Bonsai Stock & Increasingly Severe Restrictions

This impressive and rather massive Mugo pine belongs to Walter Pall. Like the other photos in this post (and the last post) it was taken at the 2014 Noelanders Trophy by Sandor Papp. Continued from our last post… One reasons European bonsai is more developed than North American bonsai is more relaxed import regulations. Much of the high quality stock that has appeared in Europe over the last fifty years or so originally came from Asia. Though some high quality stock has been imported into North America, the U.S.has always had more restrictive plant import laws and over the last … Continue reading Bonsai Stock & Increasingly Severe Restrictions

Comparisons Are Odious, But Still…

European black pine (Pinus nigra) by Mauro Stemberger. I took the liberty to crop this photo (the uncropped version is below) and to brighten it up a bit (the other photos in this post too). All of the photos here are from The Bonsai Blog of Sandor Papp. The bonsai shown here all appeared at the 2014 Noelanders Trophy in Belgium. The photos were taken from The Bonsai Blog of Sandor Papp. They represent a small sampling of Sandor’s Noelander’s photos. Whenever I see photos of the some of the best European bonsai I can’t help but compare them with … Continue reading Comparisons Are Odious, But Still…

A Dilemma We’d All Like To Have

These two views of the same tree and the question posed (below) are from Tony Tickle’s website. The tree shown here belongs to Tony Tickle. It’s a Yew (the species isn’t mentioned, but I’m guessing English). You can find it on Tony’s Bonsai & Yamadori site under the heading Please choose your favorite ‘Front’ for this Yew. If you visit Bonsai & Yamadori you can vote for your favorite front (aka best view), and, if you’re really ambitious, you can explain yourself in the comments (you can do the same in our comments below). Meanwhile, I’ll keep my opinion to myself. … Continue reading A Dilemma We’d All Like To Have

Daring & Over-the-Top Brilliant

Daring and brilliant. I think the daring part is combining such a strong and unique pot with such a brilliant little flowering tree. Each could stand on its own, no problem. But together the brilliance is multiplied. This photo and the other photos in this post are from Machiko Koide’s timeline on facebook. I don’t know much about Michiko Koide and google didn’t help. All I could find is her facebook timeline. Turns out, based on the photos, that’s plenty These pots are most excellent, with or without little trees. The two handed approach (see our last post). Contrast … Continue reading Daring & Over-the-Top Brilliant

A Bonsai in Hand

It’s not unusual to see a photo of someone holding a small bonsai in one hand. However, you almost never see a photo with someone holding a bonsai with two hands. Until now that is. This two handed approach gives the feeling that the tree (a rather spectacular Shimpaku) is being offered. This photo and the others in this post are from Japan Shohin Bonsai. 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 … Continue reading A Bonsai in Hand

The 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Is Fast Approaching

The tree is nice, but it’s really about the flowers. As you can see, there are three distinct flower colors on this tree. Though quince are known for the brilliance of their flowers and multiple hues are not uncommon, still, you don’t see many with three distinctly different flowers on one tree. This and the rest of the photos in this post belong to Bill Valavanis. You can find them and others on his Bonsai Blog. Bill Valavanis’ 4th U.S National Bonsai Exhibition is fast approaching, so this seems like a good time to remind you of just how important … Continue reading The 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Is Fast Approaching

Heavy Crowns & Wordy Captions

Based on the photos from Sandor Papp’s blog, this, or the tree just below, might be my exhibition winner (the actual winner is at the bottom of the post). It’s unusual to see this much deadwood on a deciduous or other broad-leafed bonsai, but then Privets are tough trees (Ligustrum vulgaris in this case). Speaking of deadwood you might notice the impressive sabamiki (Japanese for hollow trunk – plural in this case). The unique, well-chosen pot is also worth a mention. The trees shown here appear on the Bonsai Blog of Sandor Papp. The occasion is the recent bonsai exhibition … Continue reading Heavy Crowns & Wordy Captions

A Happy Accident

The original caption from Milan Karpíšek reads “Sabina of my friend ready for a show.” He doesn’t say who the friend is. We might assume that the tree belongs to a friend and was styled by Milan, but we know about assumptions. Maybe someone can clue us in. The three trees shown here are from Milan Karpíšek’s facebook photos (Milan is from the Czech Republic). Like many of the bonsai featured here, these were discovered by accident (aka stumbled upon). A very happy accident indeed. I decided to show all three photos just the way Milan presents them on facebook … Continue reading A Happy Accident

Cold Mountain Bonsai

You might pass this one over at first glance, but the spectacular pot, the deeply striated bark and the overall simplicity and naturalness are worth another look. Today is the long drive home. No time to put together a new post, so we’ll take one more foray into our archives. This one first appeared in November 2012. It’s one I particularly like. Not for what I have to say, but the for simple, unique beauty and naturalness of the bonsai. Have we been overly influenced by Japanese bonsai? When you look at the trees in this post there’s a sense … Continue reading Cold Mountain Bonsai

Celebrating An American Bonsai Tradition

Goshin by John Yoshio Naka. This famous bonsai resides at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington DC. Photos will never do it justice. It is huge (about 1 meter tall – just over 3 feet) and is so dramatic in person that it almost seems to vibrate with power. This photo, by Peter Bloomer is originally from Timeless Trees by Peter and Mary Bloomer. It also appears on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 93, an issue that features a tribute to the life and works of John Naka. Three times a tradition? This is third time for … Continue reading Celebrating An American Bonsai Tradition