Dwarf Kingsville & Other Boxwood Bonsai

You can tell this is a genuine Dwarf Kingsville boxwood by the tight tiny leaves. This planting by Boon Manakitivipart was the winner of the Certre Award at the 2010 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Let’s touch back in with boxwoods for a moment (see our post from two days ago). This one originally appeared in September of last year. This post was inspired by an article on boxwoods in Bonsai Mary that sheds some light on the rampant confusion about dwarf boxwoods and particularly, what is and what isn’t a Dwarf Kingsville. Here’s one of the photos from Bonsai … Continue reading Dwarf Kingsville & Other Boxwood Bonsai

Bonsai-San

Two powerful trees from the European Bonsai-San 2015 Show. We lifted all the photos shown here* from Bonsai Empire (something we’ve been doing for a long time). They are from the just completed European Bonsai-San 2015 Show in Saulieu France. Oscar at Bonsai Empire wrote the following: “We thank Stephanie and Frederic Chenal for organizing and allowing us to film the exhibit. Visit their website here. Feel free to share these photos, but please mention the source. Thanks!” We don’t have any information on the artists or the owners of any of the trees shown here, though Oscar offers an … Continue reading Bonsai-San

A Bonsai Artist’s Legacy

Look familiar? It’s Amy Blanton’s Rocky Mountain Juniper (with Mike Blanton in memoriam). The same tree that was the 3rd place finisher at the Artisans Cup. This photo* was taken at the 2015 North Carolina Bonsai Expo after a quick cross country trip. This post was going to be about the recently completed 2015 North Carolina Bonsai Expo, but somewhere in the process, a story about a particular tree, a bonsai artist’s legacy and his wife’s devotion took over. We’ll get to the Expo another time, meanwhile I would like to invite you to visit a post on Ryan Neil’s … Continue reading A Bonsai Artist’s Legacy

A Collection of Famous Bonsai in a Lovely Outdoor Setting

Atlas cedar with shadows at the Pacific Bonsai Museum WHOOPS Let’s make that the National Bonsai Museum in Wash DC. From the John Naka collection. Photo by Jonas Dupuich (Bonsai Tonight). By now most of you have been flooded with great photos from the Artisans Cup (with more to come). What you may not have seen are photos from Cup sponsored tours to the Pacific Bonsai Museum with its collection of famous bonsai in a lovely outdoor setting. All the photos below (with the exception of the 5 styles) were taken by my childhood friend Michael Wells. The photos of … Continue reading A Collection of Famous Bonsai in a Lovely Outdoor Setting

Bonsai U.S.A. & Beyond

Picasso’s (aka Dan Robinson’s) now famous wild and wonderful Hinoki. It’s from Will Hiltz’ most excellent book, Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees, about Dan’s life and work. BTW, it’s just back in print and available at Stone Lantern. Back from the west coast very late last night and swamped with catch up so, we’ll borrow from our vast archival store once again. This one originally appeared July 4th, 2013. Independence Day. It seems appropriate for our post Artisans Cup recovery period as some of the trees are by artists who displayed at the Cup and one is by Ryan Neil himself. … Continue reading Bonsai U.S.A. & Beyond

A Breakthrough U.S. Bonsai Event & Credit Where Credit Is Due

Ryan Neil’s massive Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii). This (pick your adjective) tree was not part of the bonsai display area, but rather sat alone in an inner lobby that you passed through on the way out of the display area. There’s no way that you can appreciate just how massive it is, and though I didn’t think to pace it off at the time, by memory (a risky proposition at best), I’d reckon that it must be about six or seven feet (approx 2 meters) across. A thanks and a tribute to Ryan Neil and friends for the just completed … Continue reading A Breakthrough U.S. Bonsai Event & Credit Where Credit Is Due

The Cup, Cork Bark Bonsai & Collecting from the Wild

Backcountry Bonsai doesn’t show any Ponderosa bonsai, so we borrowed this yamadori Ponderosa pine from Ryan Neil’s Mirai, American Bonsai. There are signs of what some people might call corking (see the close up at the bottom of the post), but I don’t think Back Country Bonsai would qualify it as a cork bark Ponderosa. Tonight is the opening of the Artisans Cup. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed that we’ve been resurrecting posts that have something to do with Oregon and more specifically (though sometimes indirectly,) the Cup itself. This works for me as generating new posts while … Continue reading The Cup, Cork Bark Bonsai & Collecting from the Wild

Great Trees & Vivid Closeups

It’s not that often that you’ll find a tall tree like this with great lower branching. When you do, and in the right hands, the result can be striking and quite unique. It’s a Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) that belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). We don’t normally repost from just four months ago, but I’m on my way to the Artisans Cup (with a little stopover in San Francisco), so why not? Don’t worry, I won’t bug you about going if you haven’t made plans. It’s getting late and the case has already been made. Repeatedly, including yesterday’s post. … Continue reading Great Trees & Vivid Closeups

Point Your Car Toward Portland Oregon

Only Mother Nature. There is no way anyone will ever grow a tree quite like this magnificently wild Rocky Mountain juniper. Taking this a step further, there is almost no way anyone will ever be able to collect and style a tree like this, though there are a handful of people who have the requisite skills and knowledge. In this case, it’s a combination of two who share the skills and knowledge: Randy Knight found it, collected it and made sure it survived the trauma, and Ryan Neil styled it, potted it and currently keeps it alive and well at … Continue reading Point Your Car Toward Portland Oregon

Bonsai Under American & African Skies

This Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. glauca) is one of numerous extraordinary bonsai at Ryan Neil’s Mirai American Bonsai (near Portland, Oregon). It was originally collected in the Rocky mountains by Randy Knight. It’s age is given as 10-250 100-250 years. Height is 36″ (91cm), width 52″ (132cm). Time has a funny way of slipping by while we dither, and it would be a shame if you let the Artisans Cup come and go without signing up and booking your trip to Portland. Before you dither any further or just dismiss the idea altogether, when was the last time you … Continue reading Bonsai Under American & African Skies