The Best in Bonsai Design

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 (now the Pacific Bonsai Museum) by Ben Oki. It has been over a year now since we posted our glowing introduction to Dave DeGroot’s indispensable Principles of Bonsai Design. With the slow inexorable erosion of print media in this digital age, we never thought we would see another bonsai book this popular. But popular it is. … Continue reading The Best in Bonsai Design

Highly Unusual & Undeniably Lush

This Hinoki forest is from the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s 2009 Annual Show. It’s a very unusual planting and quite compelling in its lush naturalness. I’ve come across spruce groves while hiking in Vermont and New Hampshire that look something like this. You find them near the mountain tops, where the harsh climate causes the trees to dwarf and huddle together. Traveling again so it’s back to our archives. The photo and caption above are from a post way back in 2010. It’s hard to miss the canopy’s lush and luminous emerald green color. This is characteristic of Hinoki foliage … Continue reading Highly Unusual & Undeniably Lush

A Steady Stream of Excellent and Often Unusual Bonsai

An impressively complex cascading juniper by Isao Omachi. Is it too busy, or would it diminish the tree’s magic if you tried to simplify it? We can count on Isao Omachi for a steady stream of excellent and often unusual bonsai. As a result of this steady stream, we’ve featured his trees well over a dozen times here on Bonsai Bark and I suspect we’ll continue to feature them for as long as we keep posting (going on eight years and still counting). This time it’s three trees from Isao’s recent facebook photos. Two of them are full cascade junipers … Continue reading A Steady Stream of Excellent and Often Unusual Bonsai

Johnny’s Stellar Saikei

This stellar Saikei by Johnny Uchida was sent to us by Noah (no last name). Johnny Uchida is the owner of Grove Way Nursery in Hayward, California. Still recovering from my all too short (one week) vacation, so we’ll dig back into our archives. This one is from all the way back to 2010. Here what Noah (see caption above) has to say about this planting: “This saikei was done by Johnny Uchida of Grove Way Bonsai as an example for beginning students. Mr. Uchida is the sensei of Yamato Bonsai Kai in Northern California. The trees are cryptomeria and … Continue reading Johnny’s Stellar Saikei

A Great Bonsai Story & the Tree Isn’t Half Bad Either

Shimpaku juniper from a Peter Tea post, titled Shimpaku, The Unexpected Surprise. My apologies to Peter for cropping the bottom of the pot to get rid of a distracting white band that appears in the the original (it’s below so you can decide for yourself if my pickiness has gotten out of control). Just back from a total non-working vacation/ retreat. I usually work some during so called vacations, but this time I went whole hog and almost completely avoided work. I mention this as an excuse for resurrecting this old Bark post from 2013. If you’re not familiar with … Continue reading A Great Bonsai Story & the Tree Isn’t Half Bad Either

Before & After – from Wild to Wild

Before and after. This distinctive European spruce, aka Norway spruce (Picea abies) was collected in Switzerland in 1993. It’s now 25cm high and around 100 years old. The pot (on the right) is by Mateusz Grobeiny. The artist and owner of the tree is Walter Pall. The before shot is actually an intermediate shot, taken well after the tree was collected and had been styled some. Now, though you can tell it’s the same tree, the transformation is radical and far from a highly stylized bonsai. Often with before and after shots, the progression is from wild with potential to … Continue reading Before & After – from Wild to Wild

Ed Trout’s Contorted Buttonwood Beast

I couldn’t pass on this contorted, writhing beast of a Buttonwood any longer. It belongs to Ed Trout, a long time, highly respected Florida bonsai artist and teacher. Gonna take a break from the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition bonsai today. The sun is shinning and I need to do something quick and easy so I can get outside and do some digging and transplanting before it’s too late. I love Ed Trout’s Buttonwood and I also like the pot. It’s easy to see how they share a wild untamed feeling. My only question is, does such a dramatic tree need … Continue reading Ed Trout’s Contorted Buttonwood Beast

Free, Unconstrained, Witty, Clever, Humorous & Unconventional

This elegant Bunjin style Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) won Finest Natural Bonsai award at the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. It belongs to John Jaramillo. With Bunjin (Literati) style bonsai a certain sensitivity is required. Anything even a little forced or overdone or unnatural in any way, just won’t do. Thus, in the case of this tree, the award for the Finest Natural Bonsai is spot on. Here’s a quote on Bunjin by the illustrious John Naka (from a 2015 Bark post) “… Its appearance should not be too serious nor easy, it should be free, unconstrained, witty, clever, humorous … Continue reading Free, Unconstrained, Witty, Clever, Humorous & Unconventional

A Prize Winning Classically Styled Japanese Red Pine

This slanting Japanese Red Pine (Pinus densiflora) won the Finest classical Bonsai award at the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. It belongs to Gary Gunrow. Oscar Jonker’s original photo of the whole display is below. Slanting bonsai aren’t all that common. Especially ones like this Japanese red pine, where the entire crown is so far from being centered over the pot. What often amazes me about this style, is how the good ones (like this one) maintain the feeling of balance. In this case, I think it’s the trunk’s heavy base and nebari that provide a sense of stability. The … Continue reading A Prize Winning Classically Styled Japanese Red Pine

Michael Hagedorn’s Prize Winning Mountain Hemlock

Michael Hagedorn’s Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana), winner of the Finest Evergreen Bonsai at the recent 5 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. You might notice the absence of a pot or even your basic bonsai slab (that’s a thin synthetic sheet of some sort that it’s sitting on). This photo is from Michael’s website (see below for Oscar Jonker’s Exhibition photo). I’m a big fan of Michael Hagedorn’s bonsai. I think this comes from observing Michael at work (a couple years ago I spent five days studying with Michael) and from taking the time to look closely at his trees. If I … Continue reading Michael Hagedorn’s Prize Winning Mountain Hemlock