5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition – See You in Rochester

This sumptuous Japanese maple is from the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition website. I know that we featured this post a mere two months ago, but thought you might need the reminder. Plus it’s a shortcut so I can get out of here to enjoy the rest of the Holiday weekend. I also wanted to let you know that our FREE Bonsai Wire giveaway* ends Monday night, as do three of our current sales. Details are below. 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 … Continue reading 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition – See You in Rochester

Bonsai by Fields

Like most people, I’m a sucker for showy flowers (subtle flowers too, but that’s for another time). On bonsai and everywhere else. In this case it’s a very showy Azalea bonsai that belongs to Mark Fields. Often azaleas and flowering bonsai are designed to show off the flowers, and though you’d have to ask Mark to be sure, I suspect that was his intention. I found the three trees shown here on Mark Field’s facebook feed. There are some other good ones that are definitely worth a click, but rather than show them all, we’ll just whet your appetite. Mark’s … Continue reading Bonsai by Fields

FREE Bonsai Wire & Three Great Sales

FREE Bonsai Wire With any Stone Lantern order of 10.00 or more if you write FREE in the comments box when you check out We’ve got plenty of 100 gram rolls in stock, so why not? Order now for you FREE wire take advantage of current sales and discounted items and receive your FREE wire don’t forget to write FREE in the comments box when you check out The Details… Orders from 10 to 19.99 will receive 100 grams of FREE wire. Orders from 20.00 to 29.99 will receive 200 grams Orders from 30.00 to 39.99 will receive 300 grams…. … Continue reading FREE Bonsai Wire & Three Great Sales

Grafting Bonsai – You Might Want to Wait Until the Fall

A few stills captured from Capital Bonsai’s video on grafting that features Ryan Neil owner of Mirai American Bonsai and major player in this fall’s Artisans Cup bonsai exhibition in Portland, Oregon. I’m out of town visiting friends for the weekend, so to spare me putting together a new post, we’ll jump into our time machine this morning. All the way back to November, 2012. We could just forgo a post today and no one would complain, but I wanted to remind you that our Stone Lantern FREE bonsai wire offering ends tonight at 11:59pm EDT (Just write FREE in … Continue reading Grafting Bonsai – You Might Want to Wait Until the Fall

With Buttonwood Bonsai, Nature Does the Real Work

This powerfully compact Buttonwood belongs to Nacho Marin, as do all four Buttonwood bonsai shown here. With Buttonwood bonsai it’s nature that does the real work. Humans find them, dig them, pot them and eliminate branches and other parts that distract from the natural beauty of the tree (ideally, at least). But nature does the twisting, turning and scouring by sand and wind that results in such unusual shapes and magnificent deadwood. I’m told* that much of this shaping and scouring happens during hurricanes and tropical storms. I’ve even heard that Buttonwoods are sometimes violently uprooted and blown to new … Continue reading With Buttonwood Bonsai, Nature Does the Real Work

What Do FREE Bonsai Wire & Football Have in Common?

This might pass as artistic to an unsophisticated viewer, but it’s really just a miserably failed photoshop effort. The bonsai drawing is by Rueben Roig. FREE Bonsai Wire Superbowl Weekend Special With any Stone Lantern order But only if you write FREE in the comments box when you check out Saturday and Superbowl Sunday only Order now for you FREE wire take advantage of a whole range of existing sales and discounted items The Details… You will receive your FREE wire if you write FREE in the comments when you check out* Orders from 1 to 9.99 will receive 100 … Continue reading What Do FREE Bonsai Wire & Football Have in Common?

FREE Bonsai Wire & Fertilizer…

It’s been a while since we got stupid and gave stuff away. So, because it’s impossible to be smart all the time, we’re going to give you… …FREE Bonsai Wire & Fertilizer when you place and order for at least 20.00 from Stone Lantern but only if you put FREE in the comments when you check out Here’s what you get (if you remember to put FREE in the comments box): for orders from 20.00 to 34.99 1 bag of 8 oz Green Dream Fertilizer for orders from 35.00 to 59.99 8oz Green Dream Fertilizer & four 100 gram rolls … Continue reading FREE Bonsai Wire & Fertilizer…

A Magical Land Where Almost Every House Has a Bonsai

We know this tree is very large, but exactly how large is difficult to tell (the uncropped photo immediately below might help a bit). In addition to its great size, it shows an excellent base and nebari, as well as some gnarly bumps that look a bit like melting wax. I think I can say with confidence that it’s Ficus. All the photos in this post were taken by Robert Steven on a recent trip to Vietnam. The other day someone suggested we feature Vietnamese bonsai. As it turns out, we have done just that several times already, with more … Continue reading A Magical Land Where Almost Every House Has a Bonsai

Bonsai Elegance with Painted Trunks

Stately bonsai elegance. Here’s the original caption for this photo “The customer wanted the trunk brown and the quickest way was to paint it. This is my first time using paint on my sculptures and I’m very happy with the results.” The person who wrote that is Ken To, the creator of the bonsai wire-sculptures that you see here and in several previous Bark posts. You can find even more of Ken’s exquisite little delights on his website, on facebook and on deviantART. Ken To’s marvelous miniature wire bonsai sculptures just keep getting better. And now, because Ken has started … Continue reading Bonsai Elegance with Painted Trunks

FREE Bonsai Wire & Tool Sale

This is what a professional wiring job looks like. I borrowed the image from Mario Komsta who happens to be one of our favorite bonsai artists. We’ve featured Mario’s bonsai here on Bark numerous times. Free Bonsai Wire. Here’s how it works. You will receive free rolls of 100 gram bonsai wire with any Stone Lantern order over 10.00. Orders from 10.00 to 20.00 get one roll, orders from 20.00 to 40.00 get two rolls and so forth at increments of twenty dollars (yesterday it was 30.00 increments, but we just got more generous). Wire diameters. When you order you … Continue reading FREE Bonsai Wire & Tool Sale