Krohn Conservatory Bonsai #21 - Kusamono with ferns

This kusamono is a sequoia “nurse log” planted in ferns from a forest floor environment.  It was created and donated by Bonsai Society member Judy Fister in 2022.

Kusamono is a Japanese art form that involves creating potted arrangements of wild grasses and flowers that reflect a season or place. The term kusamono means "grass thing" and it originated as a way of displaying accent plants next to bonsai. Kusamono can be composed of various plants, such as moss, lichen, bamboo, or bulbs, and they can be displayed in different types of pots, trays, driftwood, or stones. Kusamono are meant to enhance the beauty and harmony of bonsai displays, or to be appreciated as standalone works of art.

A nurse log is a fallen tree which, as it decays, provides ecological facilitation to seedlings. Broader definitions include providing shade or support to other plants.

Some of the advantages a nurse log offers to a seedling are: water, moss thickness, leaf litter, mycorrhizae, disease protection, nutrients, and sunlight.