Just Another Before & After Bonsai?

Itoigawa juniper before and after by Gabriel Romero Aguade By now you may have seen dozens, if not hundreds of before and after bonsai posts. Some were done in a matter of hours and some took years to complete. When I first saw this one, my guess was it falls into the second group; bonsai transformations that take years. – But rather than settle on a guess, I decided to ask the artist, Gabriel Romero Aguade who posted it just a couple days ago. Here’s my question… “How many years was the process? ” And here’s Gabriel’s answer… “From the … Continue reading Just Another Before & After Bonsai?

Exceptional Before & After Bonsai

This has to be one of the most compelling bonsai I’ve seen in a while. It has that wild, not overly refined look and though the deadwood is prominent, it’s not dominated by deadwood like so many trees. But perhaps the best of all are are the brilliant living veins and the way they stand out against the deadwood Island hopping today, so to save precious time, we’re going to rerun a post on one of my favorite trees. This before and after is more about refinement than styling rough stock. Less daunting perhaps, but only someone skilled in the … Continue reading Exceptional Before & After Bonsai

An Exceptional Bonsai – Before & After

Here’s an excellent example of a before and after with an already established tree. It just needed a talented bonsai artist and some free time to bring it back to its previous splendor. In this case the artist is Gabriel Romero Aguade. The tree is an impressively masterful Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis). Not that you don’t have eyes of your own, but I feel that some extra excitement is warranted with a tree like this. It resides at the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid. Here are Gabriel Romero Aguade’s comment (Spanish then English)… “Antes y después del Juniperus chinensis trabajado en el Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid. Si quieres … Continue reading An Exceptional Bonsai – Before & After

Ferociously Contorted Scot’s Pine

Gabriel Romero Aguade says of this magnificent, ferociously contorted, Scot’s pine, “Maintenance work and small improvements in a pinus sylvestris from a client. Reposition the angle of planted, settlement of the low branch, cleaning of leaves and selection of outbreaks.” I’ve been seeing a lot of Gabriel Romero Aguade’s bonsai these days and every time I do, I think I should post some. Now, finally, the moment has arrived. Continued below… Fertilizer Sale Ends Tonight 25% off all Green Dream Organic Slow Release Pellets Sale ends tonight (Thursday) at 11:59pm EST Close up The artist with the tree. Though … Continue reading Ferociously Contorted Scot’s Pine

When Was the Last Time You Saw a Trunk with so much Power and Character?

This has to be one of the most compelling bonsai I’ve seen in a while. It has that wild, not overly refined look and ‘just so’ deadwood (it’s not dominated by deadwood like so many trees). But the real deal is the trunk. When was the last time you saw a trunk with so much power and character? Hopelessly behind schedule with Thanksgiving and other family and friend obligations looming, not to mention my other job (Stone Lantern) and its daily demands… So to save precious time, we’re going to rerun a post on one of my all time favorite … Continue reading When Was the Last Time You Saw a Trunk with so much Power and Character?

Before & After – Refining a Very Compelling Bonsai

This has to be one of the most compelling bonsai I’ve seen in a while. It has that wild, not overly refined look and ‘just so’ deadwood (it’s not dominated by deadwood like so many trees). But the real deal is the trunk. When was the last time you saw a trunk with so much power and character? To save a little time, we’ll dig back into our archives today (I’m out west watching the grand kids while mom & dad attend the BookExpo America 2016 in Chicago and lunches still need to be made). BTW: this is one of … Continue reading Before & After – Refining a Very Compelling Bonsai

One of the Most Compelling Bonsai

This has to be one of the most compelling bonsai I’ve seen in a while. It has that wild, not overly refined look and ‘just so’ deadwood (it’s not dominated by deadwood like so many trees). But the real deal is the trunk. When was the last time you saw a trunk with so much power and character? This before and after is more about refinement than styling rough stock. Less daunting perhaps, but only someone skilled in the art of bonsai can do what you see here. In this case, that someone is Gabriel Romero Aguade (Bonsai Sant-boi) (this … Continue reading One of the Most Compelling Bonsai

It’s Still Labor Day Weekend & the Sun Is Still Shining

A wonderfully convoluted Sabina juniper after a little taming by Gabriel Romero Aguadé. If you look at the before photo below, you can see that Gabriel did quite a bit to tame what started out as tree with a world of potential but also with a crazily unruly crown and a trunk with poor taper. It’s not too hard to see how the crown was brought under control (some very detailed labor and some time for new growth to fill in). But the taper is a bit more mystifying; not much has changed, but somehow it looks much better. BTW, … Continue reading It’s Still Labor Day Weekend & the Sun Is Still Shining

Finally, An Undisputed Winner

Contest or no contest, this powerful European olive by Luis Vallejo is an exceptional tree. Okay. That whole prove us wrong thing from last week was a bust. Absolutely no dissenting views. Looking on the bright side, I guess that means we got it right. Best of all, we finally have an undisputed winner for our Bonsai Detective contest. Congratulations to Dorothy Schmitz. She wasn’t one of the first entries, but she kept plugging away until she got it right (if you happen to be Dorothy, your $100 gift certificate will be emailed to you on Monday). Thanks to all … Continue reading Finally, An Undisputed Winner

Prove Us Wrong & Win a $50 Gift Certificate

This is the one that caused the most trouble (see D below). Our Bonsai Detective contest (from three weeks ago) turned out to be the most difficult one to judge yet. Remind me next time to be sure we have an ironclad grip on all the answers before we start. Not only were there lots of entries, but most were very good with only one or two misses. But what really made it difficult is conflicting, vague and otherwise unreliable information on the internet (surprise!). Especially on facebook (another surprise no doubt). The upshot is that after spending hours pouring … Continue reading Prove Us Wrong & Win a $50 Gift Certificate