Bonsai from the Wild

This famous American larch by Nick Lenz gives you a pretty good idea of why larches are valued for their yellow-golden fall foliage. The photo is from Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild, as are all the photos in this post. One more day on the road and one more post lifted from our archives (2009 in this case), though with serious editing and the addition of one photo and more text. Here in northern Vermont the common name for the American larch is Tamarack, though it has several other names along its entire coast to coast North American range, … Continue reading Bonsai from the Wild

Careful!

This sweet to look at, but otherwise nasty little bonsai is from Yorozu Shohin Bonsai Nursery in Japan. It caught my wary eye recently on a post by John Romano on Bonsai Study Group Forum. I’m going to assume that it’s an Asian Poison ivy (see text below). We’re busy with the Holiday rush amping up, so we’ll take the easy way out. This one originally appeared almost four years ago. It was titled “You Can Look but You Better Not Touch.” One genus, several species What follows is for those of us who get excited when we see Latin … Continue reading Careful!

Revisiting a Great Shohin Display & More

This Shohin display is from Suthin Sukosolvisit’s Bonsai Gallery. Every National Bonsai Exhibition has featured at least one these by Suthin. This year I challenged myself to pick out Suthin’s display as I walked into the Shohin section of the Exhibition. It was easy. Taking nothing away from some other wonderful displays, still, Suthin’s caught my attention from across the room. Leaving for short vacation today and pressed for time so we’ll dip back into our archives. This one originally appeared just over a year ago, right after the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Before any winners were announced. Though … Continue reading Revisiting a Great Shohin Display & More

A Range of Bonsai Varieties & Styles, Along with a Flair for Experimentation…

This raft style bonsai belongs to Tony Tickle. Most of Tony’s trees are labeled by variety, but this one simply says ‘Raft’ (I spent some time searching Tony’s site for more on this remarkable tree, to no avail). I’m guessing it’s a Larch (Larix) or maybe not (see below). We could go further and guess European larch as the U.K. where Tony lives and works is considered part of Europe (by most people, at least) and Tony seems to favor yamadori that are collected in Europe (he calls his site Bonsai & Yamadori from Tony Tickle). Looks like I might … Continue reading A Range of Bonsai Varieties & Styles, Along with a Flair for Experimentation…

Copper Wire & Bonsai Books

This luscious Satsuki azalea is one of a multitude of remarkable bonsai photos from the very aptly named, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. This post, which happens to be a near perfect way to roll out a new book sale, is borrowed from February of this year. There’s a theme to this large gallery and a method to our madness. Most of the photos are from bonsai books that we sell and all our books are currently 25% off (plus and additional 10% orders 100.00 or more). Gardening books are also 25% off. You can find this somewhat unruly … Continue reading Copper Wire & Bonsai Books

Still Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

This Itoigawa Shimpaku (Juniperus chinensis ‘itoigawa’) by Dougie Smith qualifies as opulent for sure. Outrageous? Well there is that huge rock jutting up from the skinny little (but very handsome) pot. As for outstanding; that goes without saying. Note: I don’t know what the smaller trees down low are. Maybe azaleas? Myrtle? This photo and the others in this post are by Philippe Massard, though I cropped them all to bring the trees closer. A quick two day vacation and another dip into our archives. This one is from February 2014. I picked it to show a second time, primarily … Continue reading Still Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

Remarkable Bonsai, Questionable Habits & Dubious Appetites

This luscious Satsuki azalea is one of a multitude of exquisite bonsai photos from the very aptly named, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. We don’t normally resurrect posts from just a few months ago, but there’s a method to our madness. Part of this is method is simply continuing to present the best bonsai we can find for your enjoyment. The other part is… You might want to fast forward this paragraph … we have to satisfy our sponsor with his questionable habits and dubious appetites. For this and other more practical reasons, we like to stimulate your appetite for … Continue reading Remarkable Bonsai, Questionable Habits & Dubious Appetites

One Larch, Four Bonsai Pots (plus one)

One American larch, four pots (plus the original pot below). All this images in this post were borrowed from Boon Manakitivipart’s facebook feed (the image above is a composite that we put together). Boon is at it again. This time it’s our prized local larch (Larix laricina). Around here we call it Tamarack (the Algonquian name that means “wood used for snowshoes”). No matter what you call it, it is in my opinion, by far the best local wild species for bonsai. Bar none. Which pot do you prefer? If you are ambitious, you might tell us why. (NOTE: So … Continue reading One Larch, Four Bonsai Pots (plus one)

A Multitude of Remarkable Bonsai Photos from Our Remarkable Bonsai Books (Book Sale Ends Tonight)

This luscious Satsuki azalea is one of a multitude of remarkable bonsai photos from the very aptly named, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. There’s a theme to this large gallery and a method to our madness. All the photos are from bonsai books that we sell and all our books are currently on sale at Stone Lantern. However, today is the last day of the sale. It ends at 11:59pm EST tonight, Wednesday, February 4th, 2015. You can find this somewhat unruly and very distinctive apple bonsai on the back cover of Nick Lenz’ landmark book on collecting, Bonsai … Continue reading A Multitude of Remarkable Bonsai Photos from Our Remarkable Bonsai Books (Book Sale Ends Tonight)

New Name, New Curator, Same Great Bonsai Collection

Simplicity. Elegance. Balance. Perfection. However you say it, this tree has it. The only thing that breaks up the perfect balance is the irregular nebari. Maybe that’s a good thing. It’s a Japanese beech (Fagus crenata). The artist is Yasuo Mitsuya of Toyochasi, Japan. This masterpiece and the rest of the trees shown here reside at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. The bonsai photos are all by Hoe Chuah. From the Bonsai, Penjing & More blog. We’ve mentioned that the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection has a new improved website. What we haven’t mentioned is they also have a new name and … Continue reading New Name, New Curator, Same Great Bonsai Collection