Midsummer Bonsai Treat & A Short Guy-Wire Lesson

A bonsai treat. This short, muscular and quite distinctive little Korean Hornbeam belongs to Jonas at Bonsai Tonight. A little guy wire lesson If you’re a little lazy like I sometimes am, then you might not always properly protect your prize bonsai from serious scarring. With some trees it doesn’t matter that much, but with others, a wire scar can become a long term blemish, or worse. Bonsai Tonight has an excellent article that shows a simple technique for protecting branches from scarring when using a guy-wire. Looking good. Now to put this little baby to use. To see just … Continue reading Midsummer Bonsai Treat & A Short Guy-Wire Lesson

Bella Bonsai Arte

What great tree tree. It’s a black pine by Mauro Stemberger (all the trees in this post are Mauro’s) and it’s so full of unique character that I can’t say enough about how much I like it. So I’ll just shut up (except to say, that, it would be interesting to know the history of this tree… and speaking of pines, the 2nd printing of our classic pine book is now in stock). Another Italian Renaissance Mauro Stemberger is one of several talented and innovative young Italian bonsai artists. It helps to live in a culture where art and artists … Continue reading Bella Bonsai Arte

Bonsai Bazaar!

Photo by Peter Tea. From Sam & KJ’s Suiseki blog. Apologies to Peter for a little cropping at the bottom. The Green Club market There’s more to Kokufu (Japan’s most famous bonsai show) than just the best bonsai exhibition in the world. There’s also the Green Club market; which has to be the best bonsai market in the world (if you know of a better one, please correct me). These photos offer a small taste. For the full meal, you’ll have to visit Japan. Wanna buy a bonsai with a little potential? Photo from the Ineternet Bonsai Club, by William … Continue reading Bonsai Bazaar!

Becoming a Bonsai

A good reason to visit the National Bonsai and Penjing Musem? Maybe. But whatever your reason, it’s always a trip worth making. Don’t read this post What follows is way more polemic (and wordy) than any of my hundreds of previous posts (a rough night’s sleep is my excuse) and besides, I love the people at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum and am loath to offend them. Still, the anti-diplomat in my nature insists on speaking his mind (always a dangerous thing). An American tradition: bonsai from ordinary nursery stock Mr. Aarin Packard, Assistant Curator of Collections at The … Continue reading Becoming a Bonsai

Quiet Dignity

This Cryptomeria japonica is reminisent of the unimaginably vast and towering Giant sequoias in California’s Sierra Nevadas. This effect could be enhanced by photographing it from a little lower (see the photo below), but you still get the drift. Far and few between What a great tree. It’s from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. You seldom see a real good formal upright bonsai (you don’t see very many formal uprights at all) and you don’t see many good Cryptomeria bonsai either. Especially in the West; they are more common in Japan (their common name in English is Japanese cedar, even though … Continue reading Quiet Dignity

Still the Best Bonsai Show

Not a prize winner, but still a mind stopper. Here’s what Bill Valavanis has to say about this remarkable quince: “An unusual cultivar of Japanese flowering quince. This is NOT the Toyo Nishiki cultivar, but rather ‘Takane Nishiki’. Beautiful flowers, unusual container, but I personally do not like the design of the bonsai, so enjoyed the blossoms.” Bill does Kokufu I don’t know why we didn’t feature this earlier; it’s one of the most interesting pieces of bonsai news I’ve seen for a while. It’s by Bill Valavanis, from his visit earlier this year to the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition in … Continue reading Still the Best Bonsai Show

Bonsai Hot Bed & Bonsai Winners

First place 2011 Certre International Online Bonsai Awards. Taxus Bacata by Stefano Frisoni of Italy. This photo was taken at the Bonsai in the Bluegrass Symposium in Louisville KY. Italian sweep Is it surprising that the last three year’s winners of the Certre International Online Bonsai Awards have been from Italy and that Certre is an Italian company? Maybe, but these are great trees nevertheless and Italy is a hot bed of top tier bonsai. And BTW, the previous two years winners (2008 and 2007) weren’t Italian. First place 2010 Certre International Online Bonsai Awards. Juniperus Phoenicea by Enrico … Continue reading Bonsai Hot Bed & Bonsai Winners

Tropical Bonsai & Summer Sales Galore

Sweet tree, great pot. From Pedro J. Morales’s Wall Photos on facebook (for non-facebookers, here’s Pedro’s website). Pedro says that it’s a shohin size bonsai from his cousin Carlos C. Morales. The pot is Japanese. Glen Lord suggests that the tree is a type of Ixora. You don’t have to live in the tropics… … to grow tropical bonsai (but it helps). At this moment, we might as well be in the tropics here in northern Vermont. Last night it rained so hard that torrentially is an understatement, and today it’s nasty hot and muggy. Still, it’s nothing like the … Continue reading Tropical Bonsai & Summer Sales Galore

Is All Forgiven? Well… Not Quite

Is all forgiven when a bonsai flowers? In this case, after the brilliant white dazzle (with soft touches of pink and yellow), there’s the strong trunk with a nice flaring base. But still, my eye keeps going back to the scar and the messy little stuff underneath it, and the somewhat clunky pot. Is it just me? From Jose Pañeda’s Photos – mis bonsáis. Those magical few days… I remember the first time I saw a what I thought was a so-so bonsai displaying gorgeous flowers. It was in Bonsai Today (long before I became the publisher) and the photo … Continue reading Is All Forgiven? Well… Not Quite

Strange & Wonderful Bonsai

A little perspective on a very tiny tree. I’m not crazy about most Chinese figurines (at least the commercial ones you usually see), but this contemplative man is pretty good. This and all the other photos in this post are borrowed from The Art of Bonsai Project. The Bonsai of Lam Ngoc Vinh Every once in a while you come across an artist who takes their work (play) in a genuinely fresh and new direction. To this old eye, it looks like Lam Ngoc Vinh is one of those rare artists. If you agree (or even if you don’t) and … Continue reading Strange & Wonderful Bonsai