A Quieter Tree & a Smaller House

I’ve long appreciated the subtlety of Michael Hagedorn’s bonsai. Michael tends to avoid flash and overstatement, even in some of his crazy experimental stuff.* Here’s Michael’s caption for this understated bonsai…  “Japanese Maple ‘Beni-Kawa’ with an unusual pot choice, an unglazed brown.” Here’s more in Michael’s own words (from his blog)… “The decision was to show off the reddish rose of the branches and trunks, to have that be the focus. Often a key tree color is balanced by the opposing color on the color wheel—in this case, the pot would have a green glaze. By NOT going that route … Continue reading A Quieter Tree & a Smaller House

Visit Our New Stone Lantern Site for Your Bonsai Essentials – We’re Sure You’ll Like It!

This photo is from our first Bonsai Bark post. January 26th, 2009. We finally threw the switch and now you can visit our Brand New  Stone Lantern Website. It’s a huge improvement and I’m sure you’ll like it As an encouragement to get you over there, we added some bonuses… every single item is on special. Some for as much as 50% off. And we’ve got several new items that weren’t on our old site And if that’s not enough, we’re offering  an additional 10% off on everything for orders 50.00 or more, provided you put the sale code LAUNCH … Continue reading Visit Our New Stone Lantern Site for Your Bonsai Essentials – We’re Sure You’ll Like It!

Boon’s American Larch – Which Pot Do You Prefer?

One American larch, five pots (the original pot is below). If things go according to plan (when did that ever happen?) this will be our last post in this tired old software. Starting tomorrow morning our posts will show on the ‘front page’ of our NEW Website (wish us luck!) What better way to end an era and begin another than with two of our favorites, Boon and the American larch? Continued below…   FOUR SPRING SPECIALS END tonight when WE THROW THE SWITCH* 25% OFF BONSAI WIRE FOR 3 OR MORE ROLLS 35% OFF ROSHI BONSAI TOOLS 25% OFF … Continue reading Boon’s American Larch – Which Pot Do You Prefer?

A Dramatic Juniper with a Slight List to the Left

This dramatic Juniper may be leaning just a tad too far to the left (or is it just me?) Either way, too far left or just right, to my eyes its almost unbalanced feel creates just enough tension to add interest Continuing with Luis Vallejo’s bonsai, here’s one from our archives (Novemeber, 2012).  All the photos shown here are from Luis Vallejo’s Museo Bonsai de Alconbendas.  I borrowed them  from the Bonsai Center Sopelana in Spain’s Basque Country Continued below… THREE NEW SPECIALS 25% OFF BONSAI WIRE FOR 3 OR MORE ROLLS 35% OFF ROSHI BONSAI TOOLS 25% OFF BONSAI … Continue reading A Dramatic Juniper with a Slight List to the Left

Bonsai Tie Pots – NEW Deeper Discounts!

We just started offering our remarkable New Tie Pots last September and already we’re closing in on 1,000 sold (during the off season, no less!). Now we’ve sharpened our pencil to make them available to more people. I think you’ll be happy with the results. NEW TIE POT SPECIAL 1-2 TIE POTS 16.00 each 3-7 TIE POTS 15.00 each 8 or more 14.00 each Discounts are applied at checkout Tie Pots have the potential to revolutionize bonsai growing   The tie knobs are only part of the story the interior is ingeniously designed  for optimal development of fine feeder roots … Continue reading Bonsai Tie Pots – NEW Deeper Discounts!

Bonsai Before & After – a Six Week Transformation

Before and after. The tree is a Lawson’s cypress (Chaemacyparis Louïsiana ‘Elwoodii’). Here’s the caption copied directly from Michel Delen, our source for these photos… “Chaemacyparis Louïsiana ‘Elwoodii’ AFTER Grandioos Noelanders Marc.” Continuing with our recent Marc Noelanders posts. And not by coincidence, Marc’s a headliner at the 2019 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Spring Festival (we hope to see you there) – I’m impressed. The date on the before is Feb 8th and the date on the after is March 22nd (6 weeks later). Given just how little time elapsed, it’s an remarkable transformation. All the photos are from Michel Delen’s timeline Continued … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – a Six Week Transformation

Japanese Black Pine Made in America

“This exposed root Japanese black pine is a blend of Japanese sensibility and American craftsmanship…. Obviously it’s a Japanese species, and it’s hard to argue that several of the styling cues are based on Japanese bonsai. However, this tree is 100% made in America. The tree itself, started from seed and grown as bonsai material in California. The pot, hand made by American potter Dale Cochy, circa 2004. All brought together, styled and finished by me, an American bonsai artists trained in Japan. An exciting collision of several worlds and a respectful nod to all things bonsai from US and … Continue reading Japanese Black Pine Made in America

Two Before & After Bonsai – Juniper & Pine

  We found these two photos at Bonsai Shikoku. All the text is Japanese and there are no intermediate photos, so what you see is what you get. At a glance you can see that the foliage has been thinned in order to expose most of the trunk and some of the branching. This allows for an unobstructed view of the deadwood and the lower sections of the living veins. Another obvious change is the result of meticulous cleaning and brightening of the deadwood and living veins. Continuing with our recent Before and After theme, we’ve got couple good ones for you. Both … Continue reading Two Before & After Bonsai – Juniper & Pine

Before & After Root-Over-Rock Black Pine Bonsai

Root-over-rock Japanese black pine by Suthin Sukosolvisit. No major restyling, but still a striking improvement. Sutin’s caption reads simply… “Japanese black pine 2011-2013” The original before and after photos are from Suthin’s timeline Still on vacation, so we’ll simplify by borrowing from our archives. This one first appeared here almost exactly one year ago Continuing with before and after bonsai from two days ago… A big part of bonsai involves transforming rough stock into beautiful, or at least passable bonsai. However, it’s equally important to do the periodic work necessary to keep a bonsai beautiful, or soon enough it will lose its shape and start to look like … Continue reading Before & After Root-Over-Rock Black Pine Bonsai

Bonsai Adventures, Three Hornbeams

Oriental hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis) from Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures blog Staying on track with Walter Pall for at least another day. This time it’s three hefty Oriental hornbeams from Walter’s Bonsai Adventures blog. Time is of essences (leaving for a couple weeks in the sun later today) so we’ll provide the links and you do the research if you’re inclined in that direction NEW SITE WIDE SALE Everything Is At Least 20% off Including items already discounted  discounts are computed at checkout – Another beefy Oriental hornbeam from Walter’s blog. No leaves this time so you can see the profusion of small … Continue reading Bonsai Adventures, Three Hornbeams