Styling

Winners! Part 2

ABS North American Award. Finest North American Native Species Bonsai. Rocky Mountain Juniper. Brian Hollowell. There were lots of great native North American trees at the show, but this dynamic beauty with its snaky swirls of dead and live wood stood out.  Yesterday we posted some of the winners from the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Now we’ve got the rest for you (all the photos are borrowed from Bill Valavanis’ excellent blog). Once again, kudos to Bill and his crew for a great show. While we’re at it, just a reminder that photographs, though valuable, are mere shadows of … Continue reading Winners! Part 2

Winners! Part 1

The National Award, Finest Bonsai Masterpiece. American Elm. Suthin Sukolosovisit. We might as well start at the top. Not only is it a great broom style bonsai and the award couldn’t have gone to a more accomplished bonsai artist, but it’s the leaf size that must have caused a double take by anyone who knows American elms (see below). Bill Valavanis has posted all the winning bonsai from the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, so there’s really no need stay here unless you want to suffer through my remarks (and view photos that were slightly enlarged to fit our format). … Continue reading Winners! Part 1

Walking Through Row after Row of Mind Bending Bonsai while Holding on to Your Socks

We don’t have any photos yet from the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, so we’ll harken back to the very first Exhibition (way back in 2008) and show you Jim Gremel’s magnificent cascading Sargent’s juniper that just happened to be the first grand prize (National Award Masterpiece) winner, in what is now becoming a long chain of U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition winners. I got back late last night from the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition in Rochester (I left early due to previous commitment). No one except a designated professional is photographing the trees on display, so nothing to show … Continue reading Walking Through Row after Row of Mind Bending Bonsai while Holding on to Your Socks

Off the Couch and on to North America’s Premier Bonsai Event

I’ve never seen a Rosemary bonsai that looks quite like this one. To my eye the deadwood and the way the branching and foliage are styled is reminiscent of an old yamadori Shimpaku from Japan. This remarkable tree belongs to Peter Warren, one of the headliners at this weekends 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Peter will be tackling a well-known and well-traveled old White cedar bonsai on Sunday. The result will be auctioned at the conclusion of the demonstration. Two more good reason for you to head to Rochester NY this weekend. Hiroyoshi Yamaji and Peter Warren are two of … Continue reading Off the Couch and on to North America’s Premier Bonsai Event

Trees Don’t Lie! Marco Invernizzi Rides a Wave of General Enthusiasm

We’ve shown this Japanese yew by Marco Invernizzi before, but a bonsai this good is always worth another look. I’ve been wanting to publish this interview with Marco Invernizzi every since I first saw it at Bonsai Prelude a couple months ago, but have been waiting on our next batch of  Marco’s (and Masakuni’s) famous Ichiban all purpose bonsai tool. They arrived the other day (better late…) so the time is ripe (not that any time wouldn’t be ripe for the interview, just that we’re in this for love AND money). The interview was conducted by Dylan Fawcett. I don’t … Continue reading Trees Don’t Lie! Marco Invernizzi Rides a Wave of General Enthusiasm

Be There Or Else…

This image was taken from Bill Valavanis’ 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition website. If you are one of the three or four people who don’t know about this most important upcoming bonsai event, it’s time to educate yourself. The 4th U.S.National Bonsai Exhibition starts in eight days. We (that’s me) strongly suggest you be there or else you’ll miss the most important U.S. bonsai event since 2012 (the 3rd National Exhibition). It’s not too late to register and enjoy some of the best bonsai and most talented bonsai artists in North America (and beyond). This wonderful Sargent juniper planting belongs … Continue reading Be There Or Else…

Dwarf Kingsvilles & Other Worthy Boxwood Bonsai

You can tell this is a genuine Dwarf Kingsville boxwood by the tight tiny leaves. This planting by Boon Manakitivipart was the winner of the Certre Award at the 2010 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. This post was inspired by an article on boxwoods in Bonsai Mary. I’ve been thinking of featuring some of Mary’s timely articles for a long time, but the photos are small for this format and don’t enlarge very well. Finally a solution dawned; include some full sized photos from previous Bark posts and mix in some of Mary’s smaller photos. BTW: Mary’s article sheds some light … Continue reading Dwarf Kingsvilles & Other Worthy Boxwood Bonsai

Simple Changes with Profound Results

  One of Robert Steven’s two simulations of a tree in a rock-like container that was submitted by Kian (no second name given). In spite of the somewhat fuzzy images, the general ideas come through loud and clear. It’s Labor Day weekend here in the States, a good time to relax and enjoy family and friends, so we’ll take the easy way out (once again) and dig into our archives. This Robert Steven critique was originally posted back in December, 2010. It contains useful tips for planting on rocks and slabs and is well worth another look. Especially considering that … Continue reading Simple Changes with Profound Results

Deadwood & Much More at North America’s Signature Bonsai Event

Going down? There’s a lot to love about this old tree: that little piece of wood that hangs over the edge of the pot, the remarkable texture and color of the bark and the way the powerful old trunk seems to cling to the pot. There’s also the fact that the tree is a Southwestern White Pine (Pinus strobiformis), not your everyday bonsai species. And then there’s that remarkable jin that seems to be unconcerned if it fits or doesn’t fit with the rest of the tree. The tree belong to Greg Brenden. The photo is from the 2010 2nd … Continue reading Deadwood & Much More at North America’s Signature Bonsai Event

A Magnificent Affront to Bonsai Orthodoxy

This magnificent old yamadori Shimpaku, with its self framing deadwood has to be one of the most outrageously unusual bonsai we’ve ever posted (ever seen, for that matter). It’s from Taisho-en in Japan. I originally found this image here. Trees as unusual as the one above are often controversial. I think some of this controversy is a human tendency towards orthodoxy. We get used to things a certain way and next thing you know we’re defending that way as the correct way. All three photos shown here are of trees that live at Taisho-en. Here’s a short discription I lifted … Continue reading A Magnificent Affront to Bonsai Orthodoxy