Bark

Highly Unusual & Undeniably Lush

This Hinoki forest is from the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s 2009 Annual Show. It’s a very unusual planting and quite compelling in its lush naturalness. I’ve come across spruce groves while hiking in Vermont and New Hampshire that look something like this. You find them near the mountain tops, where the harsh climate causes the trees to dwarf and huddle together. Traveling again so it’s back to our archives. The photo and caption above are from a post way back in 2010. It’s hard to miss the canopy’s lush and luminous emerald green color. This is characteristic of Hinoki foliage … Continue reading Highly Unusual & Undeniably Lush

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A Steady Stream of Excellent and Often Unusual Bonsai

An impressively complex cascading juniper by Isao Omachi. Is it too busy, or would it diminish the tree’s magic if you tried to simplify it? We can count on Isao Omachi for a steady stream of excellent and often  unusual bonsai. As a result of this steady stream, we’ve featured his trees well over a dozen times here on Bonsai Bark and I suspect we’ll continue to feature them for as long as we keep posting (going on eight years and still counting). This time it’s three trees from Isao’s recent facebook photos. Two of them are full cascade junipers … Continue reading A Steady Stream of Excellent and Often Unusual Bonsai

Dramatic Bonsai & Mixed Media Presentations from Lithuania

Though there are ample shots of unusual bonsai and mixed media presentations from the recent 2016 Lithuania – International Black Scissors Bonsai Convention, this wonderfully eccentric bonsai jumped out at me. I cropped the photo to bring us in a little closer. The original photo is below. The photos shown here are from the recent 2016 Lithuania – International Black Scissors Bonsai Convention that was held in Alytus, Lithuania September 2-4. It was presented in collaboration with the 5th Japanese Culture Festival. Thanks to our old friend and business associate, Robert Steven for providing the link and encouragement to visit … Continue reading Dramatic Bonsai & Mixed Media Presentations from Lithuania

Johnny’s Stellar Saikei

This stellar Saikei by Johnny Uchida was sent to us by Noah (no last name). Johnny Uchida is the owner of Grove Way Nursery in Hayward, California. Still recovering from my all too short (one week) vacation, so we’ll dig back into our archives. This one is from all the way back to 2010. Here what Noah (see caption above) has to say about this planting: “This saikei was done by Johnny Uchida of Grove Way Bonsai as an example for beginning students. Mr. Uchida is the sensei of Yamato Bonsai Kai in Northern California. The trees are cryptomeria and … Continue reading Johnny’s Stellar Saikei

A Great Bonsai Story & the Tree Isn’t Half Bad Either

Shimpaku juniper from a Peter Tea post, titled Shimpaku, The Unexpected Surprise. My apologies to Peter for cropping the bottom of the pot to get rid of a distracting white band that appears in the the original (it’s below so you can decide for yourself if my pickiness has gotten out of control). Just back from a total non-working vacation/ retreat. I usually work some during so called vacations, but this time I went whole hog and almost completely avoided work. I mention this as an excuse for resurrecting this old Bark post from 2013. If you’re not familiar with … Continue reading A Great Bonsai Story & the Tree Isn’t Half Bad Either

What Do Shohin Bonsai & Suiseki Have in Common?

The 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Finest Shohin Bonsai Display by Melvyn Goldstein. The varieties are: Japanese Five-Needle Pine, Dwarf Hinoki Cypress, Trident Maple, Zelkova and Sargent Juniper. Unfortunately given that some of the individual trees were less well lit than others, the photo isn’t as good we’d like (Oscar worked with what he had). You can expect a better shot when the album comes out. One answer to the question above – What Do Shohin Bonsai & Suiseki Have in Common? – is they were both on display at the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition and a prize winner … Continue reading What Do Shohin Bonsai & Suiseki Have in Common?

Before & After – from Wild to Wild

Before and after. This distinctive European spruce, aka Norway spruce (Picea abies) was collected in Switzerland in 1993. It’s now 25cm high and around 100 years old. The pot (on the right) is by Mateusz Grobeiny. The artist and owner of the tree is Walter Pall. The before shot is actually an intermediate shot, taken well after the tree was collected and had been styled some. Now, though you can tell it’s the same tree, the transformation is radical and far from a highly stylized bonsai. Often with before and after shots, the progression is from wild with potential to … Continue reading Before & After – from Wild to Wild

Three Shots Lifted from Oscar’s Exhibition Video

This wild and wonderful Western yamadori wasn’t a winner at the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, but it was a feature tree. I think it belongs to Randy Knight, but if I’m mistaken, my apologies to the owner (we’ll blame all mistakes on age and a fading memory). This shot and the others shown here were lifted from Oscar Jonker’s excellent Exhibition video. I’m copping out a bit this morning. I wanted to continue our series on winners at the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition and give you a heads up on the last day of our Site Wide Sale. … Continue reading Three Shots Lifted from Oscar’s Exhibition Video

Ed Trout’s Contorted Buttonwood Beast

I couldn’t pass on this contorted, writhing beast of a Buttonwood any longer. It belongs to Ed Trout, a long time, highly respected Florida bonsai artist and teacher. Gonna take a break from the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition bonsai today. The sun is shinning and I need to do something quick and easy so I can get outside and do some digging and transplanting before it’s too late. I love Ed Trout’s Buttonwood and I also like the pot. It’s easy to see how they share a wild untamed feeling. My only question is, does such a dramatic tree need … Continue reading Ed Trout’s Contorted Buttonwood Beast