There’s No Better Time…

A pitch perfect Kingsville boxwood by Rodney Clemons. Here’s Rodney’s caption: “My old Kingsville Boxwood was also shown at the Silhouette Show this year. First and perhaps the only time to be seen public.” The exquisite pot is from China, the stand is by Charlie Clemons and both photos in this post were taken by professional bonsai photographer, Joe Noga. The elegant, serene and perfectly lovely Dwarf Kingsville boxwood above belongs to Rodney Clemons, as does the equally impressive Winged elm below. I don’t think we’ve ever featured Rodney on Bark, so there’s no better time than now to correct … Continue reading There’s No Better Time…

Monster Maple on Fire

Shishigashira Japanese maple on fire at Kouka-en. Yesterday was a one photo post. Today it’s a one tree post (with several photos). I found this powerful old Japanese maple on Bjorn Bjorholm’s feed. Bjorn is featured here on Bark regularly. He also has a website (just a click away). Kouka-en is also worth a visit if you have a little time on your hands. Continued below… Site Wide Sale Ends Tomorrow Night 20% to 25% off Everything* Don’t get caught napping! Sale ends Wednesday, Dec 14th at 11:59pm EST We just added a couple dozen more items to … Continue reading Monster Maple on Fire

A Rare One Photo Post

Something I just found and thought you might like. I don’t know the variety, but whatever it is, it’s pretty cool. This is a very rare one-photo post. I don’t know anything about the magazine, but I do like the tree and generally like Penjing and Penjing style bonsai. The photo is from Mauro Stemberger’s facebook feed 20% to 25% off Site Wide Sale* ends Wednesday night Don’t be caught napping! 20% off orders 1.00-99.99 25% off orders 100.00 + And Don’t Worry, It’s not too Late! We are shipping the same business day on orders received by 1-2pm EST … Continue reading A Rare One Photo Post

28 Questions for an American Bonsai Apprentice

Kishu shimpaku grafted onto a Seirra juniper, recently reworked by Peter Tea. Speaking of, Peter seems to have dropped off the map. His last post was April, 2014. I haven’t heard or seen a thing from him since. Tis the season for old posts. This one is from June, 2014. The other day (this was written in 2014) I happened upon a unique and worthy bonsai blog called Yenling Bonsai that belongs to Jeremiah Lee. In the course of familiarizing myself with Jeremiah’s handiwork I came across this October 2012 interview with Peter Tea. Continued below… A great opportunity to … Continue reading 28 Questions for an American Bonsai Apprentice

Ordinary Bonsai for Ordinary People

Kishu shimpaku juniper by John Brocklehurst. I like the fragile deadwood twigs and ordinary qualities of this tree, though it could use more refinement and the pot seems a little large, still most of us aspiring bonsai artists would love to see it on our bench. This may be our busiest weekend of the year. That’s my excuse for resurrecting another post from our archives. This one is from January 2013. It was titled, Small Is Still Beautiful. I chose the current title because the trees shown here, though very good, are not quite the jaw dropping world class bonsai … Continue reading Ordinary Bonsai for Ordinary People

Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?

This dynamic Juniper jumped off its digital page on my daily bonsai hunt yesterday. In addition to all its movement, there’s those two perfectly placed foliage clouds. Their gentle downward motion and soft weight help tame the upward thrust of the deadwood. Bjorn Bjorholm’s caption for this Juniper reads: “Itoigawa Shimpaku styled in 2013 during my apprenticeship at Kouka-en.” Today it’s a few dynamic Itoigawa junipers for you. The beautiful & energetic beast above is from Bjorn Bjorholm’s facebook feed. I pillaged the others from our archives. Continued below… SITE WIDE SALE 20% TO 25% OFF EVERYTHING* Don’t Worry! We … Continue reading Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?

Windswept Deadwood?

Windswept deadwood? I don’t think I’ve ever seen deadwood quite like this. It’s those little spikes on the left that conjure wind or speed, but I think it must be something else. I wonder what natural forces would cause this. I like this tree. It’s over the top a bit, but real eye catcher and it’s easy to appreciate the work that went into it. Especially if you know just how hard Yew wood is. In this case it’s European yew (Taxus baccata). Sometimes called English yew, but considering that it grows over much of Europe and into western Asia, … Continue reading Windswept Deadwood?

Yamadori Pines from somewhere up near the tree line and far from the cushy life of domestically grown bonsai

A great tree with a long story of a rugged life spent on the side of cold snow burdened mountain. Somewhere up near the tree line and far from the cushy life of domestically grown bonsai Yesterday it was pines, so we’ll just keep going. Today it’s a pine mix from Amics Del Bonsai Corbera. None are identified. Nor are their owners… SITE WIDE SALE 20% TO 25% OFF EVERYTHING* Another tough yamadori (collected from the wild) pine. To my eye, this one and the one above are about as good as it gets. Neither is over-styled and both … Continue reading Yamadori Pines from somewhere up near the tree line and far from the cushy life of domestically grown bonsai

A Rock, Heavily Furrowed Bark, Ramification & a Well Developed Nebari

At first glace I thought the rock that sticks out on the right was part of the trunk. But a closer look (see below) confirms the strong suspicion that it’s a rock. And in case you’re wondering, the tree is the King of bonsai, a Japanese black pine. We’ve been borrowing great photos of Japanese bonsai from Micheal Bonsai for a long time now. I’m not sure where he gets them, but most are superb. The best of the Japanese trees… which are often simply the best. SITE WIDE SALE 20% TO 25% OFF EVERYTHING* You can see the rock … Continue reading A Rock, Heavily Furrowed Bark, Ramification & a Well Developed Nebari

A Bonsai Symphony in Three Movements

This super-sized three part penjing is by Robert Steven; renowned bonsai artist, teacher, author and tool designer (his New RS Shears are below), and frequent contributor to this blog. We’ve shown this one before, but we’re busy with the seasonal rush, so we’ll take the easy way out and save some time. In Robert Steven’s own words… “This is a super large penjing I did two weeks ago. The total length is three meters (about 10 feet). I combined three large special-order white marble trays in the arrangement in order to give a unique presentation in perspective and composition. The … Continue reading A Bonsai Symphony in Three Movements