Elements of a Bonsai Forest

I stumbled across this European hornbeam (Carpinus betulas) by Walter Pall on his Bonsai Adventures blog. The shot looks like spring with some trees lagging behind others Following up on yesterday’s forest post, here’s one that originally appeared here in 2014. I think it’s one of our best on forests and worth another look Focal point. Without the dominant tree this forest planting by Walter Pall would be a lot less interesting. With the dominant tree contrasted with rest of the trees, the planting has a focal point. With that focal point  to organize around, balance, scale, a feeling of age … Continue reading Elements of a Bonsai Forest

Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, this time with new photos

Japanese apricot (often referred to as Ume) at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama, Japan. You can see the whole tree below We’re going to continue with the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum today, but this time with newly posted photos from their facebook timeline. Ones we’ve never shown before 20% OFF EVERYTHING SITE WIDE SALE ENDS TONIGHT PLUS AN EXTRA 10% TO 20% OFF ROSHI TOOLS AN EXTRA 10% OFF BONSAI POTS THESE SPECIALS END WEDNESDAY, JAN 23RD AT 11:59PM EST – Star jasmine fully cascading with all the foliage below the pot   Another Japanese apricot (Ume). This time … Continue reading Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, this time with new photos

One Famous Bonsai Artist, One Tree & One T-Shirt

I love this tree with its gently flushed little apples (crabapples), its muscular trunk, subtle movement, gradual taper and well-aged bark. I even love its handlebar branches.* Today it’s The Venerable** Walter Pall, famous bonsai artist, entertainer and entrepreneur. We’ll keep it short and sweet with just one tree and one photo of the man himself (the tree is worth a whole post to itself and needless to say, the same goes for Walter) STONE LANTERN’S SPECIALS END TOMORROW NIGHT see below – Walter in his American Bonsai T-shirt *Thanks to joakimthoresen **If you’re really good at something and you live long enough, you might become … Continue reading One Famous Bonsai Artist, One Tree & One T-Shirt

Quality Bonsai Deserves Quality Stands

Closeup of a Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) that was exhibited by John Kirby at the 2018 National Bonsai Exhibition. The display table was built by David Knittle (details are below with the uncropped photo) Flashing back to the 2018 6th National Bonsai Exhibition, here are a couple trees from the Exhibition that we haven’t shown yet, and one other tree that was shown at the 2018 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Festival. All three are on display tables that were built by David Knittle 20% OFF BONSAI WIRE SPECIAL ENDS tonight Choose from our vast array of sizes & types of … Continue reading Quality Bonsai Deserves Quality Stands

Bonsai Brilliance at Japan’s Satsuki Azalea Festival

This Satsuki azalea  with its powerful trunk and nebari would be a remarkable even without its brilliant flowers The  bonsai featured here are from the 2018 Satsuki Azalea Festival in Ueno, Tokyo (even though they are from last year, this is the first time we’ve shown them). You can see these and more flowering Satsuki on Naoi Kenichi’s fb timeline. Continued below… 20% OFF BONSAI WIRE SPECIAL ENDS SOON Choose from our vast array of sizes & types of wire Special ends Thursday, Jan 3rd at 11:59pm EST   Here’s something from Wikipedia on Satsuki azaleas… “Satsuki azaleas have a diverse rnge of flower forms and color patterns with multiple patterns … Continue reading Bonsai Brilliance at Japan’s Satsuki Azalea Festival

Bonsai Berries & a Failed New Year’s Resolution

This prolific Pyracantha was our 2018 New Year’s tree. I don’t know who the artist or owner is (more about this below), but my guess is the tree is Japanese Here’s my New Year’s resolution from 2018… No more unattributed trees on this blog (uh… except for the one just above). So I failed on the first day last year and the failure reoccured throughout the year (you can take this as a metaphor if you’d like). In light of this, here’s a more realistic resolution for this year… I will attribute the trees we post when possible and encourage all of us who have been … Continue reading Bonsai Berries & a Failed New Year’s Resolution

Bonsai on a Man Made Rock from Scratch

Before and after planting on a man made ‘rock’ by Marc Noelanders. No mention is made of the type tree or what the rock is made of. Still, the result is impressive and the photographic progression with the shaping of the rock is an added plus We’ve shown a number of bonsai on synthetic rocks over the years. Mostly by Kimura, a pioneer in this medium (and other bonsai media as well). But this time it’s Marc Noelanders, a Western bonsai pioneer. What you  often see with this type planting is the finished product, but  this time we get a peek into … Continue reading Bonsai on a Man Made Rock from Scratch

Kimura’s Bag of Tricks

Before and after Shimpaku Juniper by Masahiko Kimura. No wonder they call him the Magician. The tree’s height started at 15″ (38cm) and ended up at 28″ (71cm) Continuing the Magician thread from the last two days. Part of this post is from our archives (2011). The rest is from today. Bonsai are reduced in height all the time, but how many have you seen that are extended to almost twice their height? Granted, in this case about half of that increase comes from changing the planting angle, but how about the other half? NEW 20% OFF SITE WIDE SALE  at STONE LANTERN SEE … Continue reading Kimura’s Bag of Tricks

Rough & Rugged Old Bonsai – Two Day Book Special

This rugged old tree starkly contrasts with the way it’s presented; the professional studio photo, the quality stand and pot cleaned and oiled to perfection. As you can see, it’s a pine. I won’t bother to guess the variety, but here’s where I found it and here’s the caption… Nippon Bonsai Sakka Kyookai Europe España a SAKKA TEN 2012 – PEÑISCOLA. Fotos de estudio realizadas por Alex Espuny (Studio Photos by Alex Espuny). I’m mesmerized by this tree’s rugged, natural look. So even though we’ve shown it before (with two more photos today), I’m going to ask you to indulge me in a second time NEW 2 DAY … Continue reading Rough & Rugged Old Bonsai – Two Day Book Special

Before & After Bonsai – Tie Pot Special Ends Tonight

Before and after by Koji Hiramatsu. No species is mentioned, but given that Koji lives in Japan and that the tree looks like a Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii), that’s probably a good guess. Though I have been fooled by Japanese red pines (Pinus densiflora), another two needle pine We’ve featured Koji Hiramatsu several times over the last couple years, though mostly his Shohin bonsai (here’s our first and my favorite Koji post), though lately  I’m seeing more larger trees and fewer shohin on his fb posts. Either way, big or small, Koji is always worth a visit 30% OFF HAWS WATERING CANS ends tomorrow, Thursday … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai – Tie Pot Special Ends Tonight