Bark

High Quality Bonsai (& Photos) in Hand…

It’s not unusual to see a photo of someone holding a small bonsai in one hand. However, you seldom see a photo with two hands. This two-handed approach gives the feeling the tree is being offered. This photo and the others in this post are from Japan Shohin Bonsai. The tree appears to be a Shimpaku juniper. One of the problems with photographing bonsai is conveying size. The easiest and perhaps best way is to provide something familiar for contrast. It used to be fairly common to see bonsai with cigarette packs before smoking fell out of favor. You also … Continue reading High Quality Bonsai (& Photos) in Hand…

Hand Held Bonsai

No variety is given with any of the photos featured here and we won’t bother to guess. What we do know is that they all show bonsai held in one hand that were posted by Javi Campos Juan. I’ve always liked photos of hand held bonsai. Party because the hand immediately provides a way to determine the size of a tree. Or at least a very close approximation. And then there’s the personal touch. An introduction of the hand of the artist (presumably) into the picture, without the more intrusive photos of the artist posing with the bonsai. In addition … Continue reading Hand Held Bonsai

Feel the Love for Bonsai

This looks a lot like a Tsukomo cypress, though we can’t be sure because the foliage is difficult to make out. We originally discovered these photos on Morten Albek’s Shohin blog. Morten found them at Bonsai Project, Feel Feel Bonsai. My response was very positive when I first saw them, though their title Feel Feel the Love for Bonsai is catchy, it seemed a little too romantic, so I dropped the second Feel (or was it the first?). Whichever you prefer, I hope you enjoy the photos. Here’s part of what Morten Albek wrote about this unusual project. “In Japan … Continue reading Feel the Love for Bonsai

Bold Bonsai & Added Attraction

I don’t mean to rush the fall season, but couldn’t resist this brilliant photo. The tree, a prize-winning Shishigashira Japanese maple is from a Peter Tea post on the 32nd Annual Taikan-ten bonsai exhibition in Kyoto. This photos shown here are lifted from a December 2012 Bark post titled An Embarrassment of Riches. In addition to the photos the post featured an added attraction; a list of some favorite bonsai blogs (below our ad at the bottom of the post). Here’s what Matt Reel has to say about this tree: “This Japanese Red Pine has such a broad apex it … Continue reading Bold Bonsai & Added Attraction

Home Turf – Bay Area Bonsai

This exposed-roots pine is from the 2016 Bay Island Bonsai Exhibition. I borrowed the photo from Jeremiah Lee’s Yenling Bonsai Blog. The caption reads: Started from seed by Morten in 2000 (that would be Morten Wellhaven). The photos shown here are from Jeremiah Lee’s Yenling Bonsai Blog. They were taken at the 2016 Bay Island Bonsai Exhibition. Bay Island Bonsai is a Northern California Organization that was founded in 1998 by one of North America’s seminal bonsai teachers, Boon Manakitivipart (Bonsai Boon). The Home Turf in the title is personal. I was born and spent many formative years in the … Continue reading Home Turf – Bay Area Bonsai

A Great Time to Upgrade Your Bonsai Tools

A small sampling of our large selection of Koyo Japanese Bonsai Tools all now 25% off as are all of our Bonsai Tools don’t lose this chance sale ends tonight at 11:59pm EDT 25% off our vast selection of Bonsai Tools ends tonight this a great chance to upgrade your tool collection but if you wait, this opportunity will slip away sale ends tonight, August 5th at 11:59pm EDT Plus FREE Shipping on U.S. orders 49.00 or more and reduced shipping on all other orders tool sale includes some items you might not expect turntables, watering cans, sharpening stones & … Continue reading A Great Time to Upgrade Your Bonsai Tools

Fruiting & Flowering Bonsai

Did that huge apple really grown on this small tree? I’m positive it’s an apple tree and as you can see, that’s most certainly an apple. What we don’t know for sure is, if that apple actually grew on this tree, though it could have. Or if it was glued on (it could also be photo-shopped, but I don’t think it is). There’s something a little off about putting your logo on photos that don’t belong to you. In a world with more than enough serious crime and corruption, this practice barely registers. But still, it’s questionable at best. You … Continue reading Fruiting & Flowering Bonsai

Before & After – Cutting a Juniper Down to Size

The old Needle juniper, with its distinctively strange shari, belongs to Michael Hagedorn (Crataegus Bonsai). Here’s some of what Michael Hagedorn wrote about this juniper in a post titled Needle Juniper Restyling: “This tree is too tall. And the branches are a bit leggy, too. One of the problems we get into in bonsai design is that with time and growth, height and branch length can begin pulling us away from the trunk. Literally destroying the design, making it weaker. And this tree has a nice trunk, which is a good enough reason to consider redesigning it, to compact the … Continue reading Before & After – Cutting a Juniper Down to Size

In Training, a Photographic Masterpiece

In Training, a brand new photographic masterpiece by Stephen Voss has arrived at our warehouse and is ready to ship. It’s a book that started generating buzz way before it even went to the printer, including at Slate magazine in an article titled, Zen & the Art of Bonsai Maintenance. Since then it has been featured in a number of places in and out of the bonsai world. Here’s a quote from Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai) about this remarkable book, “There’s an intimacy to bonsai that is largely invisible. It exists in those sacred moments between artist and tree in … Continue reading In Training, a Photographic Masterpiece

Old School Bonsai – Clip & Grow

This massive Trident maple most likely started in a field somewhere and was allowed to grow quite tall (the fastest way to thicken the trunk) before it was cut back. This first cut was the beginning of clip and grow styling (see below). The owner/artist of this outstanding bonsai is German Gomez. Most large Trident maples and many other deciduous trees are started in the field and developed using the clip and grow technique. The result is usually a heavy trunked tree with gentle curves, often in a more or less S shape. You can see this basic shape in … Continue reading Old School Bonsai – Clip & Grow