Serpentine Ridge – A Story in Stone and Time

Botanical Name: Juniperus rigida

Common Name: Needle Juniper

Tree Name: Serpentine Ridge

Story of the Tree

The tall Needle Juniper in this composition was once the favorite tree of Jack Farmar, a longtime member of the Kusamura Bonsai Club. He acquired it in the late 1960s from the nursery of Toshio “Tosh” Sanuromaru in Palo Alto—himself a founding member of Kusamura and an early organizer of the Golden State Bonsai Federation.

The subtle shari that runs along the trunk—a thin, streaked ribbon of lime-sulphur-treated deadwood—was created by Donna Farmar, Jack’s wife and bonsai partner.

Now, decades later, Idris has placed the tree on a wide granite slab, pairing it with a forest of younger needle junipers that she has grown from seedlings for over ten years. Still in development, these trees are tightly clustered and inseparable, much like the roots of the bonsai community that shaped them.

The slab beneath them is California serpentine, the official state rock, known for its green-gray tone and twisted mineral pattern. It echoes the winding story of this composition—a meeting of generations, geology, and shared devotion.

Serpentine Ridge is a tribute to both the past and the present—rooted in the soil of California bonsai history.

Exhibited by: Idris