More Brilliant Bonsai in Full Fall Colour

The leaves on the table provide a nice touch in this photo of Harry Harrington’s English elm (Ulmus minor) in full fall colour*. From Harry’s bonsai4me website Continuing with fall colour*… Yesterday was shades of red. Today’s pallet is a bit more varied. All the trees and the pot below belong to our friend Harry Harrington. NEW SPECIAL Only 5.00 each for bonsai Today back issues ENJOY DETAILED HOW-TO INSTRUCTIONS BY THE OLD MASTERS our selection of back issues getting low and we are no longer replacing them We’ve shown this Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) before, but anything this brilliant is always … Continue reading More Brilliant Bonsai in Full Fall Colour

Bonsai of the Day

This dramatically undulating Japanese Maple in its spectacularly vivid full fall foliage splendor (blame it on too much coffee) resides at Showa Memorial Park in Japan. I stumbled upon it and some other mind popping photos on a recent post titled Bonsai of the Day by Oscar at Bonsai Empire. The only connection I can see that ties these photos together is none of them are shot with neutral backgrounds (my usual choice). This and the fact that I like the trees… but that applies to all the photos we post Kilo Bonsai Wire Special 14.95 FOR KILO ROLLS OF WIRE IS TOO GOOD TO … Continue reading Bonsai of the Day

Bonsai that Don’t Bust Your Bank Account & an Important Natural Phenomenon You Might Not Be Aware of

We’ve featured this tree before, but because I don’t think you’ll see many bonsai quite like it, it’s worth another look. Two photos just below show the natural phenomenon behind this type carving. The tree is a yew. The artist is Harry Harrington. All the photos in this post are courtesy of Harry Harrington, an artist who specializes in what you might call found bonsai (bonsai from the wild or from hedgerows and gardens or wherever else the original stock might come from that doesn’t bust your bank account). Harry is also the author of The Foundations of Bonsai, a book that explores the … Continue reading Bonsai that Don’t Bust Your Bank Account & an Important Natural Phenomenon You Might Not Be Aware of

A Very Variegated Unusual Bonsai

I think this unusual gem is the first variegated privet bonsai I’ve seen. Here’s what our source for this photo, Miguel Ros of Museo Tatsugoro said when he posted it… “It’s a Ligustrum with a natural graft of the same species. Its leaves are variegated!!!. It’s a beautiful tree.” (If you’re interested, here a link to what Wikipedia has to say about natural grafts.) When I stumbled upon this unusual tree on Miguel Ros Museo Tatsugoro timeline, I thought the variegated and the unvariegated leaves look a lot like leaves you might find on two different Serissa foetida varieties, but that the trunk is … Continue reading A Very Variegated Unusual Bonsai

Meandering Myrtles

Here’s the copy from our source (a Bark post last November titled Meandering Lines)… “This Myrtle (Myrtus communis) belongs to Andrea Albergo. The pot is by Greg Ceramics and the photo is by Harry Harrington. I chose it for the lead tree for several reasons; I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Myrtle with such a massive trunk (turns out I had), deadwood on most non-conifers isn’t all that common (though becoming more common) and I like the loose abstract meandering lines of the deadwood and living veins.” Yesterday we feature a very muscular Myrtle (Myrtus communis) for your viewing … Continue reading Meandering Myrtles

Before & After Bonsai – From Sow’s Ear to Silk Purse, a Remarkable 7 Year Transformation

Before and after of one Harry Harrington’s famous privets. Here’s Harry’s caption… “For completion, the large Privet bonsai defoliated, wood-hardened and re-styled last month, now back in leaf and ready to live out its days with its new owner near Birmingham (U.K.). Seen here in 2010 after I was given the tree when it was just a big lump of wood collected from a hedge, and now, 7 years later. Ligustrum ovalifolium/Privet bonsai, Height 16″/39cm, Trunk diameter 7″/17cm, Pot by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery” It’s amazing what seven years and a whole lot of skill and imagination can do. … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai – From Sow’s Ear to Silk Purse, a Remarkable 7 Year Transformation

Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Here’s what Harry Harrington has to say about this impressive tree, and in particular it’s recovery and transformation from what you see in the photo below… “This is probably the best example I have of the usefulness of anti-transpirant, an Itoigawa juniper bonsai that came to me in a very bad way a couple of years ago, and was sprayed with anti-transpirant once a month to reduce further moisture loss from the leaves while it recovered and grew new roots. (Second image is from just 6 months later after styling).” We’ve been featuring Harry Harrington a lot these days. Part … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Found Bonsai – Exceptional Trees from Humble Origins

Front left shot of a Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) that was collected in 2009 from an old hedge growing in West London. It belongs to Harry Harrington. The pot is by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery Most of the bonsai we feature start with aged, often highly developed (usually expensive) stock. From there to a show-worthy bonsai might require mostly refinement. In other cases more radical styling might be involved, but either way, when you start with superior stock, superior results are more likely. Conversely, most of Harry Harrington‘s (author of The Foundations of Bonsai) bonsai come from more humble origins… … Continue reading Found Bonsai – Exceptional Trees from Humble Origins

Bonsai Today & Deadwood Carvers Extraordinaire

Every time I open Bonsai Today issue 106 and lay my eyes on this wickedly powerful old English yew, my mind does a little double take. Like many stylized bonsai that we’ve seen over the last 30 years or so, it doesn’t look exactly like anything you’ll see in nature, but it certainly jumps off the page. It’s by Kevin Willson, bonsai artist and deadwood carver extraordinaire. Photo by Simon Carr. Today, I set out to put together a post on Harry Harrington, but got distracted by the Kevin Willson tree above. There’s a method to this madness; Harry has … Continue reading Bonsai Today & Deadwood Carvers Extraordinaire

Alien Bonsai or Just Some Unusual Tropical Trees?

I’ve never seen a bonsai quite like this. It would be unusual even without that long joining root and those stubby trees in the back. With these almost alien features, it stands alone as an one-of-a-kind bonsai. It is also the only photo in this group (from bonsai4me) to give the artist’s name (Richard R Gomez) and the type tree (Strebulus asper). Yesterday I woke up in Vermont. Today it’s Colorado. I could call it a vacation, but here I am working again. I’ll make it easy on myself though, by resurrecting a post from August, 2015 (Stumbling Upon Some … Continue reading Alien Bonsai or Just Some Unusual Tropical Trees?