Bark

Copper Wire & Bonsai Books

This luscious Satsuki azalea is one of a multitude of remarkable bonsai photos from the very aptly named, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. This post, which happens to be a near perfect way to roll out a new book sale, is borrowed from February of this year. There’s a theme to this large gallery and a method to our madness. Most of the photos are from bonsai books that we sell and all our books are currently 25% off (plus and additional 10% orders 100.00 or more). Gardening books are also 25% off.   You can find this somewhat unruly … Continue reading Copper Wire & Bonsai Books

Caught in the Act

Caught in the act of flowering. This ubiquitous little Hawthorn belongs to Morten Albek, shohin bonsai artist, author and teacher. The display appeared during a visit to Denmark by Tomohiro Masumi. Still out of the office. This one originally appeared in 2011. It was titled ‘Small Is Beautiful.’ Tomohiro Masumi, Morten Albek & Shohin bonsai Rather than bore you with my take on things, I’ll just post a few photos I think you might appreciate. If you want more (photos and information), you can visit Morten’s facebook post on Tomohiro Masumi’s visit to Denmark, or you can go directly to … Continue reading Caught in the Act

Masterpiece Shohin & Mame Bonsai

There are few things more delicate and beautiful than fresh spring Maple leaves (Trident maple in this case). This exquisite tree and exquisite pot are perfect expressions of the artistry of Haruyoshi. Still out of the office (working at my unpaid job through the weekend) so we’ll continue borrowing from our illustrious past. This one is from April of last year. I won’t bore you, except to say that Haruyosi does a couple things that set him apart. First, he puts up a very large number of masterpiece shohin and mame bonsai and pots; and second, he puts up a … Continue reading Masterpiece Shohin & Mame Bonsai

Bonsai Pot Master & Fall Potting Season

I don’t know who styled this wonderfully crazy azalea (I don’t read Japanese) but I do know that Master Potter Gyozan Nakano made the pot. Still out of the office (working at my unpaid job) so we’ll continue borrowing from our illustrious past. And as long as we’re delving into the archives, why not go all the way back to our first pot post. It’s from July, 2007. A remarkable book about a remarkable potter Four years ago (twleve years ago now) I was given a most remarkable book by the World Bonsai Friendship Federation, who received it courtesy of … Continue reading Bonsai Pot Master & Fall Potting Season

Point Your Car Toward Portland Oregon

Only Mother Nature. There is no way anyone will ever grow a tree quite like this magnificently wild Rocky Mountain juniper. Taking this a step further, there is almost no way anyone will ever be able to collect and style a tree like this, though there are a handful of people who have the requisite skills and knowledge. In this case, it’s a combination of two who share the skills and knowledge: Randy Knight found it, collected it and made sure it survived the trauma, and Ryan Neil styled it, potted it and currently keeps it alive and well at … Continue reading Point Your Car Toward Portland Oregon

The Dark Horse

What a great photo. It helps to have such an excellent subject for sure (Japanese black pine). It’s from post titled ‘The Dark Horse’ on the Bjorvala Bonsai Studio blog. The full tree and pot are shown below. Getting ready for a few days out of the office (my other job) so it’s a good time to dig back into our archives. This one originally appeared in 2013. It was titled ‘Drifting a Little Farther Afield.’ There’s really not much of theme going on with this post, other than a digital tour of some bonsai blogs/websites. So we’ll leave it … Continue reading The Dark Horse

Bonsai In Training

This ‘great and beautiful’ video by Stephen Vos is a must watch for any serious bonsai artist or enthusiast. Stephen Voss’ video speaks for itself, so normally we would leave it at that. However, we almost never miss a chance to quote the informed and always skillfully written words of our friend Michael Hagedorn (the Bonsai Village guy and superb American bonsai artist, teacher and author). In Michael’s own words: “My friend Stephen Voss has embarked on a great and beautiful project, a book of fine art photographs of bonsai. He’s running a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the book, … Continue reading Bonsai In Training

It’s Still Labor Day Weekend & the Sun Is Still Shining

A wonderfully convoluted Sabina juniper after a little taming by Gabriel Romero Aguadé. If you look at the before photo below, you can see that Gabriel did quite a bit to tame what started out as tree with a world of potential but also with a crazily unruly crown and a trunk with poor taper. It’s not too hard to see how the crown was brought under control (some very detailed labor and some time for new growth to fill in). But the taper is a bit more mystifying; not much has changed, but somehow it looks much better. BTW, … Continue reading It’s Still Labor Day Weekend & the Sun Is Still Shining

Slow Down & Take a Bonsai Tour

Michael Hagedorn reworked this Sierra juniper (grafted with shimpaku) in a refinement session at the Weyerhaeuser bonsai collection (now the Pacific Bonsai Museum), way back in 2009. The before photo is below. This is the third time for this post (nonwithstanding some key changes and additions). And though today is not yet Labor Day, it is Labor Day weekend. Time to chill with family, friends and late summer bonsai chores. It’s rare to find writing that explores our thoughts when we work on our bonsai. So I was surprised and delighted when I read Michael Hagedorn’s post on Crataegus Bonsai, … Continue reading Slow Down & Take a Bonsai Tour

Big Bonsai Tool Sale Ends Sunday Night

a small sampling of our large selection of Koyo Japanese Bonsai Tools now Koyo and all other tools are 25% off plus an extra 10% off for any order 100.00 or more but only until Sunday, Sept 6th at 11:59pm EDT We’ve been offering a steady stream of beautiful bonsai, bonsai tips, events and related stuff for almost 7 years. All for FREE. But every now and then, we turn a post over to our sponsor (that’s me). Don’t worry, we’ll be back with more bonsai tomorrow. Meanwhile, you can go ahead a take advantage of some very big savings … Continue reading Big Bonsai Tool Sale Ends Sunday Night