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

Boon & His Bonsai Friends

This Satsuki azalea’s trunk reminds me of some of Antoni Gaudi’s sculptural architecture that graces the great city of Barcelona. Though in truth, the tree resides in Boon Manakitivipart’s impressive bonsai collection in the great city of Alameda, California (birthplace of yours truly, btw). The last week of April and first week of May are peak digging and transplanting season around here, so to save some time, it’s back to our archives. This one is from October, 2010 (with some revisions today). Boon Manakitivipart is one of North America’s most influential bonsai artists and teachers. Several of his students have … Continue reading Boon & His Bonsai Friends

Nice Tree, Great Pot

Based on the leaves and berries I’m guessing this is an English Hawthorn. Just a quickie today. The tree and pot belong to Peter Krebs, a well known bonsai potter and artist. I found them here. Continued below… 2 BRAND NEW TOOL SALES 30% off Bonsai Aesthetics Tools 20% off Okatsune Bonsai & Garden Tools plus an Extra 10% off orders 100.00+ FREE Shipping on U.S. orders 50.00+ (you must selected Free Shipping when you check out) All those fine brush strokes. The labor of love. Here’s another Peter Krebs pot from a 2014 Bark post that featured several … Continue reading Nice Tree, Great Pot

Okatsune Bonsai & Garden Tool Sale Ends Wednesday

A sampling of some of our Okatsune Bonsai and Garden shears. There are many more, including hedge shears, saws, sheaths, sharpening stones and etc Our 25% off Okatsune Tool Sale ends Wednesday, March 26th at 11:59pm Okatsune are the Mercedes of Bonsai and Garden Tools. Expensive? Not when you consider their quality. Worth if you can afford it? Absolutely. And, now with 25% off, they are well within reach. Okatsune Bypass Shears with Sheath. Forget about Felco. Okatsune Bypass Shears are in a league all to themselves. Okatsune Bonsai Shear. Even though there are several other bonsai shears that … Continue reading Okatsune Bonsai & Garden Tool Sale Ends Wednesday

Gifts for Bonsai Lovers

Fine Bonsai. The vividly photographed Japanese maple with its outrageous nebari, luminous leaves and tunnel that allows you to see into its midsection, is from the uniquely powerful and soulful new gallery book, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature (cover photo below). This tree resides at the Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. No artist’s name is mentioned. Commercialism? No! (well maybe just a little) I hope that you’ve noticed that we keep a safe distance from too much shameless commercialism here on Bonsai Bark (our newsletter is another story). However, it’s that time of year, when lots of goods and money … Continue reading Gifts for Bonsai Lovers

Time for Spring Cleaning

A set of Koyo stainless bonsai tools in a brown suede tool roll (the suede rolls we offer now are black). Now that we’re sure it’s really spring Today I watched a Robin eating a worm on my back lawn. It was the first Robin of the year (for me at least), so now that I’m sure it’s really spring, it’s time to break out the bonsai tools, pots, soil and all the rest and get ready for that hectic digging and potting season. First things first: cleaning tools For some reason I didn’t finished cleaning all my tools before … Continue reading Time for Spring Cleaning

Talkin ‘Bout Tools: Shears

Koyo Masters’ Grade Sword Shears. If you try them, you’ll love them. I do a lot of field growing, so a tool like this that allows for quick work (but can make surprisingly fine cuts) is perfect for the job. Was $144.55 now $109.20 Compare our prices Competition on the web is fierce and the old days of 100% markups are over. So we’ve been steadily lowering our prices at Stone Lantern. Now they are virtually at wholesale levels and we intend to keep them that way. Koyo 8″ Kiri Bonsai Shears. Another of my favorites. It’s almost a bud … Continue reading Talkin ‘Bout Tools: Shears

Japan Personal: Time to Help

We are still waiting to hear from our friends and colleagues at Koyo Tool Company in Osaka (marked by the balloon with the A). They were a fairly safe distance from the quake epicenter (roughly where you see the black circle) and far from the ravages of the Tsunami, but we still haven’t heard from them, so we are concerned. We will let you know when we do. Bonsai nurseries We also haven’t heard anything about any Japanese bonsai growers. Many are in the Omiya area (green circle northeast of Tokyo), which is quite close to the epicenter of the … Continue reading Japan Personal: Time to Help

Holiday Sale: The Party Is Almost Over

Stone Lantern’s Holiday Sale Ends Thursday December 16th Professional gardeners in Japan know that Okatsune Shears are simply the best production shears in the world. I use mine for bonsai and in the garden and have friends who use them for Ikebana (flower arranging) as well.

Short & Very Muscular

One very muscular Shimpaku juniper. From Reiner Vollmari’s photo gallery. Hiding the action This wonderfully powerful bonsai presents a bit of a mystery. The live wood that peaks out in the V at the top of the shari is quite well developed, as is the entire crown, and would require at least one or two large living veins to support all that life. The small living vein in the front, though quite striking against the massive deadwood, is completely unconvincing. This is not a complaint, I like this tree a lot. It is unique in its strength and its style. … Continue reading Short & Very Muscular