Ancient Bonsai Bones

I like the way the fresh foliage seems to hang from the tree’s ancient bones (though I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a stand so in need of refinishing). This strikingly unique bonsai is one of many excellent trees at Taiwan Bonsai World. Ayyyy! Chaos. We upgraded our OS recently and it has been all downhill since. If I owe you an email or phone call, thank you for your patience! Things should be back to normal soon (not that normal isn’t chaotic enough). The good news is, so far our website and our warehouse are functioning quite well. This … Continue reading Ancient Bonsai Bones

Mystery Bonsai with Looping Deadwood

Mystery pine with looping deadwood. Here’s a tree that anyone would like to have in their collection. Unfortunately, I don’t know who the lucky owner is. I found it on pinterest, which tends to be a maze of dead ends when it comes to pinning down the source. It looks like it could be a Ryan Neil tree (Bonsai Mirai), but no luck finding it there. Thanks to several people (see comments) I now know that Ryan Neil did style this tree. It was a demo for Bonsai Focus. We almost never do one tree posts, but circumstances insist that … Continue reading Mystery Bonsai with Looping Deadwood

Colin’s Moon Pot Bonsai

The first time we showed this splendid Shimpaku was back in 2010. Now time and Colin Lewis’ deft touch has wrought some positive changes. Here’s Colin’s caption for this latest iteration. His Majesty: Another last minute de-wiring before sleepy time…. I guess Majesty is Colin’s way of saying he likes this one. Or maybe there’s a fascinating story behind it… At least two things unite the three trees shown here; they all below to Colin Lewis and they are all in moon pots. All three are from Colin’s facebook photos. Colin also has a website with an extensive gallery. … Continue reading Colin’s Moon Pot Bonsai

It Takes a Village of Bonsai Artists & Patrons

This Itoigawa shimpaku juniper won the Finest Medium Size Bonsai prize at the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (September 2014). Though it looks larger, its height is only 12″ (30.5 cm). It belongs to Troy Schmidt of Asheville North Carolina. Though I don’t know this tree’s whole story, I do know that both Boon Manakitivipart and Bjorn Bjorholm have worked on it (it takes a village of bonsai artists and patrons). The photo above is from Boon Manakitivipart’s facebook feed. The other photos in this post (except the very last one) are from a 2012 workshop that Boon hosted. It’s … Continue reading It Takes a Village of Bonsai Artists & Patrons

Some Astoundingly Brilliant Bonsai, though…

Though this extraordinary bonsai is unidentified (and unattributed), still I’m confident that it’s a Japanese beech. I’m also confident that it makes its home in Japan. For a little perspective on just how massive this tree is, there’s that partial human torso on the right. The original shows the whole human, but I’ve taken the liberty to slice him up a bit in an attempt to limit distraction (the original is below). All the photos shown here were posted by Tae-Kukiwon-Bonsai (aka Eduardo Mourão Guedes) and even though they are unnamed and unattributed, I couldn’t resist. In case you are wondering, … Continue reading Some Astoundingly Brilliant Bonsai, though…

FREE Bonsai & All-Purpose Scissors

Our amazingly sharp and durable All-Purpose Scissors are now FREE with your Stone Lantern order of at least 15.00 (but only if you put FREE Scissors in the comments when you check out). Our list price is 9.95 each and our discounted price 6.95 each, though given just how good they are, they are worth a whole lot more. Here’s what you have to do to receive yours. Place an order for at least 15.00 at Stone Lantern and put FREE Scissors in the comments when you check out. No FREE Scissors in the comments, then no FREE scissors. Want … Continue reading FREE Bonsai & All-Purpose Scissors

An Impressive Collection of Small Bonsai

These delicious little trees (shohin bonsai) are all from Cliff Chong’s bonsai gallery. Cliff lives and practices the art of bonsai in Malaysia. We originally featured this impressive Shohin collection in July 2015. Two New Stone Lantern Sales 25% off Koyo Bonsai Tools (in addition to our ongoing 25% off Roshi Tool Sale) 25% off 500 gram rolls Bonsai Aesthetics Wire (comes to only 9.38 per roll) plus FREE Shipping U.S. orders 49.00 or more

Laid-Back Scot’s Pine

This comfortably laid back bonsai is a Scot’s pine. Its feeling of relaxed informality is accentuated by the somewhat shaggy foliage and overall barely-touched-by-human-hands look. We always have an eye out for trees that are both compelling and unusual and I think this one fits the bill. It belongs to Pierre Robbach (Tenkei Bonsai Club, Mulhouse, France). I found the photo on Jean-Paul Polmans’ facebook feed. Jean-Paul is also associated with Tenkei. This is what sprung to mind when I saw the tree at the top of the post. It’s Nick Lenz’ famous Penelope. The tree is an American … Continue reading Laid-Back Scot’s Pine

Whoops! Apologies & a Correction

This colorful tree is from the 2016 BCI – Philippines Bonsai Convention that was just held in Makita City last weekend. I borrowed the photo from Bill Valavanis bonsai blog. Looks like I messed up yesterday’s post (Another ‘Newly Discovered’ Bonsai Artist). My apologies to all concerned. I found out my mistakes when I received a note from a friend who knows the Philippine bonsai community a whole lot better than I do. Here’s part of his note: “Jun Llaga is not a member of PBSI and did not conduct a demonstration at the BCI-Philippines Convention. Mr. Llaga is a member of … Continue reading Whoops! Apologies & a Correction

Brilliant Bonsai, Brilliant Books

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. Based on the flowers, I’d say the tree is a quince. The photos trees and pots shown here all belong to Michiko Koide. 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. Our Brilliant Bonsai Book Sale ends tomorrow night. 30% off our already discounted … Continue reading Brilliant Bonsai, Brilliant Books