A Snake, A Monster & A Well-Groomed Black Pine 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. All three Japanese black pine bonsai shown here belong to Fumio Ideue, owner of Ideue Kikkoen Bonsai Garden in Shikoku, Japan. We borrowed most of this post from a post titled King of Bonsai that originally appeared here in December, 2013. Snake. Looks like this was taken in the … Continue reading A Snake, A Monster & A Well-Groomed Black Pine Bonsai

Tiny Bonsai Master?

Bright yellow flowers and a light yellow pot makes for a soft contrast. Haruyosi doesn’t identify this little gem, but the flowers look a lot like Potentilla. Though the yellow Potentilla I have in my yard has much smaller leaves relative to the flowers. We’ll continue with tiny bonsai today, though not all are by Shohin master Haruyosi, who we’ve been featuring lately (I originally wrote tiny bonsai master Haruyosi, but that doesn’t work so well). Yesterday we featured freshly trimmed Shimpaku juniper by Haruyosi, now it’s a freshly trimmed Ezo spruce (aka Yezo spruce), also by Haruyosi. I love … Continue reading Tiny Bonsai Master?

Freshly Trimmed Tiny Trees

At a glance, this is a sweet little freshly trimmed Shimpaku bonsai. But if you let your glance linger, you might see just how much age and character this tiny tree expresses. There’s that relatively massive little trunk and its rugged twists and scars. There’s also the impressive branch development for such a small tree. Altogether a masterful little bonsai. The photo and tree belong to Haruyosi, as do the other photos shown here. We’ve been featuring small bonsai lately and yesterday it was a few of Haruyosi’s particularly charming small bonsai. So, for the sake of continuity we’ll just … Continue reading Freshly Trimmed Tiny Trees

Tiny Trees, Brilliant Flowers & Wild Horses

This sweet little quince with its brilliant flowers belongs to Haruyosi. It’s a safe bet that he also made the pot. It has been several years since I first stumbled upon Haruyosi. Every since that fortunate day, we periodically return to him and his delightful tiny trees and pots. In this case, it’s a rerun (we last showed these photos a little over a year ago), but it’s a good one, so I don’t think you’ll mind. I happen to believe that quince flowers are as brilliant and pure as any flowers anywhere. So we’ll stick with quince this time … Continue reading Tiny Trees, Brilliant Flowers & Wild Horses

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

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