Stone Lantern Book Sale

%20 – 40% off all books! Ends Wednesday. Update: sale extened one week through 2/11/09!

Have You Thought About Field Growing?

Have you tried field growing? You don’t need a lot of space to experiment with a small number of plants and the results will easily exceed expectations that have been conditioned by container growing. One of the reasons the Japanese have so many well developed bonsai is field growing. In the west, we tend to grow bonsai stock in containers. In Japan, most stock is field grown; you’ve no doubt noticed the strikingly powerful Japanese Black Pines in the two photos above (from Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai). Though I don’t know how old those massive trunks are, my best guess … Continue reading Have You Thought About Field Growing?

Welcome to Bonsai Bark

Welcome to the first post on our new blog. We’ve decided to call it Bonsai Bark. This name, in addition to being easy to remember, says something about what we would like to communicate. Bonsai stripped bare down to the bark; revealed, open, visible, exposed. Accessible to anyone willing to take a close look. I once read that the first Westerners to see Japanese bonsai thought there was some sort of magic involved. Now we know better; bonsai, like any art, requires a mix of desire, vision, feeling, technique, experience and patience. Nothing supernatural needed. Some talent doesn’t hurt, but … Continue reading Welcome to Bonsai Bark