Before & After Bonsai, Six Years Later

Before and after six year later. It’s a European yew (Taxus baccata ‘Summer Gold’) that was dug in 2011 and completed (not that a bonsai is ever completed) in 2017. Sometimes before and afters only show just that… the before and after photos. This time we got lucky with a series of photos (from Josef Burschi’s timeline) that make it a lot easier to understand how the process evolved. Josef Burschi lives in Kisújbánya, Baranya, Hungary. This is his first appearance on Bonsai Bark MID-WINTER SITE WIDE SALE ENDS TOMORROW NIGHT Almost All Items Discounted 25% to 40% off List Prices Some Items … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai, Six Years Later

Taxus Maximus (It’s all about Yew)

The powerful tree with its heavy flowing deadwood (it reminds me of melting wax) and luscious reddish bark is truly wonderful, but then there’s that little companion too. Have you ever seen a piece of deadwood used as a bonsai companion? This Taxus (yew) and charming little piece of deadwood belong to Mauro Stemberger. The pot is a Tokoname. Species specific series. I’ve been thinking about starting a species specific series (in this case it’s actually genus specific). We’ve devoted posts to certain species before, but haphazardly and without any notion of doing a series. So we’ll consider this the … Continue reading Taxus Maximus (It’s all about Yew)

Tax Us? Taxus? What About Yew?

This dynamic Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) with is fluid play of strikingly attractive dead and live wood, and its perfectly balanced foliage, is from cover of Bonsai Today issue 89. Unfortunately, the artist’s name was lost somewhere in translation. In praise of the under appreciated yew Bad puns aside, I feel like I’ve praised yew before (right here on Bonsai Bark), but can’t find it anywhere (I didn’t look all that hard). Anyway, at the risk of repeating myself, I like yews. For landscaping and for bonsai. Landscaping Yews are often over used in landscaping and as a result their … Continue reading Tax Us? Taxus? What About Yew?

Deadwood Lives Beyond HBO: Jin & Shari

This stately Foemina Juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Foemina’) is a pretty good example of what you can do with jin and shari. It is part of the wonderful world class bonsai collection at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. It was donated by James (Jim) and Helen Barrett and currently resides in the John Y Naka North American Pavilion. What are Jin & Shari? Jin are dead branches (intentionally created or naturally occurring) that can lend of feeling of age and character to a bonsai. Shari is deadwood (sometimes called driftwood) on the trunk of a bonsai. Like jin, shari can … Continue reading Deadwood Lives Beyond HBO: Jin & Shari