Bonsai in the Palm of Your Hand

The trunk on this sturdy little tree reminds me of any number of massive yamadori Junipers we’ve seen (and featured) from the mountains of western North America. Difference is, there’s no way they’d fit in the palm of your hand Yesterday, was Haruyosi. Today it’s Haruyosi and soon enough it will be Haruyosi again… Roshi Tool Special ALL ROSHI BONSAI TOOLS NOW 25% TO 40% OFF OUR LIST PRICES ROSHI SETS THE STANDARD FOR AFFORDABLE HIGH QUALITY BONSAI TOOLS Another sweet Shimpaku. A favorite of Haruyosi And another… This one is already in a bonsai pot. And just … Continue reading Bonsai in the Palm of Your Hand

A Bonsai Artist’s Legacy

Look familiar? It’s Amy Blanton’s Rocky Mountain Juniper (with Mike Blanton in memoriam). The same tree that was the 3rd place finisher at the Artisans Cup. This photo* was taken at the 2015 North Carolina Bonsai Expo after a quick cross country trip. This post was going to be about the recently completed 2015 North Carolina Bonsai Expo, but somewhere in the process, a story about a particular tree, a bonsai artist’s legacy and his wife’s devotion took over. We’ll get to the Expo another time, meanwhile I would like to invite you to visit a post on Ryan Neil’s … Continue reading A Bonsai Artist’s Legacy

Straight Up & Tightly Bunched

Is this one of the best Ginkgo bonsai photos you’ve ever seen? A couple things that stand out for me (in addition to the overall quality of the tree and the photo) are the brilliance of the new leaves and how that brilliance is reinforced by the green moss, the green pot and even the little green buds all over the trunk. I borrowed the photo from Bill Valavanis’ blog, Welcome to My Bonsai World. You don’t see that many Ginkgo bonsai. My guess is that this is because they are limited in terms of what you can do with them. … Continue reading Straight Up & Tightly Bunched

Finding Great Rosemary Bonsai Is Easier Said…

You’ve probably never seen a Rosemary bonsai that looks quite like this one. To my eye the deadwood and the way the branching and foliage are styled is reminiscent of an old yamadori Shimpaku from Japan. This remarkable tree belongs to Peter Warren. It originally appeared on Peter’s Saruyama blog (and then in a Bark post from last year). Below, there’s another version of the same tree, also from Peter’s blog. We led off our last post with a Rosemary bonsai, so in an effort to keep going in that direction, I just spent about an hour online looking for … Continue reading Finding Great Rosemary Bonsai Is Easier Said…

Sweet Bonsai – Still Fat and Happy

Sweet tree, phenomenal pot. The little tree is a Pyracantha coccinea Roem by Haruyosi. The pot is also by Haruyosi. All the trees and pots in this post are by Haruyosi. Yesterday it was Flowing quince bonsai by Haruyosi. Today it’s Pyracantha bonsai by Haruyosi. Five trees, two varieties. All flowering. There are two common names for Pyracantha: One is Pyracantha (it’s not that often the Latin name and common name are identical) and the other is Firethorn. Either way, and as you can see, they make good bonsai (especially miniature bonsai); both the leaves and flowers are small and … Continue reading Sweet Bonsai – Still Fat and Happy

My Ficus Is Eating Its Pot

Sketch of a Podocarpus. This drawing is from Adam’s Art and Bonsai Blog as are the other drawings and the photos in this post. This morning I stumbled up a blog called Adam’s Art and Bonsai Blog. It’s by Adam Lavigne and the focus is primarily growing tropical and sub-tropical bonsai in Florida (Adam tends to range over a variety of related and unrelated stuff but he always comes back to bonsai). I’m surprised it took me so long to discovered Adam’s Art and Bonsai. It has been around since December 2011 and Adam has posted regularly and extensively. We’ve nabbed … Continue reading My Ficus Is Eating Its Pot

One Scots Pine, Four Bonsai Pots

One Scots pine, four pots. Do you have a favorite? We found these images on the National Bonsai Foundations facebook feed. They originated with Boon Manakitivipart (Bonsai Boon). Over the years Boon has put up several ‘which pot do you prefer’ posts, some of which have appeared here on Bark along with numerous other posts featuring Boon’s Bonsai. So, without further ado, which pot do you prefer? If you’re ambitious you might tell us why. Pot number 1 Pot number 2 Pot number 3 Pot number 4

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There Are No Rules (but What About Guidelines?)

Same tree, better photo. The original caption from a post two years ago started with: “Snakes. From Estação Bonsai on Facebook. I couldn’t find any mention of the artist….” We were none the wiser until someone offered this in the comments: “The first sabina juniper you mention is from Patrick Cremers..” Once we had a name it was easy to find the new photo (the original is below). However, I can’t tell if Patrick is the artist, the photographer, or just someone who posted this photo (confused yet?). Here’s a link if you’d like to explore further. We’re a little … Continue reading There Are No Rules (but What About Guidelines?)

Winners! Part 1

The National Award, Finest Bonsai Masterpiece. American Elm. Suthin Sukolosovisit. We might as well start at the top. Not only is it a great broom style bonsai and the award couldn’t have gone to a more accomplished bonsai artist, but it’s the leaf size that must have caused a double take by anyone who knows American elms (see below). Bill Valavanis has posted all the winning bonsai from the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, so there’s really no need stay here unless you want to suffer through my remarks (and view photos that were slightly enlarged to fit our format). … Continue reading Winners! Part 1