Today Is a Good Day to Hug a Bonsai… or even a Local Bonsai Friend

You may have already seen this magnificent landscape Penjing. Here on Bark, on Bill Valavanis’ blog or any number of other places. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist (or a bonsai master) to figure out why it’s so popular. All the photos in this post were borrowed from Bill Valavanis Bonsai Blog. Today is the big day. World Bonsai Day, a celebration of the art of bonsai that originated with the World Bonsai Friendship Federation. World Bonsai Day is held annually on the second Saturday of each May (you can check out yesterday’s Bark post for some background). … Continue reading Today Is a Good Day to Hug a Bonsai… or even a Local Bonsai Friend

Clip-and-Grow – Back to Bonsai Basics

You can see the large scar from the first cut on this powerful old Chinese elm (Ulmus parviflora). If you follow the trunk up a ways, you can see the change of direction where the second cut took place, though you can’t see a scar from this view. This tree appears in the 1st U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album.* It was started from a large collected tree in China. The owner/artist is Melvyn Goldstein. The fuzzy image is due to enlarging to fit our newer format. It’s full tilt spring around here now. Digging and potting season in all its … Continue reading Clip-and-Grow – Back to Bonsai Basics

Putz Pines & Pots

The rugged and somewhat worn look of the pot mirrors the well-aged bark and overall rugged feel of this European black pine (Pinus nigra Austriaca). All the photos in this post are from Wolfgang Putz’ Bonsaigalerie (a click well worth making). It’s archive time again… Sunday morning, sunny in Vermont and I need to get outside. This post originally appeared in August 2012. The time is ripe This isn’t the first time we’ve featured the bonsai of Wolfgang Putz, but it’s the first time since our original backyard bonsai feature (way back in 2009) that we’ve dedicated a whole post … Continue reading Putz Pines & Pots

One Bonsai Contest, Two Winners

You may remember this tree, but maybe… …from this angle. Way back on April 232rd we posted a blog titled Win Our $50 Japanese Red Pine Bonsai Contest (& Wire All the Way Out to the Tips). The contest had two parts. Rather than repeat the details here, I’ll just invite you to take a look for yourself. Without further ado, your winners are… Winner #1 is Brian Fields. He sent a link to the photo at the top of this post (from Peter Tea’s blog) almost immediately after the contest was posted. Brian got in just under the wire; … Continue reading One Bonsai Contest, Two Winners

Just for Fun – A Short & Sweet Bonsai Gallery

Bill Valavanis just put this remarkably brilliant Seigen Japanese maple up on facebook (with a value added short story). Just got back from two day trip with some catching up to do, so we’ll make this one a short and sweet three tree gallery (by three of our favorite bonsai artists). Suthin just put this Shimpaku and friends up with “Just for fun” as a tag line. BTW Though most people know him as just Suthin, his whole name is Suthin Sukosolvisit. Robert Steven put this distinctively thin tree up a few days ago. You don’t see slant … Continue reading Just for Fun – A Short & Sweet Bonsai Gallery

Which Pot Do You Prefer?

These four images were borrowed from Juraj Szabó on facebook. Juraj lives, works and plays in Slovakia. The tree is a Shimpaku juniper (Juniperus chinensis sargentii). Juraj doesn’t say where the pots came from, though a couple look like they might be either Tokoname or Yixing pots. Most of our previous Which Pot? posts have been lifted from Boon Manakitivipart, so it was nice to discover one from someone (and somewhere) else. Nothing against Boon’s offerings, he puts on a world class facebook bonsai show, just a nice change of pace. A couple details: First, it’s best if you put your … Continue reading Which Pot Do You Prefer?

A Remarkable Bonsai, Two Questions & the Boreal Forest

The inspiration for this post arouse when I stumbled upon this remarkable tree on facebook. It belongs to Colin Lewis. Here’s his caption: “Colorado blue spruce, acquired 2008 from Harold Sasaki. Styled 2011-2012. Pot custom made by my old friend Dan Barton, 2013. I’m letting it grow this year to refresh some old congested areas. Maybe I’ll show it in 2016…” I’m going digging for Tamarack (Larch – Larix laricina) tomorrow, so thought I’d resurrect this post from last November that shows some trees that were collected here in the U.S., including the Tamarack forest you see below. Le raison … Continue reading A Remarkable Bonsai, Two Questions & the Boreal Forest

Back on His Feet – Isao Omachi Four Years Later

2015. Not only is Isao Omachi back on his feet, but it seems like he hasn’t missed a beat. This magnificent Shimpaku juniper is a pretty good example of what he’s been up to since the Tsunami (I don’t know who made the scroll, but it’s not so shabby either). I cropped the photo for a closer look at the tree and scroll. You can see the whole display below. It has been four years since the devastating Japanese Tsunami. Those of you who were following Bark, Bill Valavanis, Marco Invernizzi or others in our world bonsai community, remember Isao … Continue reading Back on His Feet – Isao Omachi Four Years Later

Win Our $50 Japanese Red Pine Bonsai Contest & Wire All the Way Out to the Tips

A mystery tree and a little contest (below). This is the second time for this Japanese red pine, even though we still don’t know who the artist is. The photo turned up on Michael Bonsai back in 2012. I’m guessing it lives in Japan, but I’ve searched Japanese red pine bonsai high and low and can’t find it. The contest: the first person to email me valid information on this tree that is not from Bonsai Bark or Michael Bonsai with a link as proof, will win a 25.00 gift certificate to Stone Lantern. If you include the name of … Continue reading Win Our $50 Japanese Red Pine Bonsai Contest & Wire All the Way Out to the Tips

Staying on Message: A Few More Tips on Defoliation

Here’s Juan Adrade’s English caption for this photo. “Partial defolation on one of the grandfather trees. Close to 100 yrs old.” Here’s his Spanish caption: “Defoliación de las ramas exteriores en uno de los tridentes del abuelo de mi maestro. Este arbol posiblemente se acerca a los 100 años.” Here’s our translation of the Spanish: “Defoliation of the exterior branches of one of my teacher’s Trident maples. This tree is probably about 100 years old.” You might notice the part about exterior branches in the Spanish. This would indicate that Juan is trying to redirect energy away from the outer … Continue reading Staying on Message: A Few More Tips on Defoliation