Eisei-en & Bjorn’s Big Bonsai Weekend

I found this Shimpaku rock planting in a vast array of Bjorn Bjorholm’s online photos. I couldn’t find any text with the photo, so it’s hard to tell if it’s a root-over-rock (if it is, the root must be on the other side) or a on root-on-rock. No matter, it’s great tree Continuing with our North American bonsai series in our lead up to the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition… Though our goal is encourage you to visit the 6th U.S., we’d be remiss if we passed on Bjorn Bjorholm’s Eisei-en grand opening Here’s a quote from Bjorn about his new nursery and the … Continue reading Eisei-en & Bjorn’s Big Bonsai Weekend

Bjorn’s Bonsai for the Memory Bank

Before and after Juniper procumbens by Bjorn Bjorholm. The most obvious improvement is the foliage mass, but if you take a close look you see can many more changes, particularly the highlighting of the live vein (especially at the top of tree) It’s time to revisit Bjorn Bjorholm one of our most talented young bonsai artists – many of whom, including Bjorn, apprenticed in Japan. The photos and quoted text in this post are from Bjorn’s blog Before we go any further, do yourself a favor and take a look at Bjorn’s Advanced Bonsai Course. The price is right and if you take … Continue reading Bjorn’s Bonsai for the Memory Bank

You Don’t Have to Go to Japan to Study Bonsai with Bjorn

This powerful little White pine-over-rock is from the Fujikawa International School of Bonsai website. Yesterday we mentioned Bjorn Bjorholm’s upcoming Advanced Bonsai Coourse with Bonsai Empire (see below). This got me thinking about Bjorn’s history here on Bark, so I took a little journey through our archives and came up with this from June, 2013, one of our earliest Bjorn posts The post was titled Study Bonsai in the Old Country. It featured the Fujikawa International School of Bonsai and Bjorn’s role their at the time. Here’s your link if you’d like a little bonsai history. NEW SPECIAL HIGH IMPACT PLASTIC BONSAI POTS 25% OFF LIST PRICES … Continue reading You Don’t Have to Go to Japan to Study Bonsai with Bjorn

The Finest Bonsai Deserves the Finest Turntable

Everything looks good on a Green T turntable and this luscious azalea in full flower is no exception. Here’s part of the caption that the folks at Green T wrote with this photo… “@bonsaiwarsaw loves azaleas! This variety of bonsai require lots of special care and dedication and we are glad that such a young innovative bonsai artist is trusting Green T to do his best!” I cropped the original photo to feature just the tree (apologies for the slight fuzz). The uncropped version is below. All the photos shown here are from Green Ts fb photos Just in case … Continue reading The Finest Bonsai Deserves the Finest Turntable

Bjorn’s Biggest Loser – Before & After – Fertilizing Old Trees

Before and After. This masterpiece Itoigawa Shimpaku was restyled by Bjorn Bjorholm at Keiichi Fujikawa’s Kouka-en Bonsai Nursery in Ikeda City, Japan, where Bjorn was apprenticing at the time. The photo is from a post on Bjorn’s Bjorvala Bonsai Studio blog, as are all the photos in this post. Continuing with our Bjorn Bjorholm theme (it fits well with our ongoing before and after theme as well). This post originally appeared here in April, 2013, with a few minor changes today In Bjorn’s own words… “This massive Itoigawa Shimpaku has a long history as a bonsai. It was first shown in the Kokufu-ten about 35 years ago, … Continue reading Bjorn’s Biggest Loser – Before & After – Fertilizing Old Trees

Tall Cliffs & a Rickety Little Bridge

Partial shot of a large penjing style planting that features water, tall cliffs and a rickety little bridge. The artist is Bjorn Bjorholm with some friends as able assistants Yesterday we featured a planting and a few other bonsai by Bjorn Bjorholm and friends. Today we’ve got another one from the same event (you can visit Bjorn on facebook for more) KILO BONSAI WIRE ONLY 14.95 PER ROLL this special ends this Thursday additional 5% off orders 150.00 or more Bjorn and friends posing with their masterpiece. Bjorn is the one with the blue T-shirt A piece of the action… THE Book for Penjing … Continue reading Tall Cliffs & a Rickety Little Bridge

A Well Traveled, Hard Working Bonsai Artist

Bjorn Bjorholm posted this root-on-rock gem the other day. It looks like a juniper, but I can’t tell for sure what kind and won’t bother to guess. Speaking of guesses, I’ll venture that some or all of the trees might share a single root system, and that the rock formation is manmade. I cropped this photo to eliminate background noise. A version that shows the whole planting is just below. Bjorn Bjorholm has to be one of the most well-traveled and hard working bonsai artists anywhere. At least that’s the impression I get from his posts on facebook. Speaking of, stay posted … Continue reading A Well Traveled, Hard Working Bonsai Artist

The Whole Bonsai Setup – Trees, Tools & Wire

I like this photo. In addition to the rather spectacular tree, there’s the whole setup, with tools and wire that tells us something about the place where this tree was styled and the means by which it was styled. Here’s the caption with this tree… “What 6 years of work, a beautiful environment and a great photographer Jill Moors can do …” I always get a little jolt when I discover a new (for me) bonsai artist. In this case the artist is Yannick Kiggen. Yannick calls his bonsai endeavor YAMA Bonsai Studio. We’ll just scratch the surface here and encourage … Continue reading The Whole Bonsai Setup – Trees, Tools & Wire

Still Searching for the Perfect Nebari

Stewartias often have strong nebari and this one is no exception. This photo is from a post we did back in July 2014. I didn’t know who the artist was then and I still don’t know. I tried Image Search, which recognized that it’s a Stewartia, but didn’t find this particular tree. This post is a continuation of yesterday’s Bottoms Up! More Nebari How-to. which was taken in part from In Search of the Perfect Nebari – part four, a 2009 Bark post. (In Search of the Perfect Nebari parts four and five are from Bonsai Today issue 64). The … Continue reading Still Searching for the Perfect Nebari

Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?

This dynamic Juniper jumped off its digital page on my daily bonsai hunt yesterday. In addition to all its movement, there’s those two perfectly placed foliage clouds. Their gentle downward motion and soft weight help tame the upward thrust of the deadwood. Bjorn Bjorholm’s caption for this Juniper reads: “Itoigawa Shimpaku styled in 2013 during my apprenticeship at Kouka-en.” Today it’s a few dynamic Itoigawa junipers for you. The beautiful & energetic beast above is from Bjorn Bjorholm’s facebook feed. I pillaged the others from our archives. Continued below… SITE WIDE SALE 20% TO 25% OFF EVERYTHING* Don’t Worry! We … Continue reading Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?