Before & After Bonsai – From Sow’s Ear to Silk Purse, a Remarkable 7 Year Transformation

Before and after of one Harry Harrington’s famous privets. Here’s Harry’s caption… “For completion, the large Privet bonsai defoliated, wood-hardened and re-styled last month, now back in leaf and ready to live out its days with its new owner near Birmingham (U.K.). Seen here in 2010 after I was given the tree when it was just a big lump of wood collected from a hedge, and now, 7 years later. Ligustrum ovalifolium/Privet bonsai, Height 16″/39cm, Trunk diameter 7″/17cm, Pot by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery” It’s amazing what seven years and a whole lot of skill and imagination can do. … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai – From Sow’s Ear to Silk Purse, a Remarkable 7 Year Transformation

Found Bonsai – Exceptional Trees from Humble Origins

Front left shot of a Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) that was collected in 2009 from an old hedge growing in West London. It belongs to Harry Harrington. The pot is by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery Most of the bonsai we feature start with aged, often highly developed (usually expensive) stock. From there to a show-worthy bonsai might require mostly refinement. In other cases more radical styling might be involved, but either way, when you start with superior stock, superior results are more likely. Conversely, most of Harry Harrington‘s (author of The Foundations of Bonsai) bonsai come from more humble origins… … Continue reading Found Bonsai – Exceptional Trees from Humble Origins

More Bonsai by Harry & Our Big Book Sale Ends Tonight

I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen Privet bonsai quite as spectacular as Harry Harrington’s. We’ve shown a number of Harry’s over the years, including this one, but it’s certainly worth another look. It’s in a handmade pot that was designed and built by Swedish potter Thor Holvila. Just wanted to give those of you who have pre-ordered Harry Harrington’s The Foundations of Bonsai a heads up. We expect it this coming week (but then we also expected it last week… international shipping has its quirks). By the way, we are still excepting pre-orders and now is the time… today is … Continue reading More Bonsai by Harry & Our Big Book Sale Ends Tonight

Taking Out the Makita & Dremels & Adding Some Interest

Close up of another Harry Harrington Privet bonsai. Here’s Harry’s caption: “Another job for the new year has been carving and staining an old Privet bonsai of mine. Part of the original live vein had died back over the years, leaving behind a blank wall of deadwood behind, so last week I took out the Makita and Dremels and added some interest! Bonsai pot by none other than Mr Victor Harris of Erin Pottery.” We’ve been featuring Harry Harrington’s bonsai a lot lately. The North American addition of his book The Foundations of Bonsai is due in our warehouse any … Continue reading Taking Out the Makita & Dremels & Adding Some Interest

The Foundations of Bonsai

This Common Privet was originally dug from an English hedge row. It belongs to Harry Harrington who has been developing it since 2004. The photos are from Harry’s book, The Foundations of Bonsai. We’re excited about our ‘new’ The Foundations of Bonsai, an all-encompassing how-to book that is targeted to beginning and intermediate enthusiasts. The North American edition (Stone Lantern Publishing) is due to arrive at our warehouse within the next week or two. We strongly recommend The Foundations of Bonsai to people buying their first trees (or second, or third…), or really to anyone still grappling with keeping their … Continue reading The Foundations of Bonsai

New Year, New Bonsai Book

Cross polanization and innovation. I don’t think you’ll see many bonsai quite like this one. It exists at the cutting edge (unintended) of bonsai. This creative innovation is due, at least in part, to travel and the internet. Ideas and technique bounce around the globe at light speed. The cutting edge artist in this case is Harry Harrington. The tree is a yew that we originally posted in June of 2016, and even though it wasn’t that long ago, it’s worth another look. We’re celebrating the New Year with a ground breaking New Book. Stone Lantern’s North American edition of … Continue reading New Year, New Bonsai Book

Harry Harrington’s Spectacular Bonsai

I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a privet bonsai quite this spectacular. It belongs to Harry Harrington. We’ve featured it a couple times over the years, but this latest iteration takes it to another level. Here’s Harry’s caption… “So at last, here it is……..taken last night under lights, my Common Privet bonsai (Ligustrum ovalifolium), height 19″/48cm. In a handmade bonsai pot designed and built by Swedish potter Thor Holvila” Harry Harrington’s bonsai4me has long been one of our default websites when it comes to researching a wide range of bonsai and useful bonsai information. Harry also posts a steady stream … Continue reading Harry Harrington’s Spectacular Bonsai

Not So Common Privet Bonsai

One of Harry Harrington’s latest Privet bonsai. This one has highly refined delicate carving with abundant sabamiki, which is something I’ve noticed in Harry’s bonsai lately. Height 16″ (39 cm). Pot by Erin Bonsai Pottery. I’ve been following Harry Harrington since Bark’s earliest days (2009). He has a thing for Common privets (Ligustrum ovalifolium) and they’ve long interested me too, though you just don’t see that many Privet bonsai. Except if you follow Harry. This one was collected from a 70 year old hedge row in 2012, though you can bet it didn’t look like this then. Height 13″ … Continue reading Not So Common Privet Bonsai

Large Bonsai with Thick Trunks Are Nearly Always Developed in the Ground

We’ve shown this Harry Harrington privet before, but it’s worth another look. I’ve long been impressed with what Harry Harrington has been up to. Both his bonsai techniques and the results, as well as his willingness to share what he knows (three books and a website full of useful techniques and other information). Yesterday it was a remarkable yew. Today it’s a field grown privet and an excerpt of an article Harry wrote on field growing. Both are from our archives. One reason we’ve featured field growing so much is that the USDA restrictions make importing quality stock from Asia … Continue reading Large Bonsai with Thick Trunks Are Nearly Always Developed in the Ground

Just Waiting There for You in Millions of Hedges

Harry has outdone himself this time. Harry Harrington has been styling and posting Privet bonsai for a long time. To my eye, Harry’s previous Privets (two below) have been very good, but now he has outdone himself (as witnessed by the tree above and the closeup just below). It’s not just Privets for Harry; his website Bonsai4me presents a whole range of excellent bonsai (and plenty of educational writing as well), but his Privets stand out for a couple reasons: first, they are good and getting better, and second, Privet is an excellent candidate for bonsai that is widely underused … Continue reading Just Waiting There for You in Millions of Hedges