Still Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

This Itoigawa Shimpaku (Juniperus chinensis ‘itoigawa’) by Dougie Smith qualifies as opulent for sure. Outrageous? Well there is that huge rock jutting up from the skinny little (but very handsome) pot. As for outstanding; that goes without saying. Note: I don’t know what the smaller trees down low are. Maybe azaleas? Myrtle? This photo and the others in this post are by Philippe Massard, though I cropped them all to bring the trees closer. A quick two day vacation and another dip into our archives. This one is from February 2014. I picked it to show a second time, primarily … Continue reading Still Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

Bonsai Stock & Increasingly Severe Restrictions

This impressive and rather massive Mugo pine belongs to Walter Pall. Like the other photos in this post (and the last post) it was taken at the 2014 Noelanders Trophy by Sandor Papp. Continued from our last post… One reasons European bonsai is more developed than North American bonsai is more relaxed import regulations. Much of the high quality stock that has appeared in Europe over the last fifty years or so originally came from Asia. Though some high quality stock has been imported into North America, the U.S.has always had more restrictive plant import laws and over the last … Continue reading Bonsai Stock & Increasingly Severe Restrictions

Bonsai Rafting One Year Later

Though a purist might find fault, I love everything about this wonderful raft-style planting: the way the trunks are joined together by the snakelike surface root; the way whole thing undulates across the pot; the aged bark; the lush foliage that imparts a feeling of robust health; its overall shape and the shapes of the individual pieces; and of course the wonderful pot and the unity of the pot and the planting (if you bothered to read this far, you win a prize – see *** below). Begging the question I found the photo above (and the one below) at … Continue reading Bonsai Rafting One Year Later

Backyard Bonsai #11

A slice of John Pitt’s backyard. Nice fence and simple plank on concrete block benches. Continuing a Bark tradition This our 11th Backyard Bonsai post. The first was Wolfgang Putz’ way back in May 2009. Aside from their voyeuristic value, I think these posts might serve as useful examples, or even inspiration for the rest of us. If you’ve been inspired to put together your own backyard display, we’d like to see photos if you get a chance. Mr. Pitt John Pitt is an award winning bonsai potter and bonsai artist who lives in Derbyshire, England. In addition to his … Continue reading Backyard Bonsai #11

Bonsai Rafting

Crataegus raft by John Pit. Wow. What a unique and compelling bonsai. A true sinuous raft style planting. You don’t see too many of these and I’ve never seen one quite like this. Great pot too. John Pitt is a well known English potter, so I imagine he made the pot as well as the planting. This drawing is from an article on raft style bonsai on Bonsai Culture Group Malta. I just discovered this site, and haven’t had time to explore it, but on the surface, it looks quite good with a wealth of bonsai information. Stone Lantern’s new … Continue reading Bonsai Rafting