Just Another Before & After Bonsai?

Itoigawa juniper before and after by Gabriel Romero Aguade By now you may have seen dozens, if not hundreds of before and after bonsai posts. Some were done in a matter of hours and some took years to complete. When I first saw this one, my guess was it falls into the second group; bonsai transformations that take years. – But rather than settle on a guess, I decided to ask the artist, Gabriel Romero Aguade who posted it just a couple days ago. Here’s my question… “How many years was the process? ” And here’s Gabriel’s answer… “From the … Continue reading Just Another Before & After Bonsai?

Kokufu Bonsai! It’s that Time of Year Again

Dwarf Kumquat. Even though there are more dramatic trees to choose from, I picked this one to start with in part because of the pot. The tree isn’t so bad either with its muscular little trunk and profusion of tiny Kumquats. This photo and the rest shown here are from Bill Valavanis’s Bonsai blog It’s Kokufu time! and Bill Valavanis is back in Japan shooting photos for all of us who can’t make the trip. I’ve grabbed just a few that I like. There’s more where these came from at Bill’s Welcome to My World Bonsai blog NEW SITE WIDE SALE … Continue reading Kokufu Bonsai! It’s that Time of Year Again

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Here’s what Michael Hagedorn wrote about this tree… “Another tree from my apprenticeship days, prep work for the Kokufu show. Always liked this tree. Although arguably junipers are best with more dynamic and energy, the quiet presence of this one had a charm of its own. All I did was clarify some of the padding and make minor adjustments throughout.” I cropped Michael’s original photo (see below) for an up close look at the the trunk with its beautifully contrasting shari and living veins “A trip down memory lane…” Lately Michael Hagedorn has been putting up trees from his Japan apprentice … Continue reading A Trip Down Memory Lane

Sabina Juniper, Another Happy Accident

The original caption from Milan Karpíšek reads “Sabina of my friend ready for a show.” From this we might assume that the tree belongs to a friend and was styled by Milan, but we know about assumptions. The trees shown here are from Milan Karpíšek’s fb photos (Milan is from the Czech Republic). Like many of the bonsai featured here, these were discovered by accident (aka stumbled upon). A happy accident as it turns out After yesterday’s post featuring three Sabina (aka Savin) junipers (Juniperus sabina). I went back to see others we’ve featured over the years and was surprised by just how many there … Continue reading Sabina Juniper, Another Happy Accident

Walter’s Wild Sabina Juniper

A recent photo of Walter Pall’s wild Sabina juniper. There’s a much older photo of this tree below Second leg of our journey to the sun this morning, so once again we’ll take the easy way out and continue with a Walter Pall posts from our archives. This one is from May 2017, with a newly discovered lead photo NEW SITE WIDE SALE 20% OFF EVERYTHING A GOOD TIME TO STOCK UP – This photo of the same tree, guy wires and all, dates back quite a few years. We found it on The Art of Bonsai Project. The pot is by Bryan Albright … Continue reading Walter’s Wild Sabina Juniper

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

Bonsai Tie Pots in Hoosierland, An In-depth Review

The following is from Steve Moore’s Bonsai in Hoosierland blog. It was posted earlier today with no prompting by anyone connected with Tie Pots. I like it so much that I couldn’t wait a minute to repost it. My thanks to Steve for doing this. There is no way I could have done it nearly as well… A New Kind of Training Pot In Steve Moore’s own words (and photos)… At least, it’s new to me. And it’s also new in the sense of being different from other training pots – different enough to be granted a patent. The pot is … Continue reading Bonsai Tie Pots in Hoosierland, An In-depth Review

A Green T Under Your Tree

It’s not too late to wake up to a Green T under your tree GREEN T turntables ARE NOW 20% OFF WITH OUR SITE WIDE SALE Everything Else Is Also 20% off Including items that are already discounted Orders placed by 2:00pm EST will be shipped the same business day discounts are computed at checkout Brilliant Trident maple and Green T Plus A Basic Green T with the handsome new green rim – HERE’S A RESOUNDING GREEN T ENDORSEMENT BY FOUR KIMURA APPRENTICES Four Kimura apprentices with bonsai and Green Ts Holm oak with sabamiki, Green T and tools STONE LANTERN’S 20% OFF SITE WIDE … Continue reading A Green T Under Your Tree

Japanese White Pines at Kokufu

Close up of multiple trunk Japanese white pine. It looks a lot like a raft style* planting. This and the other photos shown here were taken at the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. I cropped the original shot (just below) for a closer look We’ve got some Japanese white pines (Pinus parviflora) from the Kokufu Exhibition that we found at Kazumatsu Bonsai. They don’t say what year the shots are from, but given that they were just posted, you might guess 2018 Just in case you’re new to bonsai, Kokufu is the oldest and most famous Bonsai Exhibition in the world. It takes place … Continue reading Japanese White Pines at Kokufu

Japanese white pine bonsai