This is a bonsai that I find inspiring. It was donated to the Bonsai museum by Vaughn L. Banting. Personally, I find Vaughn L. Banting's life inspiring. I like to read through his website and his stories and see the bonsai as they progressed. He's someone who seemed to document every aspect of his life, he lived with passion and he loved creating bonsai. He used his life experiences in his art, and he created some beautiful masterpieces.

I tend towards pine trees, and I find this captivating because birch tress are lovely (I think they are birch) and the grouping, as well as the subtle twists of the branches and the trunks make this bonsai feel like a comfortable walk in a well put together country neighborhood. It has a very homey yet set apart feel to it all at the same time.

This is an Elm tree that I drive past every week, this picture is several years old, but I took it during March the hoar frost really caught my eye but year round this tree is inspiring. It is the inspiration for a future Bonsai which I started from seed.

Some of you have seen this tree if you've been a member for a while.
Even though this tree isn't a true bonsai, as it will not go into it's first pot until late march I am still going to post it.
There are no local bonsai clubs around here so I am learning all of this via the internet and common sense.
This tree inspires me because in the beginning I was unsure if I could, or even should be doing this without en experienced person guiding me.I decided to do it, and did it all to this tree (root prune and a drastic chop).
This tree responded positively to all it went through. So when I get a little discouraged I look at this tree and remember how it feels when things go right.
so, to make a long story short...I am inspired by this tree because it's beautiful and It's nice to think I had something to do with that.
Thanks,
Lance

I'm studying ficus in nature to reproduce it as bonsai. This is one of most beautiful e powerful in my city - Palermo in Sicily (Italy) - and one of the most inspirational for me.
Angelo

This is one of my inspirational tree for work my ficus in the tropic.

My "bonsai", inspired by nature.

My favorite form of Bonsai is the Literati-style which I truly adore! It shows and surprises us with nature's toughness and grace in one fabulous package, with wonderful accents of deadwood and healed branches at often strange angles. The harmony of the branch placement between 2 or more trees is a natural pruning whereby survival of the fittest creates amazing synergy strength.

this acasha tree inspire me because of its magnificeant shape, neat brunch patern, great leaves arrangement, pleasant and eye loving look, amazing canopyt i think this tree is shape and prune perfectly by the creator...for me this is the perfect tree the perfect broom style bonsai.
The second one is an under constraction bogainvilla glabra it inspires me because it is allredy 12 years old it is belong to my m0ther even thow the leaves are big. The brunch look like thows of accasia tree and the trank of it is naturally old even without shari and jin, it is shape by time. I'd already own this plant, my m0ther give it to me thats why its under propagation.

This is an oak tree next to the A1 highway near Kootwijk in the Netherlands. When I pass the tree in my car, it always attracts my attention. It's an incredible tree because of it's magnificent brances. You can hardly see it in the picture, but it stands on a hill and all the trunks go in all directions.
Once I heard that in this area, trees are hundreds of years old and mostly burried under the sand. Only the apex comes out of the earth.
As it stands on a small hill, I always wonder what is hidden underneath the soil....
It is hard to find good material to create a bonsai like this, but I'm searching since I've started bonsai 12 years ago....

Here is my bonsai inspiration from nature. I cycle past this tree most days when I go mountain biking.

When you look at the tree you get a great sense of age. The tree is the remains of what was once a magnificently tall tree which has rotted away with age. You can tell that the tree is of age because of its thick trunk. The tree fights to stay alive despite nearly rotting in half.

This would make a great inspiration for a bonsai with not much movement in the trunk and needs the help of some skilled carving to add character.