Bonsai Flowers, Snow & Nasty Bugs

ume770Japanese Flowering apricot (Prunus mume). This would be a remarkable tree even without the flowers. With the flowers... well, you can see for yourself. The tree resides at Bonsai Aichien in Japan.

Speaking of snow & winter, we seem to be entertaining a nasty flu bug in these parts. I’ve been down for a couple days, so if you’re wondering why we’re a little slow answering emails, and why we’re resorting to recycled photos (February, 2014), now you know. 

Both the photos here were posted on facebook by Juan Andrade who is (was?) an apprentice at Bonsai Aichien and a great source of excellent bonsai photos.

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Bonsai Aichien Nursery. This photo could almost pass as black and white with the snow and the diminished light. BTW: have you ever noticed all the power lines in photos from Japanese nurseries?

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An Old Bonsai New Year

B1MOTpenjing1

This brilliant penjing by Robert Steven appeared in one of our earliest posts (way back in 2009). It's from Robert's book Mission of Transformation (now out of print)

In three days we’ll turn the digital page on another year of brilliant bonsai and occasionally intelligent comment. On behalf or my two hard working compatriots; Ric Walter (the heart and soul of our warehouse) & Barbara Patitucci (our all-accomplishing jack of all trades) and all the other good people who are part of the Stone Lantern family -Fedex drivers, postal workers, our vendors and countless others who keep our gears oiled –  I would like to wish you a Cheerful, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

The photos you see here are from a New Year’s post we did six years ago. All three feature the artistry of our old friend and colleague Robert Steven.

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Carl-Morrow-Simulated1This simulation of a Trident maple is from one of our earliest critiques by Robert Steven (September 2010).

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Newyear1

Robert's digital card from six years ago...

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Happy Bonsai New Year!

taxus1

Just couldn’t resist posting yet another yew (there have been several lately). This time it's an English yew (Taxus Baccata) by Stefano Frisoni.

It’s almost 2018 and there are countless loose ends to tie up, so with time being precious, we’ll dig up part of a December 2012 post with some trees that I particularly like. Meanwhile, may you and yours enjoy a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! And thank you for helping to make 2017 a happy bonsai year.

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Nice tree. Fantastic pot!  Eleven years from stump by Mariusz Komsta (a regular here on Bark). I originally guessed that it was an Ilex and of course, I was wrong. Fortunately, our old friend Jose Luis set me straight. It's a Silverberry (Elaeagnus).

 

This Shimpaku planting on a slab is also by Mariusz Komsta. Though I can’t tell for sure, my guess is that this is two separate trees, rather than a twin-trunked bonsai. In any case, I like the way the trunks complement each other with their similar deadwood and live veins. I also like the way the open space between them.

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I haven’t seen that many real Myrtle bonsai and of the ones I have seen, this one, that belongs to Mauro Stemberger (another regular here), is by far the most impressive. Though the flowers aren’t necessary to appreciate the tree, they add a nice touch.

 

2016Calendarmaple

This sumptuous Japanese maple is from our 2016 Bonsai Calendar.

 

CA16jun

Another small piece of our 2016 Bonsai Calendar. Speaking of, our 2018 Bonsai Calendar is sold out but we still have some 2018 Japanese Garden Calendars at more than 50% off.

the best deal of all

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Weeping Bonsai & Old Men Drinking

weep2

Weeping tree with sitting man and pond. This tree and some of the other trees shown here, when viewed in scale, look like weeping willows. I doubt that they are however, as willow leaves would be much too large for these plantings.

You don’t see that many good weeping bonsai. I think there’s a good reason for this… they take a lot of work to develop and maintain in a way that keeps them in scale and natural looking. Unless you can find small weeping trees with leaves and branches that are already in scale. Because we know nothing of the source and the varieties (see below), we’re not sure if this is the case.
Continued below…

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weepisland

Except for the missing man, this one is similar to the one above and looks like it might be the same variety tree.

Unfortunately, I can’t find our source for these photos. I pulled them from facebook not too long ago and carefully saved the link, and now it has vanished. So my apologies to someone for not attributing their photos.

 

weepman

The man is back but the tree is clearly a different variety. And of course, it must be winter with leaves gone

weep3

Another tree that looks a lot like the first two. More men though. From here it looks like there are two men seated - probably drinking sake (or the Chinese version of sake) and debating some key calls in the 1927 world series. The third man, who is standing is no doubt a kibitzer.

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weepflowers

Weeping with red flowers and what looks like a unique pot.  I don't know what those two little three pointed things are

weepb&w

Old black and white photo with one lonely man and five bamboo braces? Those strange little faces and the writing that appear to be on the pot are superimposed (they're on all the photos except the one at the top)

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Happy Green T Bonsai Holiday!

image001

It might be too late to wake up to a Green T under your tree, but it's not too late to treat yourself to this transformative turntable.

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GTTRIDENT

Brilliant Trident maple and Green T

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Holm oak with sabamiki, Green T and tools

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Holiday Bonsai Delights!

Lo-500x374

We originally posted this magnificent tree by Min Hsuan Lo exactly 7 years ago today (sorry, I don't know the variety Now I do thanks to Clinton Scott... it's a Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis)). Anyway, it's worth another look and the time is right

All of today’s photos are from Min Hsuan Lo’s Bonsai blog and they all appeared here exactly 7 years ago today. That’s a great thing about bonsai of this magnitude… they are already so old and so well developed that seven years might as well be yesterday

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58033_471845377524_82869747524_6213223_5861172_n-500x375

I've always appreciated a good partial bonsai shot. Not only are the best ones artistic in their conception and execution, but they sometimes emphasize features that you might otherwise miss

 

min

The same tree in all its glory. Ficus microcarpa by Min Hsuan Lo.

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Happy Bonsai Solstice!

snow31

I don't know if this qualifies as a Christmas tree, but it does give you a pretty good idea of what northern Vermont looks like this time of year.

I hope you and your loved ones are enjoying a relaxed Holiday Season and that you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (a day late), Sweet Solstice (today) and whatever you might celebrate.  And of course that you enjoy a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year

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If you’ve been around for a while, you might recognize the photos shown here. Busy with a thousand loose ends, so rather that put together a new post, I borrowed this one from 2013 (with a few revisions)

The Spring Bonsai Season is coming soon

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Holiday Shipping News for Stone Lantern

fedex-ground-truck-courier1

Tomorrow, Wednesday, December 20th is our last shipping day before Christmas. Orders placed by noon EST on Wednesday will be shipped on Wednesday. Order placed after noon EST Wednesday, will be shipped on Tuesday, December 26th when we resume shipping

Thank you for your continued support and may you and your loved ones enjoy a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah (or whatever Holiday you might celebrate) and a Happy and prosperous New Year.

Wayne, Ric and Barbara

 

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Walter’s Wild Bonsai

walter2

Even the most jaded collector has to be amazed when they stumble upon a tree with this much character. I found it in Walter Pall's conifer gallery. Walter calls this species European spruce rather than the more commonly used Norway spruce. Either way, it's a Picea abies

Continuing with our yamadori (bonsai collected from the wild) theme… The three bonsai shown here represent a small sampling of Walter Pall’s huge conifer collection. Because it’s our next to last shipping day before Christmas, I don’t have time to wade through Walter’s conifers to try to identify the next two trees. However, you’re always welcome to do your own research
Continued below…

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I like the scaly bark at the tree's base, a sure sign of age. And then there's the deadwood root (how often do you see that?) and just the overall natural feeling of the tree.

Walter Pall has long been a strong proponent of what he calls ‘naturalistic bonsai.’ To my eye, all three trees in this post speak to that naturalistic sensibility. If you’d like to explore Walter’s thoughts on this subject, all you have to do is go back a bit into our archives.

The foliage is a little fuzzy and too far away to really tell, so when it comes to variety, your guess is as good as mine

*Because we have no control once a package leaves our warehouse, we cannot guarantee arrival dates. Carriers are overburdened this time of year, so even their promised delivery dates can be unreliable

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Wild Bonsai from Up Near the Tree Line

pp

A great tree with a long story of a rugged life spent on the side of cold snow burdened mountain. Somewhere up near the tree line and far from the cushy life of domestically grown bonsai

A little change of pace today; a rugged mix of yamadori (collected from the wild) pines. We originally found them at Amics Del Bonsai Corbera and featured them here last December. None are identified. Nor are their owners.

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pine2

Another tough yamadori pine. To my eye, this one and the one above are about as good as it gets. Both express an expert eye, masterful technique and respect for the natural way of the tree

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p3

A powerful but somewhat more conventional looking Japanese white pine.

 

p4

Another rugged yamadori pine

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