Old Rosemary plants abound in Europe, so you’d expect to see some pretty good old Rosemary bonsai, and this semi-cacade certainly qualifies. It doesn’t hurt that it’s in a very cool pot. This photo is from Bonsai Today issue 85. Unfortunately, I don’t have the artist’s name with me (I’m traveling) so I can’t attribute. Anyone out there know?
Still on the road (thus the movable part of the title)
I’m still traveling so thought I’d just pluck this European gallery out of one of the folders I have on my desktop for just such occasions. Unfortunately, I can’t attribute because I don’t have access to the artist’s names. Maybe you can help.
This twisty Shimpaku forest reminds me of Point Lobos (from the last time I was on the road). Like the one above, and the ones below, it’s from Bonsai Today issue 85.
Continue reading ‘A Moveable Feast European Style’
The entrance gate to one of Vaughn Banting’s bonsai courtyards. Come on in…
Vaughn Banting
Vaughn Banting was an artist, an adventurer and a friend to many people around the world. He was famous in Louisiana bonsai circles (and circles well beyond) for his passion for bonsai. He was both a professional and an avid enthusiasts that devoted much of his life to bonsai, from his teenage years to his untimely passing in 2008.
Comprising a life
You can visit Vaughn’s website for a journey through his life and work. In addition to photos of Vaughn’s bonsai (his nursery and his private collection, parts of which appear here), and his friends and travels, there are some very telling before and after photos of Vaughn’s nursery that depict the ravages of Katrina.
Spring. You can tell by the azalea blossoms.
Still spring…
Continue reading ‘Backyard Bonsai #7: Vaughn Banting’s Passion’
Almost like magic. This wild and wonderful mugo pine showed up on facebook a few weeks ago. It was posted by Bonsai Creativo School and Academy.
Wild, wonderful and no so traditional
There are at least two things that come to mind when I look at this wild mugo pine. First, that it represents a break with traditional bonsai styles, particularly traditional Japanese bonsai. It just doesn’t look like what bonsai used to look like not too long ago.
The second thing about it is that it’s a mugo pine. It wasn’t too long ago that the only pines you’d see as bonsai were Japanese whites and blacks. Especially in Japan. Gradually, as bonsai spread to the west, other varieties started showing up. Now, mugos are becoming quite common, and for good reason; their needles are small, they are tough, and, over time they can show a lot of character (as you can readily see when you look at this magically unique and dynamic tree).
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
This colorful succulent growing in a rock is by Peter Landerloos. It’s from Bonsai Cafe.
Bonsai Cafe
I lifted the photos in this post from Bonsai Cafe. It features some pretty good bonsai from Western bonsai artists. Definitely worth a visit if you get a chance.
It’s not very often you see a bonsai this size with such a massive trunk. It’s by Colin Lewis. Colin lives and runs his bonsai business (Colin Lewis Bonsai Art and Ho Yoku School of Bonsai) right here in New England.
I think this sweet little Shohin might be a Needle juniper. It’s by Jos Vandeborne.
This snakey cascade by Roman Martyka could easily qualify for one of our Eccentric bonsai posts.
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
Check out the meandering living vein on this wonderful crazy work in progress by Isao Omachi. It showed up on facebook the other day and instantly grabbed my imagination and got me thinking about how he could have done it (the living vein part, that is). Perhaps there’s a clue in something that Masahiko Kimura (The Magician) did years ago in a chapter entitled ‘Kimura Flips (a Tree Upside Down)’ in our Masters’ Series Juniper book (below).
Here’s the Kimura tree that he flipped upside down. It originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 21 (out of print).
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
This tree isn’t exactly eccentric. Just powerful, handsome and unique. It’s by Budi Sulistyo and graces the cover of his excellent tropical bonsai gallery book (you can see the whole cover below).
Such a contrast
I think this next tree (below), also by Budi, falls into the eccentric category.
This ficus microcarpa by Budi Sulisyo from an album entitled ‘Stone Pot’.
Continue reading ‘Eccentric Bonsai: Two Trees by Budi’
I pulled this distinctive bonsai off of a gallery on facebook that was posted by Francesco Santini. There isn’t much information provided and I don’t read Italian anyway (Free Translation nonwithstanding), so I can’t say much about this tree except that the hollowed out trunk caught my eye.
An unusual tree
I have seen very few trunks that have been so completely hollowed (from side to side anyway, if not in depth). It looks like it might be a Ezo spruce though I could be mistaken. If it is an Ezo, it must be quite old to attain such size as Ezos are very slow growing. I like the first branch, it almost serves as a second trunk and is not a bad little bonsai in itself. Overall, I think that this is a excellent tree with great balance, and would be noteworthy even without the distinctive hollow trunk.
Here’s another tree from the same gallery that caught my eye. Though it’s a juniper, the reddish bark and the deadwood remind me of the Manzanitas in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
The Suzuki piece of this puzzle. This poster is also on Santini’s facebook galley. Shinji Suzuki is Michael Hagedorn’s teacher. Suzuki and Michael have both been featured in Bonsai Bark.
This little gem was lifted from BUNJINJOURNAL.COM. It’s from the 2010 California Shohin Society Seminar in Santa Nella. They one every other year and the quality of trees just keeps getting better. I’m alreay thinking about arranging my schedule so I can go next time.
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
For more superb shohin bonsai visit BUNJINJOURNAL.COM.
Peaceful Lagoon, our third in a series of plantings from Toshio Kawamoto’s Saikei classic. The trees are five to twenty-year-old Japanese black pines. The pot (Tokoname) is similar to the ones in the previous two landscapes, though quite a bit larger.
An invitation
The purpose of this section is to show how to create a saikei that depicts a peaceful lagoon just off the ocean. The photo taken together with the drawings (below), create the impression that the author is inviting you to duplicate his work.
Attention to detail
If you look at all the elements: the rocks, the trees, the moss, the gravel (water) and the white sand (foam), you can see that their placement and their relative sizes (scale) creates a near perfect effect. Everything makes sense (except maybe the size of the pine needles, and somehow that’s easy to overlook).
A transporting effect
A good saikei almost convinces you that it’s a large landscape in nature. It’s easy to imagine that you are standing on a large rock on the bank of the lagoon, and that the small gap in the back opens to the ocean. The wind, which blows off the ocean bends all the small trees toward the lagoon. You can almost feel it in your hair and taste the salt air.
Front schemata. The pot is 37? x 20? (94cm x 51cm) unglazed oval by Tokoname. There are 10 Japanese black pines that range from 5 to 8 inches (13cm to 20cm) tall. There are nine river rocks (numbered above and below) that range considerably in size. The soil is regular bonsai soil (he doesn’t say which regular bonsai soil, but the Japanese almost always use akadama or an akadama mix for conifers). The other materials are river sand and white sand.
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
Continue reading ‘A Lost Treasure #4: Peaceful Lagoon’
Acacia longifolia. So sweet. The leaves are a little big, but that’s the nature of the plant. Otherwise, this bonsai has it all: gnarly aged trunk with a little see-though action and excellent fluid movement. Nice jin. Perfect pot. Great tree!
Australian Native Plants as Bonsai
I found this tree, the one below, and numerous others on the Australian National Botanic Garden site in a section entitled Australian Native Plants as Bonsai. Some are quite unusual, at least to those of us living up over. I couldn’t find the artists’ names anywhere on the site. Maybe someone out there knows.
Aussie friends
We have lots of friends and customers in Australia. My impression is that something vital is happening bonsai-wise down there. Any news, photos, gossip, whatever, from our Aussie friends is always appreciated.
Ficus rubiginosa. Here’s another good one. It’s got great balance, the semi-fused trunk has excellent taper and the wonderful pot looks like it might be old, maybe even antique. I tried to enlarge it to see more detail, but didn’t gain much.
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