Three Bonsai – Before & After

Three before and after bonsai styling by Juan Andrade. The trees are from top to bottom: Shimpaku juniper, Japanese black pine and a Needle juniper trunk with Shimpaku juniper foliage grafted on. Juan Andrade is a long term apprentice at Bonsai Aichien nursery in Japan. We’ve been following Juan’s progress for a long time (here’s a Bark post from 2012 that features a tree of his). Juan posts regularly on facebook, which is where we found these photos. This pine has a bunjin feel, but I think it’s a little too lush to qualify as bunjin, though I suspect … Continue reading Three Bonsai – Before & After

Stone Lantern Site Wide Sale 20% to 25% off Everything*

Site Wide Sale 20% – 25% off Everything* plus FREE Shipping U.S. orders 50.00 or more includes hundreds of items that are already discounted 20% off orders 1.00 to 99.99 25% off orders 100.00 or more Bonsai Tools Bonsai Books Bonsai Wire Bonsai Fertilizers & Bonsai Soil Watering Cans Bonsai Pots Bonsai Today Back Issues an additonal 20% off Embroidered Bonsai Clothing Japanese Gardening Tools And much more… plus FREE Shipping U.S. orders 50.00 or more *sale does not include Green T Turntable *sale does not include Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees

Beautiful Bonsai Garden at Just the Right Moment

Dave Benavente’s exquisite bonsai garden at just the right moment. It’s Monday morning, there’s a lot going on and we’re a little short staffed, so we’re going to lean on our archives once again. This one originally appeared in April 2013 and again last year. I’ve added a little and deleted a little. I’m always impressed with David Benavente’s bonsai and ditto with his bonsai display. His photos too. Everything is so well put together and inviting. You can check out David’s bonsai and all the rest on facebook and on his website. His Before and After (Antes y Despues) … Continue reading Beautiful Bonsai Garden at Just the Right Moment

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

Twisting versus Bending Shari (Something You Don’t See Everyday)

Robert Steven’s simulation of a Juniper that was submitted by Joe Graviss (the original photo is below). Robert Steven’s critiques have been an anchor here on Bonsai Bark for almost six years. His first of approximately forty critiques (so far) appeared in 2010 (Bark dates to 2009). Each critique is a lesson in bonsai styling and taken together they constitute an extensive course in Robert’s bonsai tradition (if you asked me about Robert’s tradition I’d say his primary expertise lies in Penjing and tropical bonsai, but extends well into other areas of bonsai… though I’m not sure that’s how he … Continue reading Twisting versus Bending Shari (Something You Don’t See Everyday)

Ancient Bonsai Bones

I like the way the fresh foliage seems to hang from the tree’s ancient bones (though I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a stand so in need of refinishing). This strikingly unique bonsai is one of many excellent trees at Taiwan Bonsai World. Ayyyy! Chaos. We upgraded our OS recently and it has been all downhill since. If I owe you an email or phone call, thank you for your patience! Things should be back to normal soon (not that normal isn’t chaotic enough). The good news is, so far our website and our warehouse are functioning quite well. This … Continue reading Ancient Bonsai Bones

A Wonderful Bonsai Event that just Keeps Getting Better

This sumptuous Japanese maple is from the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition website. It’s time to start thinking about the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. All of the previous Exhibitions were wonderful events and they just keep getting better. The dates are September 10-11 and fortunately the venue is the same as last year (if you were there you understand the ‘fortunately‘). I won’t say more about the details right now, because everything you need to know is on the Exhibition site and we will post regular reminders. Meanwhile, enjoy the photos and start making your plans! A small … Continue reading A Wonderful Bonsai Event that just Keeps Getting Better

Mystery Bonsai with Looping Deadwood

Mystery pine with looping deadwood. Here’s a tree that anyone would like to have in their collection. Unfortunately, I don’t know who the lucky owner is. I found it on pinterest, which tends to be a maze of dead ends when it comes to pinning down the source. It looks like it could be a Ryan Neil tree (Bonsai Mirai), but no luck finding it there. Thanks to several people (see comments) I now know that Ryan Neil did style this tree. It was a demo for Bonsai Focus. We almost never do one tree posts, but circumstances insist that … Continue reading Mystery Bonsai with Looping Deadwood

Colin’s Moon Pot Bonsai

The first time we showed this splendid Shimpaku was back in 2010. Now time and Colin Lewis’ deft touch has wrought some positive changes. Here’s Colin’s caption for this latest iteration. His Majesty: Another last minute de-wiring before sleepy time…. I guess Majesty is Colin’s way of saying he likes this one. Or maybe there’s a fascinating story behind it… At least two things unite the three trees shown here; they all below to Colin Lewis and they are all in moon pots. All three are from Colin’s facebook photos. Colin also has a website with an extensive gallery. … Continue reading Colin’s Moon Pot Bonsai

It Takes a Village of Bonsai Artists & Patrons

This Itoigawa shimpaku juniper won the Finest Medium Size Bonsai prize at the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (September 2014). Though it looks larger, its height is only 12″ (30.5 cm). It belongs to Troy Schmidt of Asheville North Carolina. Though I don’t know this tree’s whole story, I do know that both Boon Manakitivipart and Bjorn Bjorholm have worked on it (it takes a village of bonsai artists and patrons). The photo above is from Boon Manakitivipart’s facebook feed. The other photos in this post (except the very last one) are from a 2012 workshop that Boon hosted. It’s … Continue reading It Takes a Village of Bonsai Artists & Patrons