Tea Time – Best in Show

Here’s the caption that was posted with this photo… “Congratulations Peter Tea, professional bonsai artist and instructor, Auburn, California, for judged bonsai competition winning Best Conifer and Best in Show (California Juniper) at the Golden State Bonsai Federation (GSBF) Convention 41, October 24-28, 2018, Sacramento, California – “Creativity Taking Flight”. Photo by Peter Camarena.” I cropped the original photo (see below) to enjoy a closer look I was beginning to think Peter Tea had gone into hiding and then this popped up. Turns out he was hiding in plain sight. I just lost track for a while and that’s too bad, … Continue reading Tea Time – Best in Show

A Different Kind of Root-over-Rock

A strange sort of root-over-rock. You might imagine that it started more or less like other root overs, but because the rock is so small, the roots grew under it and pushed it up, while also growing around one side and creating a firm grip on the rock. Though I originally thought the result might simply be an happy accident, upon reflection I think it was the intention of the original artist 40 to 50 years ago.* It’s just too perfect the way most of the rock, particularly the bowl is left uncovered and even emphasized. Like so many root-over-rock bonsai, the tree … Continue reading A Different Kind of Root-over-Rock

A Great Bonsai Story & the Tree Isn’t Half Bad Either

Shimpaku juniper from a Peter Tea post, titled Shimpaku, The Unexpected Surprise. My apologies to Peter for cropping the bottom of the pot to get rid of a distracting white band that appears in the the original (it’s below so you can decide for yourself if my pickiness has gotten out of control). Just back from a total non-working vacation/ retreat. I usually work some during so called vacations, but this time I went whole hog and almost completely avoided work. I mention this as an excuse for resurrecting this old Bark post from 2013. If you’re not familiar with … Continue reading A Great Bonsai Story & the Tree Isn’t Half Bad Either

Tea, Poetry & Flowering Bonsai

Ume (Prunus mume) flowers. Once again we find ourselves borrowing from Peter Tea. This photo and the next three photos shown here are from a post of Peter’s that provides a sweet moment’s glimpse into a small private bonsai show. Something you don’t see everyday. Can’t go too long without borrowing from our archives (and indulging our passion for flowers). This one is from March 2013. At that time Galway Kinnell was still alive and writing and reading his poetry. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a poetry reading couple years ago through a good friend who was … Continue reading Tea, Poetry & Flowering Bonsai

Win Our $50 Japanese Red Pine Bonsai Contest & Wire All the Way Out to the Tips

A mystery tree and a little contest (below). This is the second time for this Japanese red pine, even though we still don’t know who the artist is. The photo turned up on Michael Bonsai back in 2012. I’m guessing it lives in Japan, but I’ve searched Japanese red pine bonsai high and low and can’t find it. The contest: the first person to email me valid information on this tree that is not from Bonsai Bark or Michael Bonsai with a link as proof, will win a 25.00 gift certificate to Stone Lantern. If you include the name of … Continue reading Win Our $50 Japanese Red Pine Bonsai Contest & Wire All the Way Out to the Tips

Masters of Bonsai Technique

When I first saw this tree I thought it might be a Yew. But, the bark isn’t right, and even the foliage, though close, isn’t quite right either. Fortunately, Peter Tea solved the problem in his 2011 Taikan-ten Exhibition post. Peter’s caption reads: “This Yew Hemlock caught many peoples attention. It made sense that it took the prize for medium conifer. We don’t have any Yews here at Aichien because they don’t do well in the hot weather that we have in Nagoya.” As for the species, it turns out that there are two Hemlocks that are native to Japan … Continue reading Masters of Bonsai Technique

An Impressive List of Famous Bonsai Artists

Zuiou 1996 Kokufu prize winner, Japanese Black Pine. From Peter Tea Bonsai (Peter is one of the headliners at the upcoming Bonsai Visions of the West). Here’s some of what Peter wrote about this famous tree: “A few months ago I was fortunate enough to work on this large Japanese Black Pine. The work wasn’t major and involved thinning and pulling needles; standard stuff for Black Pines in the Winter. Just getting a chance to work on this tree was an amazing feeling for me because it tied my past bonsai career to my ending apprenticeship…” (for more visit Peter’s … Continue reading An Impressive List of Famous Bonsai Artists

Twenty Eight Questions for Peter Tea

Kishu shimpaku grafted onto a Seirra juniper. Several artists have contributed to the styling of this powerful old collected tree. The latest (when this photo was taken back in 2013) is Peter Tea. You can follow the progression of Peter’s work on this tree and much more on his excellent blog. The other day I happened upon a unique and worthy new (for me) bonsai blog that had been hiding in plain site (see our last post) since October of 2011. It’s called Yenling Bonsai and it belongs to Jeremiah Lee. In the course of familiarizing myself with Jeremiah’s handiwork … Continue reading Twenty Eight Questions for Peter Tea

A Bonsai Story (Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell)

You can get some idea that this might be a pretty big bonsai from this photo (the little leaf at the bottom helps). But how big, you could only guess. This and the other photos in this post are from Peter Tea Bonsai. I started this post with the title Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell. That’s because I wanted to talk about how difficult it is to tell just how big some bonsai are without something to indicate scale. In photos that is. Now you might not think this is a big deal, but it is. Photos, even when there … Continue reading A Bonsai Story (Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell)

The Unexpected Surprise

Shimpaku juniper from Peter Tea’s latest post, titled Shimpaku, The Unexpected Surprise. My apologies to Peter for cropping the bottom of the pot to get rid of a distracting white band that appears in the the original (it’s below so you can decide for yourself if my pickiness has gotten out of control). It’s a great story and the tree’s not half bad either. If you’re not familiar with Peter Tea and his bonsai blog, please allow me to introduce him (once again). Peter’s work with bonsai is inspiring, and his writing about his experience as an bonsai apprentice is … Continue reading The Unexpected Surprise