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

Bonsai Superlatives

I’m running out of superlatives. How about… ‘somewhere north of magnificent.’ My only question is, could the pot be a little bigger? By Hsieh, Shun-Chin of Taiwan Continuing with spectacular Ficus bonsai… Though the Taiwanese aren’t alone, a large dose of creative bonsai energy seems to be emanating from that unique island. And it’s not just Min Hsuan Lo and Cheng, Cheng-Kung, they have plenty of talented company. If you want some evidence, check out the Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibitions FALL POTTING SEASON SPECIAL 25% OFF LIST ON ALL HIGH IMPACT PLASTIC BONSAI POTS 25% OFF LIST ON ALL BONSAI SOIL … Continue reading Bonsai Superlatives

What Was Missing?

Javi Campos Juan’s caption reads Tenía falta? The translation is “Was it missing?” That didn’t seem quite right so I checked with Free Translation, which came up with “What was missing?” Anyway, sweet tree (no variety given) and well chosen pot. I’ve been follow Javi Campos Juan for a long time, but have only featured his bonsai twice and the last time was over a year ago, so we’re overdue. The images and captions are from Javi’s facebook timeline. NEW SPECIAL Koyo Japanese Bonsai Tools 30% off list prices – Before. Time to rootprune and repot. BTW, those are exceptionally vigorous looking … Continue reading What Was Missing?

Bottoms Up! More Nebari How-to

This natural scale nebari (surface roots and flare at the base of the trunk) stands in contrast to some of the more exaggerated nebari that we’ve been featuring (including the one at the bottom of this post). Bill Valavanis, who seems to spend half his life in Japan, took this photo at the Uchiku-Tei Bonsai Garden at S-Cube Bonsai Garden in Hanyu, north of Omiya. Continuing our discussion of nabari, here’s another how-to post from our archives (with the exception of the photo above and the one at the bottom of the post which we borrowed from Bill Valavanis’ Bonsai … Continue reading Bottoms Up! More Nebari How-to

The Difference High Quality Professional Photos Can Make – Especially with Such High Quality Bonsai

This and the other trees in this post are from Luis Vallejo’s Bonsai Collection. The caption for these (and some others not shown here) is “Some of the Bonsai trees that will be displayed at the Bonsai San Show. Saulieu . October 2017 – Luis Vallejo Bonsai Collection – Photos By Miguel Krause” Luis Vallejo didn’t list the varieties when he posted these remarkable photos, and because I’m still licking my wounds from the fiasco of Sunday’s post, I’m going to dispense with any guessing today. But don’t worry (not that you were), I’ll recover soon enough and resume guessing … Continue reading The Difference High Quality Professional Photos Can Make – Especially with Such High Quality Bonsai

New Free Shipping Rates & Discounting at Stone Lantern

Starting Monday, May 8th, we will initiate the following changes FREE Shipping for Continental U.S. orders 100.00 or more Extra 10% off for all orders 150.00 or more These changes will allow us to keep our prices down and continue to offer deeply discounted Sales on a range of items… …including 3 excellent sales currently running for bonsai wire, bonsai tools & embroidered bonsai clothing Thank you for your continued support

New Discounting & Free Shipping Rates at Stone Lantern

Nice Tree, Spectacular Pot & Other Small Bonsai Wonders

Nice tree. Spectacular pot. This shot is from the just completed World Bonsai Convention. I cropped the original (see below) to eliminate some background noise. Staying with the World Bonsai Convention theme, though this time it’s all Shohin (small trees). I can’t read the name of the person who took these photos, but here’s your link. SALE ENDS TOMORROW NIGHT ROSHI TOOLS 30% OFF plus an extra 10% off orders 100.00 or more Sale includes all of our large selection of Roshi Tools including Roshi Tools sets and kits sale ends tomorrow, Wednesday at 11:59pm EDT Judging by the … Continue reading Nice Tree, Spectacular Pot & Other Small Bonsai Wonders

Bonsai by Tickle

As you can see by the copyright, this muscular Myrtle belongs to Tony Tickle. So do the rest of the trees in this post (provided Tony hasn’t sold them) It’s been a while since we visited Tony Tickle, a man with a distinctive name and some very distinctive bonsai. All the photos shown here are from Tony’s Bonsai & Yamadori blog. If you want more, here’s your link to some earlier Bark posts that feature Tony’s bonsai The Growing Season Has Begun time to feed your bonsai 25% off All of our Bonsai Fertilizers sale ends Sunday at 11:59pm … Continue reading Bonsai by Tickle

Impressive Nebari, Wild Deadwood, and a Colossal Wire Sale Ends Tonight

I cropped the original (below) to get a closeup of this rather impressive deadwood. Even though there is no variety listed, the fresh buds look a lot like a Yew in full spring glory. All the trees shown here were posted by Luis Vallejo. Because Luis is a highly accomplish and prolific bonsai artist, we can assume they are all his (unfortunately, and due primarily to laziness, facebook and other online sites are rife with unattributed bonsai). Conitnued below… Our great sale on 500 gram rolls of Bonsai Aesthetics Wire ends tonight 30% off 2+ rolls of 500 gram Bonsai … Continue reading Impressive Nebari, Wild Deadwood, and a Colossal Wire Sale Ends Tonight