that the olive tree below is sitting on is a simple one made of oak plywood, with oak trim strips around the edges, and legs made from pieces of oak 2 x 2. The legs are fixed to the top with wood dowels and woodworker's glue, and the trim strips are glued around the edges.

The photo below shows trees with companion plants. The stands for the companion plants are just bamboo placemats -- one I found in the Philippines, and the other was purchased at Cost Plus Imports.