Random Pages & A Messy Desk

This unusual Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) is not representative of most of the trees that appear in Fine Bonsai, which tend to be powerful mind-stopppers. Still, there’s something about it, beyond just the fact that it’s so different… Packing and leaving for the West Coast today, so it’s archive time. This will be the third time for this post, which you might view as excessive and I’d have to agree. Except that these photos from Fine Bonsai are great. And, there’s a motive for resorting to a post about a book. We just put up a 25% off book … Continue reading Random Pages & A Messy Desk

Summer Relief

Deciduous Award at the 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition for the Finest Deciduous Bonsai. It’s a Japanese Maple by Suthin Sukolosovisit of Royal Bonsai. It has nothing to do with the topic of this post, at least directly, but the 3rd (2012) U.S. National Bonsai Exhibiton is now on special at Stone Lantern. This post originally appeared here on Bark last summer. It’s important enough to run again, especially given the season we entering. While we’re at it, I’d like to remind you that our 50% off Sale for 10 or more 100 gram rolls of Bonsai Aesthetics Wire ends … Continue reading Summer Relief

Twenty Eight Questions for Peter Tea

Kishu shimpaku grafted onto a Seirra juniper. Several artists have contributed to the styling of this powerful old collected tree. The latest (when this photo was taken back in 2013) is Peter Tea. You can follow the progression of Peter’s work on this tree and much more on his excellent blog. The other day I happened upon a unique and worthy new (for me) bonsai blog that had been hiding in plain site (see our last post) since October of 2011. It’s called Yenling Bonsai and it belongs to Jeremiah Lee. In the course of familiarizing myself with Jeremiah’s handiwork … Continue reading Twenty Eight Questions for Peter Tea

Hiding in Plain Sight

This has got to be one of the most magnificent Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis) bonsai anywhere. Though the distinctive split trunk needs no comment, you might also notice the highly developed ramification (fine branching). The tree was donated to the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection by Ben Oki. We’ve featured it before, but it’s certainly worth another shot. Another dig into our archives. This time unintended… Today I decided it’s time to visit the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. It’s one of North America’s premier collections and we haven’t featured it for a long time. I was delighted to see the Rim’s … Continue reading Hiding in Plain Sight

Remarkable Even Without the Flowers

This would be a remarkable bonsai even without the flowers. This photo and the others in this post were taken by Bill Valavanis during his visit to the Shunka-En Bonsai Museum of Kunio Kobayashi. Mr. Kobayashi is known for his Satsuki azaleas and Japanese black pines too. Renowned American bonsai artist, author, teacher, nurseryman, publisher, impresario, blogger and tireless traveler Bill Valavais is in the midst of a Satsuki azalea tour of Japan. Rather than trying to steal Bill’s thunder, we’ll just whet your appetite with a few photos from Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunka-En Bonsai Museum and encourage you to visit … Continue reading Remarkable Even Without the Flowers

Stepping Out of Character for Just a Moment

The first thing that caught my eye in this photo is the tree’s overall graceful fluid movement. Next is the swirling gnarl that, for lack of a better word, we’ll call the trunk (see below). This photo and the others shown here are from a recent facebook post by Robert Steven. Robert Steven is, without a doubt, the artist most featured here on Bonsai Bark. You can chalk that up to him being one of the most accomplished and innovative bonsai artists in the world. Prolific too. But there’s more. We don’t usually do lists here nor do we usually … Continue reading Stepping Out of Character for Just a Moment

Bonsai Wire Sale Ends Tonight

Don’t let yourself run out of Bonsai Wire. It’s a great feeling to have exactly the right wire at hand when you need it. 20% off all Bonsai Wire plus any order of 100.00 or more receives an added 10% off All of our Bonsai Wire is now 20% off of our already low prices. But don’t wait. The sale ends tonight (Friday, May 23rd) at 11:59pm (U.S. EDT). Chose from a whole range of roll sizes, diameters and types of Bonsai Wire. All now 20% plus any order of 100.00 or more recieves another 10% off. Meanwhile, our … Continue reading Bonsai Wire Sale Ends Tonight

Defoliación del Abuelo (Defoliating Grandfather)

Here’s Juan Adrade’s caption for this photo. “Partial defolation on one of the grandfather trees. Close to 100 yrs old (Defoliación de las ramas exteriores en uno de los tridentes del abuelo de mi maestro. Este arbol posiblemente se acerca a los 100 años).” All the photos in this post are from a series of photos on Juan’s facebook feed. Facebook is great if you like photos of children, animals or glassy eyed people over eating at restaurants. If you’re lucky and you have the right friends, you might find good photos of quality bonsai. However, it’s somewhat unusual to … Continue reading Defoliación del Abuelo (Defoliating Grandfather)

Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

I just repotted this old pine into our new Masters Bonsai Soil. The pot is a growing pot rather than a show pot, but will serve nicely for now (pines like deep pots). The tree is a Japanese white pine that was grafted onto Japanese black pine stock in Japan. I got it from John Jaramillo last year when I was in Portland studying with Michael Hagedorn. Michael was kind enough to wire it for me. Our new Masters Bonsai Soil is now 20% off, so this seems like a good time to mention that I am in the process … Continue reading Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

Old Japanese Whites plus One

This distinctive Goyo-matsu (Japanese white pine) is from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. I don’t know if the split trunk was by the hand-of-man or the result of a natural occurrence. Either way, the twin trunk effect is wonderful. At the risk of stating the obvious, you might notice the similar movement and direction of the each trunk’s twists and turns. We’re digging back into our archives once again and we’re always looking for catchy titles, even when it’s a bit of a stretch. All the trees shown here are from two earlier Bark posts. The plus one in the … Continue reading Old Japanese Whites plus One