Coffee, Bonsai & Something for the Season

Trident maple at the 2013 Taikan-ten Exhibition. There’s a lot going on with the tree; three major trunks and a baby one sticking out the back, a large mounding nebari and a whole lot of movement. I particularly like the trunk on the right that emerges from the base of the nebari (the base of the base). I borrowed the photo from Bjorn Bjorholm. The color seems a bit off, but you still get the drift. It’s a busy time when catching up seems even less likely than usual. One solution is to delve back into our archives. This one … Continue reading Coffee, Bonsai & Something for the Season

Robert’s Bonsai & Our Disclaimer

Premna is all Robert Steven says about this remarkable tree, but maybe that’s enough; it can tell its own story of a wild life with more than its fair share of abuse (like some people we might know). As you may have noticed, we feature Robert Steven’s bonsai more than any other artist, so maybe it’s time to issue a disclaimer. But before we do that, we’ll note that Robert is one of the most prolific and talented bonsai artists we know. Beyond that, he teaches bonsai to a depth seldom seen and he expresses boundless energy and enthusiasm in … Continue reading Robert’s Bonsai & Our Disclaimer

Careful!

This sweet to look at, but otherwise nasty little bonsai is from Yorozu Shohin Bonsai Nursery in Japan. It caught my wary eye recently on a post by John Romano on Bonsai Study Group Forum. I’m going to assume that it’s an Asian Poison ivy (see text below). We’re busy with the Holiday rush amping up, so we’ll take the easy way out. This one originally appeared almost four years ago. It was titled “You Can Look but You Better Not Touch.” One genus, several species What follows is for those of us who get excited when we see Latin … Continue reading Careful!

Suburban Yamadori

This old Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) belongs to Mauro Stemberger. The color coordinated pot is by Petra Hahn (even the moss has reddish spots). I found the photo on The Art of Bonsai Project. We’ve been featuring Yews and carved deadwood a lot lately. An auspicious match, as you can readily see in the photos shown here. One of the great things about Yews is they grow almost everywhere. Half the landscapes here in the Eastern U.S. sport a yew or two. For some of us, it’s possible to find good ones for bonsai in our own front yards (suburban … Continue reading Suburban Yamadori

One of the Most Compelling Bonsai

This has to be one of the most compelling bonsai I’ve seen in a while. It has that wild, not overly refined look and ‘just so’ deadwood (it’s not dominated by deadwood like so many trees). But the real deal is the trunk. When was the last time you saw a trunk with so much power and character? This before and after is more about refinement than styling rough stock. Less daunting perhaps, but only someone skilled in the art of bonsai can do what you see here. In this case, that someone is Gabriel Romero Aguade (Bonsai Sant-boi) (this … Continue reading One of the Most Compelling Bonsai

Can there ever be too much Deadwood?

Mario Komsta (Mariusz Janusz Komsta) recently featured this tree with the following caption: “after refinement by Taiga Urushibata, june 2014.” We’ve featured Mario’s bonsai numerous times, but this is the first time for Taiga. To my eye the tree above is an outstanding bonsai. Powerful, with balance, flow and numerous points of interest (my only question is the chopped off looking jin at the top). Recently a friend mentioned that we’ve been featuring too much deadwood lately. Perhaps he’s correct. There does seem to be a renewed emphasis on creating and carving deadwood. You see massive carved trees everywhere and … Continue reading Can there ever be too much Deadwood?

An Impressive Bonsai on a Very Impressive Turntable

A very impressive tree on a very impressive turntable. The impressive tree is Holm oak that belongs to Raffaele Perilli. The impressive turntable is a Green T that’s available at Stone Lantern for only 345.00 including shipping (Free Shipping in the U.S. only). Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntable We are pleased to announce the arrival on the U.S. market of an essential tool that will help you work on your trees more efficiently and comfortably. In Japan hydraulic lift turntables have been the standard for years, but their prohibitive costs have limited their spread in the West. Thanks … Continue reading An Impressive Bonsai on a Very Impressive Turntable

The Original Backyard Bonsai

Trident maple root-over-rock by Wolfgang Putz. From a 2014 Bark post. Yesterday we featured our 15th backyard bonsai post. Today we’ll fall back to our first backyard bonsai post from 2009 (about 1,800 posts ago). This one is from Wolfgang Putz backyard. It turns out that Wolfgang is a bonsai professional, so his backyard is really a bonsai nursery. After this first one, the focus became non-commercial backyards (until yesterday that is, when we showed a mix of commercial and non). This ariel shot shows part of Wolfgang Putz’s back yard bonsai display. Clearly this is a labor of … Continue reading The Original Backyard Bonsai

Inspiration for Backyard Bonsai Displays – #15

Bonsai with Koi. This is what could happen if you have the inspiration, space, time and money to build a pond in your garden. The shot is from Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunkaen Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. The concrete display poles are made to look like tree trunks. This photo and all but one of the others in this post are borrowed from Bonsai Empire. This is the fifthteenth post in our long-standing Backyard Bonsai series. However, if memory serves, this is the first time that we’ve shown commercial gardens that happen to be in backyards as part of the series. In … Continue reading Inspiration for Backyard Bonsai Displays – #15

Bill’s Bonsai Exploration

Infinity sign. A piece of a Japanese white pine trunk at the Shimpuku-Ji Temple in Japan. This and the other photos in this post are from Bill Valavanis’ Bonsai blog. The photos in this post are from Bill Valavanis’ 2015 Autumn Japan Bonsai Exploration (part 6). Bill has been posting loads of photos from the Exploration almost daily for the last week. The handful shown here represent a small fraction of the photos you’ll find on Bill’s blog. Continued below… Not a bad setting for a spectacular bonsai display. Yesterday Bill and friends visited the Shimpuku-Ji Temple. In Bill’s own … Continue reading Bill’s Bonsai Exploration