Deadwood, Bark and Other Bonsai Fragments

I’ve long been fascinated by close ups. Shots that provided details that you sometimes miss with regular bonsai photos. Especially deadwood and bark details. Maybe it’s because both deadwood and bark tell stories about time, and time (or at least the illusion of time) provides much of the beauty and mystery of the best bonsai. All the photos shown here are by Salvador De Los Reyes. I believe that all but one of these photos are of his trees (here and here are couple earlier Bark posts that feature Salvador’s bonsai). You can view more photos of Salvador’s bonsai on … Continue reading Deadwood, Bark and Other Bonsai Fragments

Walter’s Fairy Tale Bonsai

Walter Pall just put this Oriental Hornbeam up on his Bonsai Adventures blog yesterday. I’m not so sure Walter would say the tree is as developed as he’d like, but it is at least well on its way. Especially considering it is one of his ‘Fairy Tale’ bonsai. A style that tends to have a wild almost primeval look. Walter Pall is nothing if not inventive. Don’t believe me (though I don’t know why you wouldn’t)? Here, here and here are a some pieces of evidence from posts found right here on Bonsai Bark. If you want more evidence, you … Continue reading Walter’s Fairy Tale Bonsai

A Famous Olive by a Famous American Bonsai Artist

This dramatic European olive forest on a rooted burl is by Melba Tucker. It’s borrowed from The National Bonsai Foundation‘s 2008 calendar. Winging it back to the ice palace today, so we’ll plunder our archives once again. This one dates way back to the Stone Ages (so to speak). January 2010 to be exact. Though it goes without saying This old gem (above) looks like a forest growing on a rocky ledge somewhere in Spain (or anywhere else olives grow) and, though it goes without saying, I’ll say it anyway: it’s one of the most wonderful, natural looking burl style … Continue reading A Famous Olive by a Famous American Bonsai Artist

Not All the Best Bonsai Are For Sale, But There Are More Than Enough If You Know Where to Look

This powerful pine was not one of the winners at the recent 2015 Kokufu en Bonsai Exhibition (widely considered the most prestigious bonsai exhibition in the world). In fact, it wasn’t even on of the entries. It was rather, one of hundreds (if not thousands) of amazing bonsai you might find in the sale area that accompanied the Exhibition. This photo and the other photos in this post are from Bill Valavanis Bonsai Blog. I am continually amazed how much Bill Valavanis accomplishes as a result of his lifelong bonsai passion. I won’t say much more except that you can … Continue reading Not All the Best Bonsai Are For Sale, But There Are More Than Enough If You Know Where to Look

Out of the Ice Palace and into Redwood Country

Off to a very good start. Though the branching is young and has a ways to go, the trunk, with its power and character bodes well for the future of this tree. You can find it along with other quality bonsai at Bonsai Smiths. Out of the ice palace and into Redwood country. Bolinas, California. A coastal enclave just north of San Francisco, yet separated by rugged coastal terrain and about forty years. BTW: it’s 60 degrees and sunny right now (not to torment my Northeastern friends, but it just can’t resist being said). As I mentioned, Redwood country. So … Continue reading Out of the Ice Palace and into Redwood Country

Red on Red & Delicate Spring Beauty

There are few things more delicate and beautiful than fresh spring Maple leaves (Trident maple in this case). This exquisite tree and exquisite pot are perfect expressions of the artistry of Haruyoshi. Up at 2:00am yesterday and slept fitfully on the plane. I’ll use the ensuing exhaustion as a excuse to dig into our archives once again. This one is from last April. It’s all Haruyosi, which ties in to some of our recent posts. The only hard part with a post like this, is figuring out which photo to show first (the one that shows up on facebook and … Continue reading Red on Red & Delicate Spring Beauty

Easy to Move and a Delight to Behold…

I think this one qualifies as Mame (‘bean’ in Japanese). Bonsai-wise, mame is a common word for the very smallest bonsai. When we originally posted this, I didn’t know who this lovely little bonsai belonged to. I’ve since been told that it is a Haruyosi tree. Strange how once you know something it’s obvious. And btw, the sweet little pot was no doubt made by Haruyosi as well. Oh, and I’m pretty sure the tree is a Pyracantha. On the road again (and out of the bone chilling cold for a precious minute) so we’ll go archiving once again. This … Continue reading Easy to Move and a Delight to Behold…

A Soft Spot for Tiny Trees

This remarkable little tree has a whole lot going in a very small space: three trunks, great branching, good movement, taper, nebari (more or less) and a well developed apex (tiny leaves don’t hurt either). Altogether, no mean feat. It belongs to Ipunk Bonsai Pasuruan, one of our ten million facebook friends. Beyond that, the only pieces of information listed are: sancang ny (I’m guessing Vietnamese) and SOLD. I have a soft spot for tiny trees. Especially tiny trees where scale is provided by hands and fingers. Almost everyday I scroll through ten thousand photos waiting for something to jump … Continue reading A Soft Spot for Tiny Trees

Paradise & Another Invitation from Toshio Kawamoto

My apologies for the fuzz. The original scan wasn’t that great and blowing it up so we can get a closer look has its advantages and drawbacks. We might as well plow forward with our resurrection of Toshio Kawamoto’s Saikei masterpeices. He called this one Land of Paradise which is a reference to the Pure Land buddhist tradition. We originally featured it in April of 2010. There are two things that jump right out about this one: First, the rocks. They are different than the wind and surf smoothed rocks in his other plantings and take us to a more … Continue reading Paradise & Another Invitation from Toshio Kawamoto

Paradise & Another Invitation from Toshio Kawamoto