Bonsai Today & Deadwood Carvers Extraordinaire

Every time I open Bonsai Today issue 106 and lay my eyes on this wickedly powerful old English yew, my mind does a little double take. Like many stylized bonsai that we’ve seen over the last 30 years or so, it doesn’t look exactly like anything you’ll see in nature, but it certainly jumps off the page. It’s by Kevin Willson, bonsai artist and deadwood carver extraordinaire. Photo by Simon Carr. Today, I set out to put together a post on Harry Harrington, but got distracted by the Kevin Willson tree above. There’s a method to this madness; Harry has … Continue reading Bonsai Today & Deadwood Carvers Extraordinaire

Bonsai Artistry in Red & Yellow

There are few things more delicate and beautiful than fresh spring Maple leaves. This exquisite tree and pot are perfect expressions of the artistry of Haruyoshi. Heavy spring snowstorm this weekend. Need to get dressed and get shoveling, so we’ll take the easy way out. This one is from September, 2015. Shoin bonsai & ceramic artist Haruyosi does a couple things that set him apart. First, he regularly posts masterpiece shohin and mame bonsai and pots, and second, he posts a lot of photos that reveal the creative process. For both trees and pots. More exquisite bonsai by Haruyosi below… … Continue reading Bonsai Artistry in Red & Yellow

Impressive Nebari, Wild Deadwood, and a Colossal Wire Sale Ends Tonight

I cropped the original (below) to get a closeup of this rather impressive deadwood. Even though there is no variety listed, the fresh buds look a lot like a Yew in full spring glory. All the trees shown here were posted by Luis Vallejo. Because Luis is a highly accomplish and prolific bonsai artist, we can assume they are all his (unfortunately, and due primarily to laziness, facebook and other online sites are rife with unattributed bonsai). Conitnued below… Our great sale on 500 gram rolls of Bonsai Aesthetics Wire ends tonight 30% off 2+ rolls of 500 gram Bonsai … Continue reading Impressive Nebari, Wild Deadwood, and a Colossal Wire Sale Ends Tonight

A Steady Stream of Innovative Bonsai

Premna serratifolia by Robert Steven. Aside from the immediate impact of the old wood with all the trunks popping up everywhere, there’s the counter-balance provided by the sturdy little trunk on the far left. There’s also that teetering trunk at the right hand tip of the planting that looks like its floating in space. Getting ready to embark on the long flight from SF to Boston followed by the three plus hour drive to Vermont, so no time to put together a new post for you. However I did find one from our archives (April 2013) that I think you’ll … Continue reading A Steady Stream of Innovative Bonsai

Alien Bonsai or Just Some Unusual Tropical Trees?

I’ve never seen a bonsai quite like this. It would be unusual even without that long joining root and those stubby trees in the back. With these almost alien features, it stands alone as an one-of-a-kind bonsai. It is also the only photo in this group (from bonsai4me) to give the artist’s name (Richard R Gomez) and the type tree (Strebulus asper). Yesterday I woke up in Vermont. Today it’s Colorado. I could call it a vacation, but here I am working again. I’ll make it easy on myself though, by resurrecting a post from August, 2015 (Stumbling Upon Some … Continue reading Alien Bonsai or Just Some Unusual Tropical Trees?

Nature & Human Artistry at their Most Brilliant

Ancient pine, snow, a frozen pond and a blue water glimpse of Puget Sound. This and the other photos shown here are from Dan Robinson’s Elandan Gardens. Last year my friend and I spent a memorable afternoon wandering around Dan Robinson’s famous Elandan gardens and marveling at his magnificently rugged, extraordinarily unique bonsai collection. If an amazing collection of bonsai isn’t enough, the trees are set in the perfect setting. A melding of a nature at its most brilliant and equally brilliant human artistry. All this on a grand scale that can only be partially appreciated with photos. Still, here … Continue reading Nature & Human Artistry at their Most Brilliant

Honeysuckle Bonsai – Before & After (& One Small Bonus)

This massive old Honeysuckle belongs to our friend Andy Rutledge. Here’s what Andy has to say about it, “The photo is not particularly well done, but I tried to make a decent backdrop. It’s just after a bit of new-growth pinching this afternoon. It’s a Lonicera (don’t know the species). It was collected by my teacher Nick Lenz a while back. Been in my care since 2010. It’s coming along.” Continued below… Two Brand New Bonsai Wire Sales 25% off 2+ rolls of 500 gram Bonsai Aesthetics Wire 25% off 2+ rolls of U.S. manufactured Copper Wire* plus an extra … Continue reading Honeysuckle Bonsai – Before & After (& One Small Bonus)

New Green T Bonsai Gallery

Another happy Green T owner. The smiling face belongs to Massimo Paterniani, as do the magnificent Italian cypress bonsai and the powerful Green T turntable. A Green T Turntable will change the way you work on you bonsai and enhance the results. And you’ll enjoy the journey. We’re expecting our latest shipment of new Green T turntables this week, so I thought I might regale you with some beautiful Green T bonsai and a few happy Green T owners. And by the way, we’ve got two models now. In addition to the Green T Basic model we now offer the … Continue reading New Green T Bonsai Gallery

Dan & Roy – Picasso & a Bonsai Grafting Master

Roy Nagatoshi grafted the Shimpaku foliage onto this masterpiece 700 year old yamadori California juniper that Dan Robinson collected and continues to grow and develop (provided Dan still owns it). You can find a lot more about this and dozens of other ancient masterpieces in Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees, Will Hiltz wonderful book about Dan (the Picasso of bonsai) and his on going love affair with bonsai and nature. This post started out to be about the bonsai and grafting skills of Roy Nagatoshi (here’s a good example of Roy’s work from a 2014 Bark post). But somewhere along the … Continue reading Dan & Roy – Picasso & a Bonsai Grafting Master

One Tree, Seven Pots – Which One Would You Choose?

Seven pots for one Chinese cork bark elm (the seventh pot is below – it didn’t fit that well in the photo). Which one would you choose? Most of this post was borrowed from our archives (January, 2014). At that time the choices you see were presented as a contest. Now we’ll dispense with the contest and just show the photos and let you choose if you please. If you would like to post your comments, visit Bonsai Bark on facebook. All the photos shown here belong to Boon Manakitivipart (aka Bonsai Boon), our source for almost all of our … Continue reading One Tree, Seven Pots – Which One Would You Choose?