Nipping & Snapping at Noelanders – Part 2

This one has that wild, almost untouched look, that takes you straight to a rocky ledge off in the mountains somewhere. I don’t know what it is but I like it and its pot. This photo and the others shown here (and in yesterday’s post) were taken by Graham Potter at last weekend’s Noelanders Trophy. Yesterday I wrote “There’s a long discussion on facebook about Noelanders Trophy and some ‘haters’ (an overused word that some people use just because someone else expresses a dislike or a contrary opinion), but I’ve decided that this is a part one post, so we’ll … Continue reading Nipping & Snapping at Noelanders – Part 2

Nipping Around & Snapping at Noelanders Trophy

Though every one of Graham Potter’s snaps of trees he liked, also struck my fancy, this one really got me. The gnarly ancient looking little tree with its smattering of red flowers and buds (I’ll take it to be a quince), all the action on the surface of the soil which reinforces the feeling of age (and naturalness) and of course, the pot (all those words and it’s not even a proper sentence). Here’s part of what Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai had to say about last weekends Noelanders Trophy: “We were so busy over the weekend I barely got … Continue reading Nipping Around & Snapping at Noelanders Trophy

Some Noelanders Mysteries Solved

Another great unidentified tree from the Noelanders Trophy VII No NameBonsai Gallery (see yesterday’s post) that is featured on bonsai4me. I love the way this tree’s wild essence has been left intact, just the way Mother Nature intended. This comes through loud and clear in the deadwood that speaks of great age and looks so perfectly natural; as though the artist never touched it. Mysteries solved Thanks to our friend Ferry Freriks (you might remember Ferry as the winner of our $100 Unique Bonsai Contest), many of the mysteries in yesterday’s No Name Bonsai Gallery have met the light of … Continue reading Some Noelanders Mysteries Solved

Bonsai Before & After – a Six Week Transformation

Before and after. The tree is a Lawson’s cypress (Chaemacyparis Louïsiana ‘Elwoodii’). Here’s the caption copied directly from Michel Delen, our source for these photos… “Chaemacyparis Louïsiana ‘Elwoodii’ AFTER Grandioos Noelanders Marc.” Continuing with our recent Marc Noelanders posts. And not by coincidence, Marc’s a headliner at the 2019 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Spring Festival (we hope to see you there) – I’m impressed. The date on the before is Feb 8th and the date on the after is March 22nd (6 weeks later). Given just how little time elapsed, it’s an remarkable transformation. All the photos are from Michel Delen’s timeline Continued … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – a Six Week Transformation

A Bonsai Festival to Get Excited About – We Hope to See You There

Marc Noelanders posted this composition during last year’s Bonsai Namaste Convention in Pune India. I don’t know any details, but you might assume he and perhaps others put it together during the convention Continuing with yesterday’s post on the Mid Atlantic Bonsai Spring Festival (April 12th – 14th) and Marc Noelanders who is one of the headliners at the Festival. We’ll be there and we’re already laying the groundwork to offer items that you’ll never see on our website . We look forward to seeing you there Continued below… Meanwhile You Can Visit Stone Lantern for Our Current Site Wide Sale… … Continue reading A Bonsai Festival to Get Excited About – We Hope to See You There

Two Major Bonsai Events & a Regal Rock Planting

This is the after photo from a before and after of a planting by Marc Noelanders, a headliner at the upcoming Mid Atlantic Spring Bonsai Festival (see below). No mention is made of the type tree or what the rock is made of. If you’ve been following Bonsai Bark since at least December of last year, or you follow Marc on fb, you’ve already seen this masterpiece. If not, I’m happy you can see it here Continuing from yesterday with two barn burner bonsai conventions coming up this spring. They are the Mid Atlantic Bonsai Spring Festival and the American Bonsai Society (ABS) Convention. Unfortunately, they’re both … Continue reading Two Major Bonsai Events & a Regal Rock Planting

See You at the Mid Atlantic Spring Bonsai Festival

John Kirby’s Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora var Kokone) in a Haramatsu-Tosui container and on a perfectly matched rosewood table by David Knittle (you can see the whole tree and table below). The tree was displayed at the 2018 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Festival, where it was awarded the Best in Show, People’s Choice & the American Bonsai Society’s award. If you haven’t already planned your weekend at the 2019 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Spring Festival, there’s no better time than now. We’ll be there, enjoying the action while vending some of our Bonsai essentials (including some out of print gems and other … Continue reading See You at the Mid Atlantic Spring Bonsai Festival

A Bonsai in an Unusual Setting (& Others)

It’s a little surprising that there are so few good shots of bonsai in creative settings. This one was borrowed from Peter Warren’s Surayama, as were all the photos in this post. Still catching up form vacation, so for expediency’s sake we’ll plunder our archives. This one is from June 2015. It was titled ‘Surayama – Shimpaku, Spruce & Several Others.‘ NEW SPECIAL 20% OFF BONSAI TURNTABLES INCLUDES GREEN T HYDRAULIC LIFT TURNTABLES – – This photo is from a series Peter calls Noelanders trees. (Noelanders refers to the Noelanders Trophy Exhibit). He doesn’t say what it is, but I’ll guess that … Continue reading A Bonsai in an Unusual Setting (& Others)

Juniper Bonsai – Before & After

Before and after on an already established Juniper procumbens. By Naoki Maeoka Traveling today, so we’ll make this sort and sweet. It’s what you might call a maintenance before and after. The tree is already well developed and just needs and expert’s touch to bring it back to it former glory and perhaps elevate that glory some. The expert is Naoki Maeoka. Beyond that, we’ll let you fill in the blanks MID WINTER SITE WIDE SALE 20% OFF EVERYTHING PLUS AN EXTRA 10% TO 20% OFF ROSHI TOOLS see below – Before After ROSHI TOOL SPECIAL EXTRA 10% OFF 1 – 2 … Continue reading Juniper Bonsai – Before & After

The Cutting Edge of Bonsai Innovation

The play of light and shadow… This photo is from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. Here’s part of the machine translation… “Japanese yew, Autumn Special Exhibition: Contemporary Bonsai Masters: Masahiko Kimura; Playing with Bonsai, the Origin of His Works” You can read more and see other masterpiece bonsai photos here Even though I think he’s fallen a little out of favor in some circles, I’m still a fan of Masahiko Kimura’s bonsai. For years his wildly innovative techniques and his visionary’s eye, combined with a healthy does of daring, produced results at the cutting edge (so to speak) of bonsai innovation. Now, forty some … Continue reading The Cutting Edge of Bonsai Innovation