Suthin Again

Suthin’s site calls this an Eastern white cedar which happens to be one of several common names for Thuja occidentalis (Northern white cedar is another, though around here we just call them cedars). To further complicate the issue, it’s not a true cedar, but rather an arborvitae. No matter, it’s a great tree. I particularly like the way Suthin hasn’t tried to manicure the natural looking cedar foliage. Makes for a raw and rugged look that’s in keeping with the rest of the tree. Everybody loves Suthin. When I was peddling our books and tools and other wares at the … Continue reading Suthin Again

Suthin Sukosolvisit: Shohin Artist Extraordinaire

Suthin Sukosolvisit. The old pro at work. From the album, World Bonsai Convention 2009 by Candy J. Shirey. One of the very best Suthin Sukosolvisit is one of the very best shohin artists working in the West. He and Dara (Suthin’s kind and gentle wife) own Royal Bonsai in the Boston area, though your chances of finding him there are probably no better than 50-50, as he travels and teaches extensively. In fact, if you are looking for a someone to lead a workshop, give a demo, or do individual tutorials, you won’t go wrong with Suthin. Bonsai Cafe All … Continue reading Suthin Sukosolvisit: Shohin Artist Extraordinaire

Back Savers #4: Suthin’s Shohin

Suthin Sukosolvisit shows some serious stuff (sorry) with this powerful shohin (small bonsai) display. This type multi-tree display is the way shohin bonsai typically appear in judged shows. Check out Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai to see the rules (written and unwritten) for shohin display. Suthiin Sukosolvisit I’ve long been a fan of Suthin’s. Not just because of his shohin (though he is best known for those), but because he shows mastery across a range of bonsai sizes and styles. Still, shohin is what this post is about, and when it comes to shohin, Suthin is one of the best artists … Continue reading Back Savers #4: Suthin’s Shohin

Time to Throw the Switch!?

This delightful creation by Sandro Segneri has nothing to do with the switch, though it is exciting and new just like our soon-to-be-live New Stonelantern Website First the switch … Sometime this weekend (or shortly thereafter) our NEW STONELANTERN WEBSITE will go live. I won’t say much more except it promises to be better than our old worn out and largely obsolete website by several orders of magnitude – Meanwhile you can still visit our old site and enjoy some very juicy discounts while they last – One more thing …when we do go live, you’ll have to sign in … Continue reading Time to Throw the Switch!?

Flowers, a Tiny Lizard & Other Bonsai Wonders

It’s almost that time of year. Here’s David Benavente’s caption… Rhododendron indicum “Shin Nikko” hoy, en plena floración (today in full bloom). 45x55cm (18″ x 21.5″) We’re still working on finishing touches for our soon-to-be launched new website. Stay posted, I think you’re going to like it. Meanwhile time is of essence so we’ll take our trusty old shortcut. This one is from May of last year. It’s been a while since we’ve featured David Benavente and his Estudio de Bonsái. It’s in Galapagar, Spain. Just outside of Madrid. The photos are from David’s timeline FOUR SPRING SPECIALS 25% OFF BONSAI … Continue reading Flowers, a Tiny Lizard & Other Bonsai Wonders

Bonsai Deadwood, Too Much or Just Right?

This unusual full cascade Juniper will no doubt put off some of our anti-deadwood folks, but to my eyes, it’s an expressive and dynamic tree. Cascade shots are normally taken from a point that shows the tree cascading down one side of the pot, but in this case the pot is hidden by the tree, which creates a whole different effect. Still busy putting finishing touches on our soon to be New Website, so we’ll take a short cut and dip back into our archives… All the photos shown here were taken by Andres Bicocca at the 2017 European Bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Deadwood, Too Much or Just Right?

Bonsai Forest Rock Plantings

That’s Ryan Neil’s hand (Bonsai Mirai) posing for a professional photo with a very large root-on-rock planting. Here’s his caption: “In the studio today with @hornbecker shooting for the Artisans Cup promotional material” (from 2015). He doesn’t say what the tree’s are. If you’d like to see the uncropped original, it’s here We’re on a bonsai forest binge these days, so let’s keep going. Though it’s questionable if you’d call these rock plantings forests, they do share the multiple tree and some of the landscape features you’ll find with more conventional bonsai forests BONSAI TURNTABLE SPECIAL TURNTABLES ARE ALL INDIVIDUALLY … Continue reading Bonsai Forest Rock Plantings

Thief Steals Over $100,000 Worth of Bonsai* Including a 400-year-old Shimpaku Juniper

This rare 400-year-old Shimpaku juniper was due to be entered in a Japanese competition this month Theft of anything is always shocking and doubly so when the missing objects are irreplaceable, one of a kind living items. When and if they are ever found, missing bonsai might be badly damaged or even dead. And the chances of ever finding them are often slim Here’s an except from our source WENY News (courtesy of Eugene Sekulow) … “A bonsai thief has stolen seven… trees worth at least 13 million yen ($118,000)* from a garden space in Saitama prefecture near Tokyo. “The … Continue reading Thief Steals Over $100,000 Worth of Bonsai* Including a 400-year-old Shimpaku Juniper

Before & After Root-Over-Rock Black Pine Bonsai

Root-over-rock Japanese black pine by Suthin Sukosolvisit. No major restyling, but still a striking improvement. Sutin’s caption reads simply… “Japanese black pine 2011-2013” The original before and after photos are from Suthin’s timeline Still on vacation, so we’ll simplify by borrowing from our archives. This one first appeared here almost exactly one year ago Continuing with before and after bonsai from two days ago… A big part of bonsai involves transforming rough stock into beautiful, or at least passable bonsai. However, it’s equally important to do the periodic work necessary to keep a bonsai beautiful, or soon enough it will lose its shape and start to look like … Continue reading Before & After Root-Over-Rock Black Pine Bonsai

Juniper Bonsai – Before & After

Before and after on an already established Juniper procumbens. By Naoki Maeoka Traveling today, so we’ll make this sort and sweet. It’s what you might call a maintenance before and after. The tree is already well developed and just needs and expert’s touch to bring it back to it former glory and perhaps elevate that glory some. The expert is Naoki Maeoka. Beyond that, we’ll let you fill in the blanks MID WINTER SITE WIDE SALE 20% OFF EVERYTHING PLUS AN EXTRA 10% TO 20% OFF ROSHI TOOLS see below – Before After ROSHI TOOL SPECIAL EXTRA 10% OFF 1 – 2 … Continue reading Juniper Bonsai – Before & After