Warming Up for the 2020 International Bonsai ArtFest

This elegant composition is a small piece of a mixed media show that Robert Steven put together (with a little help from his friends) at the Pasar Seni Art Center in Jakarta, Indonesia. If you are near Jakarta, there’s still time to catch it before it closes (March 7th is the last day) I originally found this mixed media bonsai event on Robert Steven’s fb timeline. Most of the text is in Malay and rather than rely on machine translation, I ask Robert if he could write something for this post. Here it is, in his own words… “This was … Continue reading Warming Up for the 2020 International Bonsai ArtFest

Another Hawthorn & Harry’s Timely Reply

Another Hawthorn that belongs to Harry Harrington. It isn’t as advanced as the one we featured yesterday, but it’s full of promise Yesterday we featured a freshly repotted Hawthorn by Harry Harrington. Here’s the rub… the tree hadn’t been repotted for 15 years! As you might imagine this provoked some questions by several readers. So last night I emailed Harry and this morning I woke up to his reply (before you read on, I suggest you take a look at yesterday’s post). So here’s your answer, in Harry’s own words… “Ive been asked this quite a few times since Saturday! … Continue reading Another Hawthorn & Harry’s Timely Reply

FOUR GREAT SPECIALS End Sunday Night – Bonsai Books, Koyo Tools, Okatsune Tools & Tie Pots

BONSAI BOOKS, KOYO BONSAI TOOLS, OKATSUNE BONSAI TOOLS & TIE POT SPECIALS ALL END SUNDAY, JANUARY 6TH AT 11:59PM JAPANESE TOOL SPECIALS End Sunday, Jan 6th at 11:59pm EST 25% OFF KOYO BONSAI TOOLS 25% OFF OKATSUNE BONSAI & GARDEN TOOLS EXTRA 10% OFF ORDERS 150.00 OR MORE – DISCOUNTS ARE APPLIED AT CHECKOUT 25% OFF BONSAI BOOK SPECIAL Ends Sunday Jan 6th at 11:59pm EST EXTRA 10% OFF ORDERS 150.00 OR MORE –DISCOUNTS ARE APPLIED AT CHECKOUT – TIE POT SPECIAL ALSO ENDS SUNDAY NIGHT GROW YOUR OWN WITH THE ULTIMATE TRAINING POT SPECIAL PRICE 18.00 ONLY 16.00 … Continue reading FOUR GREAT SPECIALS End Sunday Night – Bonsai Books, Koyo Tools, Okatsune Tools & Tie Pots

New Year New Day New Bonsai Essentials

There’s something about Quince flowers… Here’s Bill Valavanis’ caption: “A small size Toyo Nishiki Japanese flowering quince, Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Toyo Nishiki’ with multiple colored flowers. Although red, pink and white blossoms are common for this great cultivar, I’ve often seen red branches grafted onto specimens to improve color distribution.” Welcome to 2019. My other New Year’s resolution (see yesterday) is to avoid recycling these same trees for a forth time next year. Stay posted to see how we do. I guess a passable excuse is just how good these trees are. They’re from the 2015 Kokufu Bonsai Exhibiton and were lifted directly from … Continue reading New Year New Day New Bonsai Essentials

A Bonsai Feast for Tired Eyes

A feast for tired eyes!* Two day ago we featured a photo of Bill Valavanis’ full moon maple. Yesterday Bill sent us this photo of the same tree. The other one was good, but the detail and over all quality is even better on this one Off to see Hamilton in Boston tonight, so we’ll make this one short and sweet… just two photos. Both came via Bill Valavanis. Everything else I know is in the captions Two 30% off TOOL SPECIALS End Tomorrow Night OKATSUNE BONSAI & GARDEN TOOLS KOYO BONSAI TOOLS specials end Friday, Nov 9th at 11:59pm EST I found this famous little Crabapple on Bill’s … Continue reading A Bonsai Feast for Tired Eyes

One Trunk Dead, the Other Alive & the Importance of Identification

Pine with parallel slanting trunks that start as a single tree and split at the base. One trunk dead, the other alive. It caught my attention because it’s a somewhat unusual slanting tree with the pot and the visual weight of the foliage balancing each other perfectly. This and the other photos shown here were posted by Scott Lee. The caption reads Back in the studio with Peter Tea and Bonsai Kazem #japaneseart Sticking with Scott Lee (see yesterday’s post) we’ve got three photos that he posted on facebook recently. Unfortunately, none are identified. I’m not sure why so many people put … Continue reading One Trunk Dead, the Other Alive & the Importance of Identification

Bonsai Art & the Art of Bonsai

The day has barely started and I’m already running out of superlatives. I guess spectacular will do in this case. It’s a Korean hornbeam (Carpinus turczaninowii) that belongs to Ian Stewartson. The photo is from Bonsai Art’s website. Delving into our archives, while sticking with our German theme (see yesterday). This one originally appeared March 2013. Bonsai Art magazine is very well named. As bonsai magazines go, it’s as beautiful and professional as they come. The problem, for most of us at least, is that it’s in German. But really, the photos and overall presentation are so good that maybe the … Continue reading Bonsai Art & the Art of Bonsai

A Bonsai First

I took the liberty of cropping this photo to better appreciate its strikingly powerful and expressive trunk. The tree is a Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) that belongs to Heinrich Hacker. The original photo is below. Today’s photos are all from Bonsai-Club Deutschland. If memory serves (a 50-50 proposition at best) it’s a first for us. Anyway, I’m very impressed and imagine that you too will be impressed NEW SPECIAL 25% off list prices on Koyo Bonsai Tools see below – The whole tree in all its splendor. In addition to its aforementioned trunk you might notice how dense the canopy is. BTW, its size is … Continue reading A Bonsai First

A Little Bonsai History

This famous Chinese elm (Ulmus parivflora) planting is by Zhao Qingquan, reknowned penjing artist, teacher and author of two best Penjing books in the English, Penjing: the Chinese Art of Bonsai and Literati Style Penjing Yesterday we featured a couple of events and photos from the Pacific Bonsai Museum. So, just for the fun of it, I thought we’d go back and find our earliest PBM post. It’s from April 21st, 2009, almost exactly 9 years ago. Way back in the day when it was owned by Weyerhauser and called the Weyerhaeuser’s Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. The two photos shown here were … Continue reading A Little Bonsai History

Bonsai Tools 30% to 50% off Ends Tuesday

30% to 50% off list prices BONSAI TOOL SPECIAL ends tomorrow Tuesday, November 28th at 11:59pm EDT – A great opportunity to upgrade you tool selection and enhance your bonsai experience 200 Different Tools, Tools Sets & Kits Roshi Bonsai Tools Koyo Bonsai Tools Bonsai Aesthetics Tools Yoshiaki Bonsai Tools Okatsune Bonsai Tools Others too BONSAI WIRE SPECIAL All Wire Deeply Discounted WIRE SPECIAL INCLUDES BONSAI AESTHETICS 100 GRAM ROLLS ONLY 2.95 500 GRAM (1.1 LB) ROLLS ONLY 8.95 1 KILO (2.2 LB) ROLLS ONLY 15.95 – – Our Amazing Green T Turntables also Discounted Bonsai Today back issue now … Continue reading Bonsai Tools 30% to 50% off Ends Tuesday