Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September

Only Mother Nature. There is no way anyone will ever grow a tree quite like this magnificently wild Rocky Mountain juniper. Taking this a step further, there is almost no way anyone will ever be able to collect and style a tree like this, though there are a handful of people who have the requisite skills and knowledge. In this case, it’s a combination of two who share the skills and knowledge: Randy Knight* found it, collected it and made sure it survived the trauma, and Ryan Neil styled it, potted it and currently keeps it alive and well at … Continue reading Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September

The Truth of Suffering – More Shattered Notions

It’s quite daring to create a bonsai exhibition full of surprising mixed media bonsai displays that introduce elements never before associated with bonsai (see our last post). It’s quite another thing to leap full force into social-political (even religious) commentary. Not something normally associated with bonsai and gratefully so for many I’m sure. Still, whether you like this kind of meta-themed supercharged bonsai display or not, there it was for a short while last October, for all to see. And here are some, but by no means all, of the displays that venture into this very virgin territory (some may … Continue reading The Truth of Suffering – More Shattered Notions

A Revolutionary Tour de Force that Will Shatter Every Notion You Ever Had About Bonsai Display

Halloween (the show was in October)? At first glance you might just see the tree and the cobwebs and miss the hands clutching (persenting?) the sculpted wooden pot. All the photos in the post are from Robert Steven’s 2014 International Bonsai Art & Culture Biennale. Coming up with a title that captures the sheer creative energy of the bonsai displays shown here wasn’t easy (Messing with Bonsai Convention in a Very Big Way was my second choice). Nor is writing about them (way too many hyped up adjectives keep trying to force their way in). I even thought about just showing … Continue reading A Revolutionary Tour de Force that Will Shatter Every Notion You Ever Had About Bonsai Display

Masters of Bonsai Technique

When I first saw this tree I thought it might be a Yew. But, the bark isn’t right, and even the foliage, though close, isn’t quite right either. Fortunately, Peter Tea solved the problem in his 2011 Taikan-ten Exhibition post. Peter’s caption reads: “This Yew Hemlock caught many peoples attention. It made sense that it took the prize for medium conifer. We don’t have any Yews here at Aichien because they don’t do well in the hot weather that we have in Nagoya.” As for the species, it turns out that there are two Hemlocks that are native to Japan … Continue reading Masters of Bonsai Technique

Michael’s Mountain Hemlock Clump After Some Serious Work & a Little Touch Up

January, 2015. Michael Hagedorn’s freshly touched up Mountain Hemlock clump. From Micheal’s Crataegus Bonsai blog. If you only had time to follow Bonsai Bark and one other blog, you wouldn’t go wrong with Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. I won’t bore you by repeating the praise we’ve already showered on Michael in previous posts, but I will encourage you to visit Micheal’s blog and to serious consider reading his highly enjoyable page turner, Post-Dated, The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk. 2010. Taking nothing away from Michael’s cheerful demeanor, or the planting, I think the best part of this photo … Continue reading Michael’s Mountain Hemlock Clump After Some Serious Work & a Little Touch Up

A Perfect Example of What Great Ramification Looks Like & a Series of Excellent How-to Illustrations

You have your own eyes so there’s no need for me to say much. Except that this photo appeared here on Bark last spring in a post titled The One Percent (.001 percent would be more accurate). It’s a Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) that received the coveted Kokufu prize at the 88th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition (the oldest and most prestigious bonsai exhibition in the world). Aside from its overall magnificence, this tree provides a perfect example of what great ramification looks like (made even more obvious by the bright rusty-red leaf buds). The photo is from the World Bonsai Friendship Federation. … Continue reading A Perfect Example of What Great Ramification Looks Like & a Series of Excellent How-to Illustrations

Bonsai Ramification and a Leap of Convoluted Logic

This Japanese hornbeam (Carpinus laxiflora) is from Bonsai Art’s facebook photos (from issue 129 of their magazine). I’ll let you provide your own superlatives. No artist’s name is provided on facebook or in the magazine for either of the trees shown here, but I’d bet they’re Japanese. Last week we did a post on ramification which states the following: “the thing that most separates Japanese bonsai from much of the bonsai in the West is refinement. With deciduous trees this is most obvious when you look at ramification (branch structure and particularly fine branch structure).” Based on the source (Bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Ramification and a Leap of Convoluted Logic

What’s Eccentric?

This wildly elaborate juniper bonsai is from Bjorn Bjornholm’s facebook photos. It’s a case where a darker background would work better, but borrowers can’t be choosey. Here Bjorn’s caption: “Procumbens wired and ready for its trip to Tokyo.” When I saw the photo above my first thought was… it’s been a while since we did a post on eccentric bonsai, so why not? On reflection however, the whole notion of eccentric is called into question. This has a lot to do with the sudden spread of bonsai throughout the world and the cross pollination made possible by easy travel and … Continue reading What’s Eccentric?

Masters of the Art of Refinement

We don’t usually feature photos with so much background noise. But this bonsai (Trident maple) is phenomenal and the photo has an artistic quality and gives you a sense of place (the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum). The thing that most separates Japanese bonsai from much of the bonsai in the West* is refinement. With deciduous trees this is most obvious when you look at ramification (branch structure and particularly fine branch structure). There are certainly other feature that express refinement, for example taper and nebari, but nothing expresses it more than the development of fine branching. All the bonsai shown here … Continue reading Masters of the Art of Refinement

360° Bonsai, No Hidden Flaws or Ugly Spots

Cheng, Cheng Kung starts with this view, so we’ll call it the front (south). I has been a while since we featured a 360 degree Bonsai. The tree shown here is from Cheng, Cheng Kung’s Si-Daio website (it’s been a long time since we featured Mr Cheng as well). If you visit Cheng’s Si-Daio you can watch the tree spin a full 360° circle. This 360° bonsai brings to mind an old discussion whether a quality bonsai should be attractive when viewed from any angle. No hidden flaws or ugly spots, no matter where you stand in relation to the … Continue reading 360° Bonsai, No Hidden Flaws or Ugly Spots