Old Kuromatsu for a New Year

This trunk is so heavy that you could imagine it supporting a huge mass of foliage, yet this humble crown works to perfection. There’s a lot more that could be said about this great old tree, but I’ll stop at pointing out the luminous color and texture of the trunk (not that you could miss it). The tree is around 50-years-old and was grown from seed. It belongs to Kiyoshi Hiramatsu (great name for someone who grows pines) owner of the Hiramatsu Seijuen bonsai garden in Takamatsu’s Kokubunji area in Japan. We just ended 2013 with three great Kuromatsu (Japanese … Continue reading Old Kuromatsu for a New Year

King of Bonsai

This has to be one of the most unique Japanese black pines anywhere. I can’t help but think of a monster with two gnarled feet lurching along. Now, if you can put that image out of your mind, you might enjoy the ancient bark and wonderfully confusing movement of the trunks. This is our last post of the year, so why not end 2013 with three great Kuromatsu (Japanese black pines), considered by many to be the king of bonsai? All three belong to Fumio Ideue, owner of Ideue Kikkoen Bonsai Garden in Shikoku, Japan. I originally saw the photos … Continue reading King of Bonsai

Pot Master

I don’t know who styled this wonderfully crazy azalea (I don’t read Japanese) but I do know that Master Potter Gyozan Nakano made the pot. Still out of town so we’ll continue borrowing from our illustrious past. We’re on a pot roll, so let’s just keep rolling. And as long as we’re delving into the archives, why not go all the way back to our first pot post. It’s from July, 2007. A remarkable book about a remarkable potter Four years ago (ten years ago now) I was given a most remarkable book by the World Bonsai Friendship Federation, who … Continue reading Pot Master

From Another Time and Place…

Subtle beauty, fine art with bright flowers. What could you ever plant in this pot? 4 inches (10cm) across the top. From our Japanese mystery book. Staying on our pot theme while taking the easy way out. It’s the Holidays and I’m traveling again, so we’re going to indulge ourselves by resurrecting another post from archives (with the photos enlarged and rearranged). This one is from way back in 2010. It was titled Ornate Elegance: Bonsai Pots As Fine Art. These pots are clearly from an another time and place when compared to the pots in the last post. So … Continue reading From Another Time and Place…

Off the Deep End with Horst (Is This Pot Legal?)

Would you plant a Crabapple in this pot? Or a Cherry tree? Winterberry? Persimmon? Pyracantha? Anything? Or maybe Horst was picturing Christmas tree ornaments. All the pots shown here are by Horst Heinzlreiter. As is often the case lately, they are lifted from facebook. The ‘Deep End’ in the title is just silliness on my part, as is the bit about being legal. I don’t know Horst, but I suspect he’s not all that crazy. Except maybe in the positive sense which might translate as daring, imaginative, unconventional, even outrageous (again in the positive sense). If you’ve been following Bark … Continue reading Off the Deep End with Horst (Is This Pot Legal?)

Bonsai in Brooklyn

Cork bark Chinese elm in full fall brilliance at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. You don’t see that many good Chinese elm bonsai. At least I don’t. I like this one a lot; its color, the heavy trunk with its corky bark, the handsome Tokoname pot. This photo and the others in this post are from the bonsai collection on the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens website. I think the quality of the Brooklyn Botanic bonsai collection has been improving for a while now. Still not a world class collection, but getting there. Speaking of world-class collections, I think the U.S. lags a … Continue reading Bonsai in Brooklyn

Happy Holidays!

I hope you and your loved ones are enjoying a relaxed Holiday Season and you have a Happy and Prosperous New Year (I don’t know if this qualifies as a Christmas tree, but it does give you a pretty good idea of what northern Vermont looks like this time of year).

Out of Thin Air

Robert Steven’s simulation of a tree that was submitted by David Royinsyah (below). Busy now, so once again we’ll borrow from the past (Robert Steven Transforms Raw Stock, March, 2011). It’s one of dozens of Robert Steven’s critiques that we’ve posted over the years and it’s one of my favorites. The transformation is total, almost as if Robert pulled his simulation out of thin air. And the result is so pleasing. Nuff said, here’s the original… Robert’s vision and artistry This one is quite unusual. The stock is totally raw and not that interesting. Robert simply manufactured all the branching … Continue reading Out of Thin Air

Deck the Bonsai

This is the same tree we showed last post, but all decked out this time. Though many Christmas trees have their charm and some are genuine works of art, still, this has to be one of the best I’ve ever seen. All three photos in this post are from Nacho Marin on facebook. Nacho Marin is not the first to turn a bonsai into a Christmas tree. He won’t be last either. But so far, he’s got to be one of the best. BTW: Nacho’s creative juices flow beyond styling and decorating bonsai, into other media. This includes several artistic … Continue reading Deck the Bonsai

Following Nacho

A fantastic, delightful and very unusual tree. I’ve seen about a million bonsai (photos actually), but never one quite like this. It belongs to Nacho Marin (he’s been here before). This photo and the one immediately below are from facebook. No name provided there, but fortunately, the third photo from his website comes with a name (I won’t spoil it for you). I’ve been following Nacho Marin for a while now. Mostly on facebook, but occasionally I visit his website (it’s great, but you need some patience). Anyway, I think Nacho’s bonsai are some of the most fascinating and unique … Continue reading Following Nacho