Twenty Eight Questions for Peter Tea

Kishu shimpaku grafted onto a Seirra juniper. Several artists have contributed to the styling of this powerful old collected tree. The latest (when this photo was taken back in 2013) is Peter Tea. You can follow the progression of Peter’s work on this tree and much more on his excellent blog. The other day I happened upon a unique and worthy new (for me) bonsai blog that had been hiding in plain site (see our last post) since October of 2011. It’s called Yenling Bonsai and it belongs to Jeremiah Lee. In the course of familiarizing myself with Jeremiah’s handiwork … Continue reading Twenty Eight Questions for Peter Tea

Hiding in Plain Sight

This has got to be one of the most magnificent Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis) bonsai anywhere. Though the distinctive split trunk needs no comment, you might also notice the highly developed ramification (fine branching). The tree was donated to the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection by Ben Oki. We’ve featured it before, but it’s certainly worth another shot. Another dig into our archives. This time unintended… Today I decided it’s time to visit the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. It’s one of North America’s premier collections and we haven’t featured it for a long time. I was delighted to see the Rim’s … Continue reading Hiding in Plain Sight

Stepping Out of Character for Just a Moment

The first thing that caught my eye in this photo is the tree’s overall graceful fluid movement. Next is the swirling gnarl that, for lack of a better word, we’ll call the trunk (see below). This photo and the others shown here are from a recent facebook post by Robert Steven. Robert Steven is, without a doubt, the artist most featured here on Bonsai Bark. You can chalk that up to him being one of the most accomplished and innovative bonsai artists in the world. Prolific too. But there’s more. We don’t usually do lists here nor do we usually … Continue reading Stepping Out of Character for Just a Moment

The Godfather of Naturalistic Bonsai & Friends

We can assume this Azalea (I imagine it’s a Satsuki) belongs to one of the four exhibitors listed below. Actually, we might be able to narrow it down to one of three of the exhibitors (I couldn’t find it on Walter Pall’s website so, I’m assuming it is not his). The photos here are from a current Bonsai Exhibition at the Munich Botanical Garden. It ends June 1st, so you still have a little time. I originally saw the photos on Walter Pall’s facebook feed and then on his Bonsai blog. I couldn’t find any info of the individual trees … Continue reading The Godfather of Naturalistic Bonsai & Friends

What’s Wrong with this Picture?

Snake Dance by Gedemerta (with a distracting bright spot that someone has added). As you can see, this Pemphis acidula is an exceptional bonsai. It’s also famous. We’ve featured it at least twice and it’s all over facebook and elsewhere. Many of the artists who style these trees are professionals trying to make a living. What’s wrong (in addition to the unnecessary bright spot)? This photo was posted on facebook by someone who goes by Aus Bonsai, one of several regulars who put up photos of bonsai. There are many others, including one self-named Bonsai Master. Facebook is more than just … Continue reading What’s Wrong with this Picture?

Defoliación del Abuelo (Defoliating Grandfather)

Here’s Juan Adrade’s caption for this photo. “Partial defolation on one of the grandfather trees. Close to 100 yrs old (Defoliación de las ramas exteriores en uno de los tridentes del abuelo de mi maestro. Este arbol posiblemente se acerca a los 100 años).” All the photos in this post are from a series of photos on Juan’s facebook feed. Facebook is great if you like photos of children, animals or glassy eyed people over eating at restaurants. If you’re lucky and you have the right friends, you might find good photos of quality bonsai. However, it’s somewhat unusual to … Continue reading Defoliación del Abuelo (Defoliating Grandfather)

Playing It Cool

This freshly defoliated monster Trident maple was just posted on facebook by Juan Andrade, who happens to be the guilty party (see below). We’ve featured Juan here on Bark several times. My best guess is this won’t be last time either. Two monsters. The only thing the connects these two trees, at least as far as I know, is that they are both remarkably large. And very cool too. Two things jump right out about the Trident maple above: its remarkably massive trunk, the base of which almost fills the entire pot, and its most excellent taper (good movement too … Continue reading Playing It Cool

Relaxed & Alert

Lots of rugged character and great ramification. I can’t read Korean, but I’ll guess it’s a Japanese beech. It has been a while since we’ve featured bonsai from Korea. When I look at these trees, I see Chinese and Japanese influence. Though my guess is the Koreans wouldn’t necessarily see that way. All the trees in this post are from Bonsai Korea. More elegant, yet still a little rough. Looks like another beech. This one has a relaxed look below and an alert look above. Nice mineral encrusted pot too. Is it a Hornbeam? The heavy funky … Continue reading Relaxed & Alert

Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

I just repotted this old pine into our new Masters Bonsai Soil. The pot is a growing pot rather than a show pot, but will serve nicely for now (pines like deep pots). The tree is a Japanese white pine that was grafted onto Japanese black pine stock in Japan. I got it from John Jaramillo last year when I was in Portland studying with Michael Hagedorn. Michael was kind enough to wire it for me. Our new Masters Bonsai Soil is now 20% off, so this seems like a good time to mention that I am in the process … Continue reading Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

Old Japanese Whites plus One

This distinctive Goyo-matsu (Japanese white pine) is from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. I don’t know if the split trunk was by the hand-of-man or the result of a natural occurrence. Either way, the twin trunk effect is wonderful. At the risk of stating the obvious, you might notice the similar movement and direction of the each trunk’s twists and turns. We’re digging back into our archives once again and we’re always looking for catchy titles, even when it’s a bit of a stretch. All the trees shown here are from two earlier Bark posts. The plus one in the … Continue reading Old Japanese Whites plus One