I’ve seen this one somewhere but couldn’t find it on a search of Bark, so I think we’re safe. Safe or not, it’s hard to deny the mind stopping power and originality of this bonsai. It’s by Luis Vila and the photo is by Salvador De Los Reyes. We pinched it from Empire Bonsai (apologies to Salvador and Empire for our crop; we wanted to maximize the tree).
Once again we’ve been out stealing from honest, hard-working folks. And we’re not even that embarrassed. I suppose we’re redeemed by our fanatical devotion to attribution (if you want to be a successful pincher, you need to show some respect).
In this case our mark is Bonsai Empire, a site that’s just too good to pass up (we’ve lifted a little from them in the past, but not that much). They’ve got miles of great bonsai photos, reams of useful information and they too know the value of attribution.
All the photos in this post are from a post of theirs titled Top 10 Crazy and Unusual Bonsai Trees. We won’t show all ten here, but my guess is that you’d be more than welcome to pay them a visit.
Bonsai Empire borrowed this one from Crash Bonsai. Coincidentally, I started the day thinking that we might feature Crash Bonsai, but decided that too many photos of smashed up cars might be a little disturbing for some of us. But not so disturbing that we won’t show just this one and leave the rest to you. BTW, I greatly admire the detail and precision involved in making these unique little scenes.
Here’s Empire’s caption for this one: “Big apple on a tiny bonsai tree”. It looks photoshoped, but it is in fact a real Bonsai. Leaves can grow smaller, but often fruits remain relatively big. For more information, read the Fruits and Flowers with Bonsai article. Photo by: Flowerstory.
I’m pretty sure we’ve shown this remarkably long tree on Bark, but couldn’t find (after an exhausting 30 second search). Before I copy Empire’s caption, I want to point out their little logo in the corner. They put it on all of their photos. The reason you don’t see it on some photos shown here, is because of our propensity for cropping. Now Empire’s caption: “It took 30 years to grow the 6,5 foot (2 meter) branch of this bonsai, at Kyoto Garden Ryokan Yachiyo. Read more on Bonsai in Japan. Photo by: Michael Bonsai.”
Makoto Azuma is the artist behind these implausible, phantasmagorical bonsai. I just consulted our astrologer and he or she said you could look for more of these wonderfully outrageous creations in the future. Meahwhile, thanks to Empire for cluing us in.
While I appreciate the horticultural effort of growing that first branch to 2 meters, I do not understand the esthetic appeal of doing it. Just because I can?
Hi Zack,
Agree about the horticultural part. Maybe that and the tree’s uniqueness are enough.