A Well Traveled, Hard Working Bonsai Artist

Bjorn Bjorholm posted this root-on-rock gem the other day. It looks like a juniper, but I can’t tell for sure what kind and won’t bother to guess. Speaking of guesses, I’ll venture that some or all of the trees might share a single root system, and that the rock formation is manmade. I cropped this photo to eliminate background noise. A version that shows the whole planting is just below. Bjorn Bjorholm has to be one of the most well-traveled and hard working bonsai artists anywhere. At least that’s the impression I get from his posts on facebook. Speaking of, stay posted … Continue reading A Well Traveled, Hard Working Bonsai Artist

Before & After Bonsai, Artists & Philosophers & the Strangest Cat Video I’ve Ever Seen

Here’s a fairly simple maintenance before and after. I found it on Mariusz Janusz Komsta’s timeline. Here’s Mariusz’s caption… “Taxus Stavrakos – good job Stavros Stavrakis, from now it can be only better – refinement of dead wood, new pot, more density and clean trunk needed … in the near future” Mariusz Komsta’s caption above provides a few answers about this tree and raises at least as many questions. First, as you may know, Taxus Stavrakos is not a Yew species (though the tree is a Yew). More like a little joke on Mariuzs’a part. Second, when I followed the link provided, … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai, Artists & Philosophers & the Strangest Cat Video I’ve Ever Seen

Monster Demo Bonsai on a Monster Hydraulic Turntable

That’s famous bonsai master, Kunio Kobayashi on the right, getting ready to tackle his monster demo tree. And yes, that’s a Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntable gamely holding the behemoth up. The after shot is below It’s Saturday, a good day to catch up mowing, weeding and trimming outside. Not bonsai (who mows bonsai?) but just our landscape gardens. Anyway, to save time, we’ll resurrect this post from a couple months ago. It’s a bit of an infomercial for our popular Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntables, but the photos are still very good. Time to pay another visit to the recent … Continue reading Monster Demo Bonsai on a Monster Hydraulic Turntable

The Whole Bonsai Setup – Trees, Tools & Wire

I like this photo. In addition to the rather spectacular tree, there’s the whole setup, with tools and wire that tells us something about the place where this tree was styled and the means by which it was styled. Here’s the caption with this tree… “What 6 years of work, a beautiful environment and a great photographer Jill Moors can do …” I always get a little jolt when I discover a new (for me) bonsai artist. In this case the artist is Yannick Kiggen. Yannick calls his bonsai endeavor YAMA Bonsai Studio. We’ll just scratch the surface here and encourage … Continue reading The Whole Bonsai Setup – Trees, Tools & Wire

Spectacular Demo Trees at the 2017 World Bonsai Convention

Isao Omachi, his just finished demo tree and a Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntable at this year’s World Bonsai Convention Today it’s time to drive from the Central Coast back to SF, so I hope you don’t mind if we dig back into our archives. It’s a recent one (May 12th) and a bit of an infomercial, but the photo are still very good. Time to pay another visit to the recent World Bonsai Convention. This time it’s about the demonstrators, their demo trees and the heavy lifting, omnipresent Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntables – the quiet stars … Continue reading Spectacular Demo Trees at the 2017 World Bonsai Convention

Still Searching for the Perfect Nebari

Stewartias often have strong nebari and this one is no exception. This photo is from a post we did back in July 2014. I didn’t know who the artist was then and I still don’t know. I tried Image Search, which recognized that it’s a Stewartia, but didn’t find this particular tree. This post is a continuation of yesterday’s Bottoms Up! More Nebari How-to. which was taken in part from In Search of the Perfect Nebari – part four, a 2009 Bark post. (In Search of the Perfect Nebari parts four and five are from Bonsai Today issue 64). The … Continue reading Still Searching for the Perfect Nebari

Famous Bonsai Artists, their Demo Trees & the Omnipresent Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntables

Bonsai Master Masahiko Kimura’s rock planting perched on a Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntable at last month’s World Bonsai Convention Time to pay another visit to last month’s World Bonsai Convention. This time it’s about the demonstrators, their demo trees and the heavy lifting, omnipresent Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntables – the quiet stars of the show. Continued below… 2 Day Fertilizer Sale Ends Tonight 40% off our large selection of Bonsai Fertilizers two thing to know… 40% off is a lot… …and don’t blink this special ends tonight (Friday) at 11:59pm EDT That’s famous bonsai master, … Continue reading Famous Bonsai Artists, their Demo Trees & the Omnipresent Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntables

Field Grown Bonsai that Look Like Wild Trees

After. This sweet little Shimpaku and the one below were posted by Bjorn Bjorholm. The before photos for both trees are at the bottom of the post. Just spent late yesterday digging Larches (they’re called Tamaracks around here) on a friend’s land, and now I need to get them into the ground right away, so we’ll save time by borrowing from our archives. This one originally appeared August, 2014. Before I make another mistake and look foolish in the process, here’s my disclaimer for this post: I don’t know for a fact the origin of the bonsai shown here. Much … Continue reading Field Grown Bonsai that Look Like Wild Trees

Monster Maple on Fire

Shishigashira Japanese maple on fire at Kouka-en. Yesterday was a one photo post. Today it’s a one tree post (with several photos). I found this powerful old Japanese maple on Bjorn Bjorholm’s feed. Bjorn is featured here on Bark regularly. He also has a website (just a click away). Kouka-en is also worth a visit if you have a little time on your hands. Continued below… Site Wide Sale Ends Tomorrow Night 20% to 25% off Everything* Don’t get caught napping! Sale ends Wednesday, Dec 14th at 11:59pm EST We just added a couple dozen more items to … Continue reading Monster Maple on Fire

Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?

This dynamic Juniper jumped off its digital page on my daily bonsai hunt yesterday. In addition to all its movement, there’s those two perfectly placed foliage clouds. Their gentle downward motion and soft weight help tame the upward thrust of the deadwood. Bjorn Bjorholm’s caption for this Juniper reads: “Itoigawa Shimpaku styled in 2013 during my apprenticeship at Kouka-en.” Today it’s a few dynamic Itoigawa junipers for you. The beautiful & energetic beast above is from Bjorn Bjorholm’s facebook feed. I pillaged the others from our archives. Continued below… SITE WIDE SALE 20% TO 25% OFF EVERYTHING* Don’t Worry! We … Continue reading Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?