A Method to Mike’s Madness

Looks like an old yamadori California juniper with its heavy twisted trunk. All the bonsai shown here were lifted from the Bonsai Blog of Mike Page. They are all rather unique and they all stray from the trees we usually feature, but to my eye at least, they all stray in more or less in one direction. There is a method to Mike’s madness. This Japanese black pine by Mike won the Yoshimura Award for the Finest Classical Bonsai at the 1st U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (way back in 2008). The luminous grass, the unique pot and the … Continue reading A Method to Mike’s Madness

Bonsai on Broomstick Bicycle

My best guess is that most of you will appreciate the inventiveness and the humor expressed in this mixed-media bonsai creation, though perhaps a few purists will take offense. It’s by Miyazato Rintaro (thanks to Colin Lewis for sharing it). You can find it and the rest of the photos in this post on Mr Rintaro’s facebook photos. A little more conventional, but still… the drum pot and the way the soil is mounded so high, the relaxed simplicity of the tree. You get the idea. Not mixed-media, but not so conventional. One base, one root system, two … Continue reading Bonsai on Broomstick Bicycle

Not Shimpaku: A Juniper Bonsai Non Starter

This lovely tree with its natural flowing feel is from a 2012 Bark post. The tree resides at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. It’s listed as a Procumbens nana, though I’ve never seen a ‘nana’ with such a massive trunk. Which begs the question… (the story is here). It’s archive time again. This post originally appeared in September 2013. It was titled Not Shimpaku and was supposed to be the start of a series on juniper bonsai. Like many starts in life, it turned out to be a non-starter (maybe later…?). Japanese Garden Juniper bonsai Shimpaku junipers rule. You … Continue reading Not Shimpaku: A Juniper Bonsai Non Starter

Have There Ever Been So Many Great Boxwood Bonsai in One Place?

Aside from being a phenomenal tree and a phenomenal pot, there’s a relaxed in-synch feeling, like the pot and tree are old friends who have been together for a long time. This might have something to do with the color, texture, soft lines and aged look of each (and because they are both so phenomenal). The color and texture of the stand fits right in too, while a little contrast is provided by its sharp rectangular lines. All together a masterpiece. The artist is François Gau (pot by Greg Ceramics). All three photos in this post are from Parlons Bonsai … Continue reading Have There Ever Been So Many Great Boxwood Bonsai in One Place?

Taiken-ten – Some Pines First, More Later

The top photo, with its rich deep colors, appears just the way we found it. I lightened up the bottom photo a bit to better show the details, especially the bark. All the photos in this post are from the 34th Taikan-ten Bonsai Exhibition. Taikan-ten takes place once a year in Kyoto and is considered by most people to be the second most important bonsai exhibition in Japan if not in the world (Kokufu is the king of bonsai exhibitions). I found them on Michael Bonsai’s facebook feed. There are more, but I decided to feature some of the … Continue reading Taiken-ten – Some Pines First, More Later

A Grand Leap Down the Bonsai Rabbit Hole

This Mountain hemlock is one of the reasons I love Michael Hagedorn’s bonsai. Simplicity (understatement), naturalness (respect for nature and for this particular tree), balance, vibrant health and all the rest that makes a bonsai sublime are here for all to see (there’s also the missing pot, but that’s for another time). Now that I’ve waxed about the bonsai pictured above, I’ll go ahead and wax a bit about the level of insight over a range of topics you’ll find when you visit Crataegus Bonsai. Michael’s recent post on 0-10-10 fertilizer is a good example. Here’s just a little about … Continue reading A Grand Leap Down the Bonsai Rabbit Hole

The National Bonsai Museum, The Kaikou School of Bonsai & Other East Coast Bonsai Wonders

Foemina juniper planting that has that not-so-easy-to-accomplish ability to transport you to a natural mountain scene somewhere. The photo was taken at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by Mike Wigginton. I recently had the good fortune to stumble upon Mike’s Bonsai Page, a blog by Mike Wigginton that’s well worth a visit, especially if you are interested in bonsai happenings in eastern North America. There’s more too, but Mike’s enthusiasm for traveling the East Coast (especially to New England Bonsai where he is student at The Kaikou School of Bonsai) and his personal touch in communicating his discoveries makes … Continue reading The National Bonsai Museum, The Kaikou School of Bonsai & Other East Coast Bonsai Wonders

A Propensity for Understatement

This powerful kuromatsu (Japanese black pine) won the Culture Minister’s Prize at the 20th Green Festa Kokubunji bonsai fair. It is 19″ (48cm) high and about 55 years old. It is owned by Toyoyuki Hamabata from Takamatsu’s Mure town in Shikoku. It appears at Bonsai World, an English language website from Shikoku Japan. It’s the long Thanksgiving holiday here in the States so we’ll take the easy way out today and dig into our archives. The tree above is from a 2009 post titled Japanese Bonsai, Small is Powerful. The one below is from a January 2014 post titled Old … Continue reading A Propensity for Understatement

Showing Off Its Inner Charm

This slender delight is showing off its inner charm. It’s late winter and the new buds are swelling. Without the leaves you can better see the subtle beauty of the bark and the delicate fine branching. The nebari is quite strong (but still in keeping with the delicacy of the tree). Much of its size and strength comes from having two trunks. This provides a good tip for creating nebari: leave smaller second and third trunks, at least for a while, if a strong nebari and lower trunk is your objective. Photo is from Bonsai Today issue 6. Going back … Continue reading Showing Off Its Inner Charm

Artisans Cup – Two Years Late & Right on Time

Good news! The Cup is coming. Those of us who kept the faith when the Artisans Cup was postponed are officially vindicated. You may remember that the Artisans Cup was originally scheduled for October 2013. Until events conspired to cause it to be postponed until 2015. Now that 2015 is preparing its arrival, the excitement that we all experienced two years ago is coming back. Time to start making plans. Michael Hagedorn, an indispensable half of the Artisans Cup original brain trust and major American bonsai artist, teacher and author, just posted this on Crateagus Bonsai.“One of the major events … Continue reading Artisans Cup – Two Years Late & Right on Time