A Trip Down Memory Lane

Here’s what Michael Hagedorn wrote about this tree… “Another tree from my apprenticeship days, prep work for the Kokufu show. Always liked this tree. Although arguably junipers are best with more dynamic and energy, the quiet presence of this one had a charm of its own. All I did was clarify some of the padding and make minor adjustments throughout.” I cropped Michael’s original photo (see below) for an up close look at the the trunk with its beautifully contrasting shari and living veins “A trip down memory lane…” Lately Michael Hagedorn has been putting up trees from his Japan apprentice … Continue reading A Trip Down Memory Lane

See You at the Mid Atlantic Spring Bonsai Festival

John Kirby’s Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora var Kokone) in a Haramatsu-Tosui container and on a perfectly matched rosewood table by David Knittle (you can see the whole tree and table below). The tree was displayed at the 2018 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Festival, where it was awarded the Best in Show, People’s Choice & the American Bonsai Society’s award. If you haven’t already planned your weekend at the 2019 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Spring Festival, there’s no better time than now. We’ll be there, enjoying the action while vending some of our Bonsai essentials (including some out of print gems and other … Continue reading See You at the Mid Atlantic Spring Bonsai Festival

The U.S. National Bonsai Foundation Has a Wonderful New Website, Featuring Some of the Most Outstanding Bonsai in the World

The perfect blend of greens and reds highlights an altogether perfect tree. It’s a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) that has been in training since 1906. It was donated to the U.S. National Bonsai Museum by Ryutaro Azuma in 1978 The National Bonsai Foundation and has a wonderful new website that features the U.S. National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, home to some of the most outstanding bonsai in the world. Today is just a teaser from the Museum’s Japanese Collection. We’ll have more trees and more about the National Bonsai Foundation and the Museum soon. Meanwhile here are three maples from the Japanese Collection for your enjoyment More perfection. This … Continue reading The U.S. National Bonsai Foundation Has a Wonderful New Website, Featuring Some of the Most Outstanding Bonsai in the World

A Bonsai in an Unusual Setting (& Others)

It’s a little surprising that there are so few good shots of bonsai in creative settings. This one was borrowed from Peter Warren’s Surayama, as were all the photos in this post. Still catching up form vacation, so for expediency’s sake we’ll plunder our archives. This one is from June 2015. It was titled ‘Surayama – Shimpaku, Spruce & Several Others.‘ NEW SPECIAL 20% OFF BONSAI TURNTABLES INCLUDES GREEN T HYDRAULIC LIFT TURNTABLES – – This photo is from a series Peter calls Noelanders trees. (Noelanders refers to the Noelanders Trophy Exhibit). He doesn’t say what it is, but I’ll guess that … Continue reading A Bonsai in an Unusual Setting (& Others)

A Muscular Monster, Before and After

I found this Picea abies (Norway spruce, aka European spruce) before and after at Mandala Bonsai Ilona. Though it would be great to know just how large this tree is, nothing more than just the type tree and before and after is offered on the timeline This magnificent, muscular monster (sorry!) is from Mandala Bonsai Ilona’s timeline. In this case, the before and after process mostly involves bringing an already well established bonsai back into shape. With one new design element added; the first branch is now a jin (the bark was stripped and the resulting dead branch is left on the tree as an intentional feature). Otherwise, … Continue reading A Muscular Monster, Before and After

Magnificent Old Larch Bonsai, Before & After

The Guardian of Laments is Giacomo Pappalardo’s name for this magnificent old European larch (Larix decidua) Another before and after and it’s a good one. I have a soft spot for larches, though ours are Tamaracks (Larix laricina) and this one is a European larch (Larix decidua). Not the same tree, but similar, though the similarity ends when you compare a tree like this with the much younger ones I’ve been growing here for the last fifteen years or so (this one was no doubt collected from the wild and shows all the signs of great age). Here’s your link … Continue reading Magnificent Old Larch Bonsai, Before & After

Sheer Bonsai Power – Before & After

We usually start Before and After posts with an appropriate B & A photo (see below). But I couldn’t resist this one. I think it captures the essence of the tree. Or at least its size and sheer power I found this impressive before and after pine on Luis Vallejo’s timeline. The only caption provided is… “Hiroaki Suzuki , Pinus sylvestris, Luis Vallejo Bonsái Garden.” We know Luis from numerous posts here on Bark and we also know a bit about Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine). I’m not familiar with Hiroaki Suzuki, but if you’d like to do a little research, here’s a link for you … Continue reading Sheer Bonsai Power – Before & After

Omiya’s Pines, Bonsai Beauty & Heart

Combining two arts and two artists, here’s a small piece of the translation with this striking photo… “Daiki Abe: Bonsai Artist. Takashi Eguchi: Photographer. Name: the two exhibition of bonsai and photography ‘Pine Beauty heart'” There is no species given with this pine, but it looks like a Japanese white (Pinus parviflora). The photo is from Omiya Bonsai Museum’s timeline, along with more information on the display. The rest of the photos in this post are Japanese white pines, also from Omiya’s timeline, but not from this display We could go on indefinitely with photos from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. However, … Continue reading Omiya’s Pines, Bonsai Beauty & Heart

Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, this time with new photos

Japanese apricot (often referred to as Ume) at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama, Japan. You can see the whole tree below We’re going to continue with the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum today, but this time with newly posted photos from their facebook timeline. Ones we’ve never shown before 20% OFF EVERYTHING SITE WIDE SALE ENDS TONIGHT PLUS AN EXTRA 10% TO 20% OFF ROSHI TOOLS AN EXTRA 10% OFF BONSAI POTS THESE SPECIALS END WEDNESDAY, JAN 23RD AT 11:59PM EST – Star jasmine fully cascading with all the foliage below the pot Another Japanese apricot (Ume). This time … Continue reading Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, this time with new photos

Masters of Refining Bonsai

We don’t usually feature photos with so much background noise, but this Trident maple is phenomenal and it’s the only shot we’ve got Just home from vacation. The return was supposed to be a two day trek, but snow added a day. Anyway, it’s late and I could skip today’s post, but instead we’ll just keep digging up Omiya Bonsai Museum photos from our archives (this one is from January, 2015). It’s easy enough and it will provide another opportunity for a heads up about the end of our Site Wide Sale tomorrow night All the bonsai shown here resides at the Omiya … Continue reading Masters of Refining Bonsai