Both these trees came from Malls. Sorry no before pics.
The Ume was from the Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco. It was growing straight up like a picket I pruned the top and retrained it at a slant.
http://pictures.bonsaitalk.com/showphoto.php?photo=619
The ponytail palm came from the Asian Mall in San Jose. Transplanted with a new front, scraped off the white rocks and
http://pictures.bonsaitalk.com/showphoto.php?photo=75
Both these specimens were quite a bit more mature than your typical mallsai, but beauty is where you find it.
Regards,
Matt