3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition.

Tanuki Again & a Mind Stopping Bonsai Experience

This palatial planting by Pierre Leloup may have been the most talked about bonsai 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. There’s no way that a photo can capture the sheer size and splendor of this planting. Viewing it in real space is one of those mind stopping experiences. The photo is courtesy of Pierre Leloup and Sangi Louise Drolet, my Exhibition neighbors. Yesterday’s post was about the upcoming 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. In each of the two posts before that, the word Tanuki was part of the title. Which brings us to my friend Pierre Leloup who I met at … Continue reading Tanuki Again & a Mind Stopping Bonsai Experience

A Wonderful Bonsai Event that just Keeps Getting Better

This sumptuous Japanese maple is from the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition website. It’s time to start thinking about the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition.  All of the previous Exhibitions were wonderful events and they just keep getting better. The dates are September 10-11 and fortunately the venue is the same as last year (if you were there you understand the ‘fortunately‘). I won’t say more about the details right now, because everything you need to know is on the Exhibition site and we will post regular reminders. Meanwhile, enjoy the photos and start making your plans!   A small … Continue reading A Wonderful Bonsai Event that just Keeps Getting Better

Suburban Yamadori

This old Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) belongs to Mauro Stemberger. The color coordinated pot is by Petra Hahn (even the moss has reddish spots). I found the photo on The Art of Bonsai Project. We’ve been featuring Yews and carved deadwood a lot lately. An auspicious match, as you can readily see in the photos shown here. One of the great things about Yews is they grow almost everywhere. Half the landscapes here in the Eastern U.S. sport a yew or two. For some of us, it’s possible to find good ones for bonsai in our own front yards (suburban … Continue reading Suburban Yamadori

Clip-and-Grow – Back to Bonsai Basics

You can see the large scar from the first cut on this powerful old Chinese elm (Ulmus parviflora). If you follow the trunk up a ways, you can see the change of direction where the second cut took place, though you can’t see a scar from this view. This tree appears in the 1st U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album.* It was started from a large collected tree in China. The owner/artist is Melvyn Goldstein. The fuzzy image is due to enlarging to fit our newer format. It’s full tilt spring around here now. Digging and potting season in all its … Continue reading Clip-and-Grow – Back to Bonsai Basics

A Multitude of Remarkable Bonsai Photos from Our Remarkable Bonsai Books (Book Sale Ends Tonight)

This luscious Satsuki azalea is one of a multitude of remarkable bonsai photos from the very aptly named, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. There’s a theme to this large gallery and a method to our madness. All the photos are from bonsai books that we sell and all our books are currently on sale at Stone Lantern. However, today is the last day of the sale. It ends at 11:59pm EST tonight, Wednesday, February 4th, 2015.   You can find this somewhat unruly and very distinctive apple bonsai on the back cover of Nick Lenz’ landmark book on collecting, Bonsai … Continue reading A Multitude of Remarkable Bonsai Photos from Our Remarkable Bonsai Books (Book Sale Ends Tonight)

The Next Best Thing…

This photo from the 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album is a good example of the quality photos you’ll find in all of the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Albums. The tree is an old Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) from the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. It’s one of 248 fine bonsai that are featured in the 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album. The photos that we’ve been featuring from last weekend’s 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition are not the final ones. The official high quality professional photos will appear in 4th Exhibition Album and nowhere else (stay posted). Enjoying the photos in … Continue reading The Next Best Thing…

Be There Or Else…

This image was taken from Bill Valavanis’ 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition website. If you are one of the three or four people who don’t know about this most important upcoming bonsai event, it’s time to educate yourself. The 4th U.S.National Bonsai Exhibition starts in eight days. We (that’s me) strongly suggest you be there or else you’ll miss the most important U.S. bonsai event since 2012 (the 3rd National Exhibition). It’s not too late to register and enjoy some of the best bonsai and most talented bonsai artists in North America (and beyond). This wonderful Sargent juniper planting belongs … Continue reading Be There Or Else…

Time to Come Back Home

The National Award for the Finest Bonsai Masterpiece. Japanese Black Pine, by Scott Elser of Portland, Oregon. It’s vacation time so we’ll resort to borrowing from our archives. I picked this one from January 2013 for a couple reasons: it’s time to come back home after six straight post featuring European and Asian bonsai and our the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition is coming soon, so I’m hoping that this will provide a little encouragement to those of you who are on the fence. BTW: I was at the last National Exhibition, and even though Bill and his crew took … Continue reading Time to Come Back Home

Sticking with Our Cedar Theme

Jim Gremel had a Blue Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica – one of the handful of true Cedars) that looked a lot like this one at the 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Winging to Boston and then driving back to the ice palace today (from sunny SF), so let’s indulge in one more foray into the archives. We’ll stick with out Cedar theme while we’re at it. This one was titled Real Cedar Bonsai & A Good Neighbor (June, 2012). Deer Meadow Bonsai & the 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Some of the trees that were offered for sale at the … Continue reading Sticking with Our Cedar Theme

Summer Relief for Your Bonsai

Deciduous Award at the 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition for the Finest Deciduous Bonsai. It’s a Japanese Maple by Suthin Sukolosovisit of Royal Bonsai. It has nothing to do with the topic of this post, at least directly, but the 3rd (2012) U.S. National Bonsai Exhibiton is now on special at Stone Lantern. The following very useful piece of advice is by Michael Hagedorn from his website Crataegus Bonsai. It originally appeared here on Bark almost exactly three years ago. “Last summer I mentioned the practice of ‘hamisu’ which is the misting of bonsai during hot summer days. This light … Continue reading Summer Relief for Your Bonsai