Restyling A Stubborn Old Tree

An old RAF Scot’s Pine after restyling by Bill Valavanis. The before photo is below. Radical measures This restyling took place at Bill Valavanis’ Open House last weekend. It provides an excellent lesson in dealing with an old tree with defects that require radical measures to correct. In Bill’s own words Here’s part of what Bill has to say about this restyling: “The first two branches are very heavy and needed to be lowered. Before lowering they were wired so they would not be disturbed after lowering. There are several different methods for lowering the heavy branches. I used a … Continue reading Restyling A Stubborn Old Tree

More Than $1,000 In Prizes

This Nick Lenz pot is being donated by Todd Hansen of Sanctuary Bonsai. It is one of many prizes that will be awarded to entrants in our $1,000 (plus) Bonsai from Scratch Contest. Pot dimensions: 16 1/2″ x 13″ x 2″ Donate and your fame will spread like wild fire If you donate a prize for our Bonsai from Scratch Contest, your name (and your business name) will be listed with links in the following places (at least two times each): Bonsai Bark (average 1,800 over 800 visitors per post) and our Stone Lantern Newsletter (over 8,200 recipients). Please contact … Continue reading More Than $1,000 In Prizes

From Ordinary To Sublime

Robert Steven’s digital simulation of a tree that was submitted by Josua. The eye of a master Sometimes Robert Steven’s simulations are strikingly radical and completely unexpected. In this case, what Robert has presented isn’t so radical. You might even say, his improvements are fairly obvious. Still, obvious or not, Robert’s expert eye and touch always seem to elevate the trees from ordinary to sublime. The tree on the left was submitted by Anthony. The one on the right was submitted by Josua. Both are ficus. Robert’s Critique I put these two bonsai together for my critique and as … Continue reading From Ordinary To Sublime

Bonsai Wisdom

This magnificent juniper appears on Bonsai Boon in a section on Bay Island Bonsai’s 2011 Exhibit. I’ll assume it belongs to Boon (his name accompanies the photo, though it doesn’t state unequivocally that it’s his tree and I’ve been fooled before). I dug around for a little while but couldn’t find the species or anything else on this tree. No doubt the info is out there somewhere. Bonsai is primarily a technical endeavor The following quote is by Michael Hagedorn. It’s from an article titled ‘A Student’s Report’ that appears in the Bonsai Intensive section of Boon Manakitivipart’s (Bonsai Boon) … Continue reading Bonsai Wisdom

Playing with Shadows & Light

Boon Manakitivipart. Western juniper debut with Jalaluddin Din. Bonsai Boon All the photos shown here were posted on facebook by Boon Manakitivipart. Boon is a well-known American bonsai artist and influential bonsai teacher. You can find more about Boon here. Shadows and light I like these photos. Not only are the bonsai quite intriguing, but the photos offer something you don’t see that often; bonsai photography with an artistic flair. The one possible downside is that the play of shadow and light sometimes makes it a little harder to see some of the details on the trees. On balance though, … Continue reading Playing with Shadows & Light

At Bonsai’s Edge

Mosses etc in a stone container. All the photos in this post are from Moss and Stone Gardens. If it’s in a bonsai pot You can plant almost anything in a bonsai pot. If it’s woody, you can call it a bonsai. If it’s not, you can call it a companion or accent plant; a planting that’s designed to enhance a bonsai display. Or it could be designed to stand on its own, in which case you can call it a kusamono (for more on this, you can check out Willi Benz’ Bonsai, Kusamono, Suiseki, or this earlier post). No … Continue reading At Bonsai’s Edge

A Bonsai Snapshot in Time

One of the famous old ’Chabo-hiba’Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa, Chabo-hiba) at Boston’s Arnold Arboretum. This one was dates back to 1787 and it looks like it’s still in the original pot. Snapshot in time The Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection (the first bonsai collection in North America that is still living), resides in Boston at Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum. Aside from the fact that it’s very old and the trees (some of them, at least) are still alive, this collection represents something quite unique; a living snapshot of Japanese bonsai from 100 years ago. Well almost; nothing living is static and the … Continue reading A Bonsai Snapshot in Time

Bonsai for You

Close up of a Tamarix bonsai by Harry Harrington (bonsai4me.com). This tree started as a taperless stump (see below). Four pretty good reasons I can think of at least four reasons why I enjoy visiting Harry Harrington’s bonsai4me.com. First, his style is distinctive; I’m pretty sure I could pick Harry’s trees out of selection of random bonsai. Second, Harry uses a wider range of species for bonsai than almost anyone and many of these are seldom seen in quality bonsai galleries (Spirea, Downy birch, Fuchsia, Tamarix, Little leaf linden…). Third, Harry’s choice of pots is excellent (all of the pots … Continue reading Bonsai for You

Buttonwood – American Tropical Jewel

Buttonwood by Ed Trout. From The Art of Bonsai Project. Ed’s bonsai have been featured in Bonsai Today magazine (back issues now 40% off). Our own amazing tropical bonsai We’ve featured a lot of collected tropicals from Indonesia and vicinity. Much of this has to do with our connection with Robert Steven (Mr. High Energy Bonsai), one of the world’s foremost bonsai artists, authors, collectors and teachers. It also has to do with the fact that so many of the collected trees (mostly Premna and Pemphis) from that part of the world are so amazing. Now it’s time to feature … Continue reading Buttonwood – American Tropical Jewel

High Energy Bonsai

Premna serratifolia (Wahong) by Robert Steven. Two years in training. All the photos in this post are from Robert’s ‘My Studio’ on facebook. If you don’t do facebook, you can visit Robert’s blog (though it’s not very up-to-date), or you can just peruse Bonsai Bark for a large range of posts on Robert’s bonsai. Mr. High Energy Bonsai I’ve been watching the bonsai scene for close to thirty years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more prolific bonsai artist than Robert Steven. Prolific at a very high level at that. Or, for that matter, prolific at any level. … Continue reading High Energy Bonsai