Only the Surface Waves

These three trees belong to Masahiko Kimura. I lifted (and cropped) this photo from El Tim Bonsai. It’s a Spanish language blog with an English language option. The Tim. I have long admired the great photos and great dedication to bonsai expressed on the El Tim Bonsai blog (the original Spanish language version and an English language version). The photos shown here are from El Tim’s visit to Masahiko Kimura’s nursery on a recent Japan trip. They are the tip of the Kimura iceberg and only the surface waves on El Tim’s vast ocean of great bonsai photos. If … Continue reading Only the Surface Waves

Unlocking Valuable Bonsai Wisdom

This remarkable Satsuki azalea belongs to Teunis Jan Klein. It’s not very often you see a cascade with such a long reach. What’s more remarkable is the mass of flowers around the tip, which seems to be as strong as the crown. That much strength so much lower than the base is no mean feat. This photo is from Hans Van Meer’s blog. It was taken at the 7th Het Westen Bonsai Show in Delft. The photo above is to grab your attention. Now that we’ve succeeded in that, we’d like to help unlock some valuable bonsai wisdom (borrowed from … Continue reading Unlocking Valuable Bonsai Wisdom

Bonsai Guessing Game at the Montreal Botanical Gardens

This vivid close up was taken by Bill Valavanis at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. The tree is a Chinese privet. To see a photo of the whole tree and a whole range of other great photos, visit Bill’s blog. Bill Valavanis is up to his old tricks. Exploring and promoting bonsai with flair and dedication. The result is one of the best bonsai blogs you’ll find. This time it’s the famous bonsai collection (collections actually, though the Penjing section was closed) at Montreal’s Botanical Gardens. I didn’t start out to turn this post into a bonsai varieties guessing game, it … Continue reading Bonsai Guessing Game at the Montreal Botanical Gardens

Our Masters Series Juniper Book Is Due Back in December – Bonsai Wire & Tool Sale

The Magician again. This sculpted Shimpaku juniper is by Masahiko Kimura, a master of stylized and not so stylized bonsai. From our Masters’ Series Juniper book (out of print, but due back in December). There are also numerous examples of Kimura’s bonsai in The Magician, another Stone Lantern Masters’ Series book. 25% off 500 gram (1.1 lb) rolls of Bonsai Wire Plus 10% off for Stone Lantern orders 100.00 or more 25% off Roshi Bonsai Tools Plus 10% off for Stone Lantern orders 100.00 or more

Master Bonsai Magician

This powerful and famous Yew by is by Bonsai Master Masahiko Kimura. It’s from The Magician (below). It also appears in Bonsai Today issue 56. Archives plus today. Most of this post originally appeared in February 2010 and again last year. It was originally titled ‘Eccentric Bonsai: Fearless Master Kimura Again’. I’ve added some copy and killed some of the original copy in an attempt to reduce the wince factor. I’ve also added another photo for your enjoyment. Same species but very different tree. Though it’s not as powerful as many other Kimura trees (see above and below), nor … Continue reading Master Bonsai Magician

Don’t Starve Your Bonsai

Lush summer foliage and impressive deadwood on an old Shimpaku juniper.The lush foliage is the result of timely feeding. The photo is from our Masters Series Juniper book (due back in print in December). I know the tree is from Japan, but don’t know who the artist is. Many, if not most people underfeed their bonsai. There are many reasons why ample fertilizing is critical to developing healthy and beautiful bonsai. I’ll list a few (if I missed something important, please let us know in the comments). 1. It’s up to you. Most bonsai soils don’t contain nutrients. This means … Continue reading Don’t Starve Your Bonsai

More Deadwood & Six Reasons to Love a Bonsai

The uninitiated sometimes wonder how a tree like this stays alive. The answer; excellent care and that live vein that snakes its way up the trunk. The feature that really sets this tree apart (taking nothing away from the live vein and the tree’s overall beauty and balance) is that delicious deadwood reaching into the sky. I think it’s the fluidity of the movement that keeps it from being over the top (so to speak). The tree belongs to Nicola Kitora Crivelli. It’s from a gallery on Bonsai Empire. More deadwood. We’re on a roll so we’ll just keep … Continue reading More Deadwood & Six Reasons to Love a Bonsai

Carving Deadwood – How About Yew?

Every time I open Bonsai Today issue 106 and lay my eyes on this wickedly powerful, dynamic old English yew, my mind does a little double take. It may not look exactly like anything you’ll see in nature, but it certainly jumps off the page. It’s by Kevin Willson, bonsai artist and deadwood carver extraordinaire. Photo by Simon Carr. We’ve been flirting with deadwood a lot lately, so let’s keep going. This time we’ll dip back into our archives and resurrect a post that originally appeared in 2011. A labor of love Yew wood is very hard. Harder than almost … Continue reading Carving Deadwood – How About Yew?

The Sensationalism of Deadwood?

There’s deadwood and then there’s deadwood. This photo is from Francois Jeker’s website. Judging from the bark and the leaves, I’d guess this is a Yew. Probably European (Taxus baccata). Dick Matthews wrote this in the comments on a post from a few days ago (from my personal facebook feed). “Sometime I think that in a bizarre sort of way, bonsai is evolving into the sensationalism of dead wood. The more bizarre looking the dead wood, the more it represents the age of a bonsai, but I don’t think that the dead wood should be the central theme and eye-catcher … Continue reading The Sensationalism of Deadwood?

Super-Sized Penjing & Our Summer Bonsai Book Sale Is About to End

This super-sized three part penjing is by Robert Steven; renowned bonsai artist, teacher and author, and frequent contributor to this blog. It’s worth noting that this is freshly planted, so you might imagine what it would like after things settled and filled out. Every time I see this magnificent Penjing planting, I want to share it. For this and other reasons, this is the third time for this post, though the original photos have been enlarge to fit our newer format and a couple new cropped versions have been added. I’ve also stuck some pertinent books in to remind you … Continue reading Super-Sized Penjing & Our Summer Bonsai Book Sale Is About to End