“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days”

Mariusz Komstra’s Sumac showing off its fall color. Sumac are everywhere here in northern Vermont, including outside my window and this is exactly how they look. Well, not exactly… they’re much bigger and growing in the ground. l don’t know anything about the scroll, except that it’s beautiful and works with the tree. I cropped the photo just a bit for a closer look. Mariusz’ original is below Mariusz Janusz Komsta is celebrating autumn with these photos and this quote by John Burroughs…”How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days” NEW 30% OFF … Continue reading “How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days”

Powerful Shari, Brilliant Pot & Upside Down Maple

This old Taxus Baccata (English yew) is dominated by its powerful shari (trunk deadwood) The artist is Stefano Frisoni of Italy. On the road again today, so we’ll take the easy way out. The photos shown here are from a post we did in December, 2015. Continued below… NEW SALE 25% off our large selection of Bonsai Fertilizer well fed bonsai are healthy bonsai plus 10% off orders 100.00 or more and FREE Shipping on U.S. orders 50.00 or more Nice tree. Brilliant pot! Eleven years from stump by Mario Komsta (a regular here on Bark). It’s a Silverberry … Continue reading Powerful Shari, Brilliant Pot & Upside Down Maple

May You Enjoy a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year

Just couldn’t resist posting yet another yew (there have been several lately). This time it’s an English yew (Taxus Baccata) by Stefano Frisoni. It’s almost 2016 and there are countless loose ends to tie up, so we’ll dig up part of a December 2012 post with some trees that I particularly like. Meanwhile, may you and yours enjoy a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! And thank you for helping to make 2015 a happy bonsai year. Nice tree. Fantastic pot! Eleven years from stump by Mario Komsta (a regular here on Bark). I originally guessed that it was an Ilex and of course, I … Continue reading May You Enjoy a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year

Can there ever be too much Deadwood?

Mario Komsta (Mariusz Janusz Komsta) recently featured this tree with the following caption: “after refinement by Taiga Urushibata, june 2014.” We’ve featured Mario’s bonsai numerous times, but this is the first time for Taiga. To my eye the tree above is an outstanding bonsai. Powerful, with balance, flow and numerous points of interest (my only question is the chopped off looking jin at the top). Recently a friend mentioned that we’ve been featuring too much deadwood lately. Perhaps he’s correct. There does seem to be a renewed emphasis on creating and carving deadwood. You see massive carved trees everywhere and … Continue reading Can there ever be too much Deadwood?

Year End Loose Ends & Shameless Promotion

Just couldn’t resist posting yet another yew (there have been several lately). But, as you can see, it’s not just any yew. I found it here with this caption. Taxus Baccata (English yew) by Stefano Frisoni from Italy. Newsflash! I’ve been having a strange feeling that I’ve seen this tree somewhere before. Turns out it was right here on Bark 17 months ago. Oh well, this photo is much better. Shameless promotion There are three reasons why I spend so much time on Bonsai Bark. To spare you the boredom, I’ll skip the first two… the third is to promote … Continue reading Year End Loose Ends & Shameless Promotion