Running Around in Circles?

The deadwood on this unusual juniper looks a lot like a spontaneous Zen brush stoke. The photo was posted by John Milton. Here’s his caption: “The final result, not quite sure I pulled ‘Stanley’* off but, did my best. Still very raw as the branches are un-styled grafts without ramification, even though it looks full in the before picture. With some mochikomi** over next couple years, should fill out nicely.” Scroll down for the before photo. John Milton has been an apprentice at Aichi-en under Junichiro Tanaka-San since June 2013. He posted the photo above on his facebook feed three … Continue reading Running Around in Circles?

Focus on Bonsai

I found this rather unique tree in the gallery section of the Bonsai Focus website. There’s no mention of the artist or the variety, though I’m sure you can find this information in the hard copy of their magazine. I can’t make out the foliage all that well, but I’ll guess that it’s a Yew (Taxus baccata?). Bonsai Focus magazine lives on the cutting edge (no pun intended) of contemporary bonsai and is among the most outstanding bonsai magazines anywhere. It’s a quick click to their website and a trip worth making. Once there, in addition to enjoying some very … Continue reading Focus on Bonsai

Flowering Bonsai – Choosing the Best Angle

This looking-up-into-the-tree shot, shows off the powerful trunk, excellent nebari, good branching and taper from bottom to top. If you wanted to accentuate the flowers, you might shoot from a point considerably higher. I don’t know who this tree belongs to and an image search came up empty. How you chose to photograph a bonsai, makes a world of difference.* Without going into the obvious, like good lighting and a simple, uncluttered neutral background (bad photos are often worse than no photos at all), just the angle you chose can make a big difference. In the photo above a very … Continue reading Flowering Bonsai – Choosing the Best Angle

No, Tanuki Is Not Cheating

An exceptional tanuki (phoenix graft) juniper by Pierre Leloup. This tree is from a post we did four years ago. It was titled What Happens When an Artist Tries His Hand at Bonsai? The artist is of course, Pierre. Tanuki Bonsai – Is It Cheating? is the title of a post we did last week. I don’t think I’m particularly proud of the post. It led with a non-tanuki, attention grabbing Bougainvillea in full bloom and the title is deceptive; I don’t think tanuki is cheating. It’s just another bonsai technique, though it is frowned upon by some in the … Continue reading No, Tanuki Is Not Cheating

Tanuki Again & a Mind Stopping Bonsai Experience

This palatial planting by Pierre Leloup may have been the most talked about bonsai 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. There’s no way that a photo can capture the sheer size and splendor of this planting. Viewing it in real space is one of those mind stopping experiences. The photo is courtesy of Pierre Leloup and Sangi Louise Drolet, my Exhibition neighbors. Yesterday’s post was about the upcoming 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. In each of the two posts before that, the word Tanuki was part of the title. Which brings us to my friend Pierre Leloup who I met at … Continue reading Tanuki Again & a Mind Stopping Bonsai Experience

47 Years – An Exercise in Patience & the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

Here’s what Bill Valavanis has to say about this tree: “Happiness is finding a new much needed bud for a future branch on my maple bonsai! Now, lets see if I can encourage its growth. I only had to wait 47 years for this bud……” The tree is Bill’s famous old Shishigashira Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum ‘Shishigashira’). According to The Art of Bonsai Project, Bill started training this tree from a five year old container grown grafted plant in 1969. Another photo of a famous bonsai here on Bark. Nothing to get too excited about. Except that 47 years is … Continue reading 47 Years – An Exercise in Patience & the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

Wild & Wonderful Bonsai, but No Tanuki Please

A couple things qualify this bonsai as unusual. First, as you can see, it’s got all kind of lines looping and jutting in an almost chaotic fashion. But there’s a method to the madness. All the loops and juts not only add interest and excitement, but they come together in a way that creates both balance and tension. Second is the fact that it’s a Procumbens juniper. A species that you don’t see that often as specimen level bonsai. You do see a lot of dwarf Procumbens as little beginners’ trees here in north America, but that’s another story. Yesterday’s … Continue reading Wild & Wonderful Bonsai, but No Tanuki Please

Tanuki Bonsai – Is It Cheating?

This colorful full bloom Bougainvillea bonsai has nothing to do with Tanuki (that’s below). It belongs to Rick Jeffery and the photo was taken at the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. It came to us via Bonsai Mary’s newsletter. Just two seemingly unrelated bonsai photos today. The common thread is Bonsai Mary (Mary Miller). Mary lives in Florida and writes mostly (but not exclusively) about tropical bonsai on her excellent blog. Mary also offers an equally excellent newsletter which you can sign up for on her blog. This photo of Randy Clark’s Juniper is from an article on Bonsai … Continue reading Tanuki Bonsai – Is It Cheating?

More Dramatic Bonsai then Back to the Real World

It’s the pot stupid (just kidding and no offense intended)! Actually, it’s the pot and the tree. A perfect match. The artist is Yang, Kuo-Yin. The tree is a Malpighia glabra. Up against it today, so we’ll show you three more trees from the 2007 Taiwan Bonsai Creators 10th Exhibition booklet (this time with black backgrounds) and tell you about our FREE Green Dream bonsai fertilizer giveaway (see below), and then back to the real world. Three things jumped out with this one: the pot, the trunk and last but not least, the highly refined ramification (branching all the … Continue reading More Dramatic Bonsai then Back to the Real World

Wild Horses, Dramatic Bonsai, but No Snow!

That’s a tiny horse standing on a rock cliff. Which begs the question, do wild horses ever venture onto rocky cliffs, or do they avoid them? My guess is the later, but in this case it makes for a little more drama in an already dramatic and perfectly arranged scene by Li, Hung-Chien. The trees are Premna microphylla. The other day we featured a dramatic juniper bonsai by a Mr. Chiu Chung Cheng, a Taiwanese bonsai artist. It had been a while since we’d shown any bonsai from Taiwan and if you know Taiwanese bonsai, you know just how spectacular … Continue reading Wild Horses, Dramatic Bonsai, but No Snow!