More Spectacular Full-Bodied Bonsai from Europe

This wild Sabina juniper (Juniperus sabina) belongs to Gabriel Romero. The pot is from Japan. The photo is courtesy of Harry Harrington, as are all the photos in this post. Yesterday and the day before we featured some of Harry Harrington’s photos from this month’s spectacular European Bonsai San Show. However, with the exception of one shot, none showed the whole tree. Fortunately, Harry offers several shots of each tree, including ‘whole tree, full-bodied’ shots. Continued below… This Itoigawa juniper (Juniperus Chinensis Itoigawa) belongs to Noel Suarez Garcia. The pots a Yamaaki Visit Stone Lantern for NEW Sales on Bonsai … Continue reading More Spectacular Full-Bodied Bonsai from Europe

‘Art Shots’ from the European Bonsai San Show

Here’s a great trunk shot of an old English yew (Taxus baccata) that belongs to Andres Alvarez. The pot is listed as Chinese, which most likely means it’s Yixing. This shot makes it look like a short muscular tree, but it’s actually quite tall. You’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s post or visit Harry Harrington’s site for a photo of the whole tree (the same goes for the other photos in this post). Yesterday’s post was devoted to Harry Harrington’s photos from the recent European Bonsai San Show. Today we’re going to continue with Harry’s photos from the show, only … Continue reading ‘Art Shots’ from the European Bonsai San Show

“An Incredibly High Standard” at the Recent European Bonsai San Show

I’m pretty sure this tree is a Persimmon (otherwise, why the persimmons?). The photo was taken by Harry Harrington at the recent European Bonsai San Show in Saulieu (Burgundy), France. The tree belongs to German Gomez Soler. Bonsai artists that happen to be accomplished photographers can provide an illuminating peek into the heart of the art of bonsai. In this case, the artist/photographer is our friend Harry Harrington. Harry is also the author of several bonsai books that are quite popular in Europe (you can expect the U.S. edition of his Foundations of Bonsai soon). Continued below… This rather spectacular … Continue reading “An Incredibly High Standard” at the Recent European Bonsai San Show

Bonsai & Penjing, Ambassadors of Peace & Beauty

This brand new book tells the awe-inspiring stories of bonsai and penjing trees in the collection of the National Arboretum in Washington D.C. A must for any red-blooded American bonsai lover and really, any bonsai lover anywhere. We are delighted to offer a beautiful new bonsai book for all of you who love our wonderful U.S. National Bonsai & Penjing collections (even if you don’t know it yet). It’s the next best thing to being there and as a bonus you get the awe inspiring stories of the trees, with some international diplomacy thrown in for good measure. A spread … Continue reading Bonsai & Penjing, Ambassadors of Peace & Beauty

Power, Brilliance and a Sweet Ficus Forest

This Bougainvillea from Wigert’s Bonsai exhibits a striking combination of power and brilliant color. You can visit Wigert’s Bonsai Gallery to see another shot in a different setting. Up against it today, so it’s back to the archives. This one originally appeared April 2011. Continued below…. 25% off Bonsai Fertilizer & Soil Sale ends tonight at 11:59pm EDT Other current Sales at Stone Lantern 20% off Okatsune Bonsai & Garden Tools 20% off Watering Cans & Implements 30% to 40% off Bonsai Today Back Issues an Extra 10% off orders 100.00+ FREE Shipping for U.S. orders 50.00+ Too Little … Continue reading Power, Brilliance and a Sweet Ficus Forest

Three Robust Shimpaku on a Stupendous Rock

Three robust Shimpaku junipers on a stupendous rock. From the Omiya Bonsai Museum via Empire Bonsai. Yesterday we featured a type of bonsai forest, so let’s keep going with another type. Though some people might not call these rock plantings forests, they do share the multiple tree and the landscape features with more conventional bonsai forests. This post (with a few changes) first appeared August 2015. That’s Ryan Neil’s hand posing for a professional photo with a one of the largest root-on-rock plantings you’ll ever see. Here’s his caption: “In the studio today with @hornbecker shooting for the Artisans Cup … Continue reading Three Robust Shimpaku on a Stupendous Rock

Bonsai Forests – Clump Style

We found this extraordinary clump style deciduous bonsai on Bonsai Nakayoshi*. They don’t give a variety. You can imagine that all the smaller trunks started as suckers on the roots of the main tree (you could also imagine that they started from seeds dropped by the main tree; in which case this would not qualify as a clump style bonsai). This one is from August 2015. It was titled Multiple Trunks Sharing a Single Root System – Clump Style Bonsai Forests We’ve been discussing forest bonsai for a while now without mentioning clump style (Japanese: Kabudachi or Kabubuki) . Rather than … Continue reading Bonsai Forests – Clump Style

Walter Pall’s 3 Tree Japanese Maple Bonsai Adventure

Japanese maple from Korean nursery-grown stock. From Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures blog. The two smaller trees exaggerate the effect of the main tree. Back in the mid-to-late 20th century, when the average person had no idea what the art of bonsai was, almost all bonsai in the U.S. were from landscaping nursery stock. Most were in early stages of development and most never got beyond those early stages (it was a slaughter). 4 Great Sales & other Specials (see below) The three tree maple grove above is also from nursery stock, though no doubt nursery stock grown for bonsai, … Continue reading Walter Pall’s 3 Tree Japanese Maple Bonsai Adventure

The Best in Bonsai Design

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 (now the Pacific Bonsai Museum) by Ben Oki. It has been over a year now since we posted our glowing introduction to Dave DeGroot’s indispensable Principles of Bonsai Design. With the slow inexorable erosion of print media in this digital age, we never thought we would see another bonsai book this popular. But popular it is. … Continue reading The Best in Bonsai Design

Another Great Bonsai Show & a Scary Device

When I first glimpsed this photo, I though maybe it was a painting. In addition to being a great bonsai, it’s a good example of what fall color looks like on a Larch (larch are one of only four deciduous conifers). Also a good example of what larch cones look like. I’ll take a not-so-wild guess that it was collected somewhere in Europe. Which would make it a European larch (Larix decidua). The photo is from the National Exhibition in Switzerland (Mostra Nazionale Svizzera 2016). Still traveling and busy, so we’ll just show you two trees from the recent National … Continue reading Another Great Bonsai Show & a Scary Device