The Front Yard of the Same Brilliant Bonsai Garden

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Today it's Harmut Muenchebach's spectacular front yard. Yesterday it was the back

We were going to move on from yesterday’s post until I stumbled upon the photos shown here. Now the picture of Hartmut Muenchenbach’s magical Bavarian bonsai garden is a little closer to complete. Though the photos here are by Walter Pall and Jennifer Price (just like yesterday’s), we found them at a place called Bonsai Mag

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this special ends Wednesday (tomorrow) night at 11:59pm EDT

 

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The happy bonsai/landscape artist in his rather amazing front yard

 

har2When I first saw the photos above and the ones from yesterday, it was the landscaping that caught me. It was clear that Harmut's bonsai collection was impressive, but to my eye his bonsai graced his landscapes. Now, after seeing more photos and taking a closer look, it's obvious that Harmut is in possession of an amazingly large and magnificent bonsai collection and though it's true that his bonsai grace his landscapes, it's equally true that his landscapes serve to present his bonsai...

 

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... and ultimately, the two are one... a masterful work of horticultural art

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Brilliant Bavarian Backyard Bonsai Garden

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Harmut Muenchebach's brilliant Bavarian backyard bonsai garden. It wouldn't be hard to indulge in a little envy here, but better to just enjoy.

Just stumbled upon these brilliant photos of Hartmut Muenchenbach’s magical Bavarian backyard bonsai garden. They’re from a post on Walter Pall’s timeline titled Jennifer Price at Hartmut Muenchenbach’s. The only other text says This is in Bavaria, Germany.

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Impressive tree in an impressive garden

 

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A closer look at the tree's details

 

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A strong tree and a great rock make for an impressive cliff planting. BTW, that's a lot of tree growing off that rock and a lot of weight to that side (notice how the soil runs all the way down the cascading trunk). The pot must be fastened to the platform

 

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Walter (left), Jennifer and Harmut

 

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A little closer for facial recognition

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A Unique Bonsai Art – Wire Sale Ends Tonight

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This is what you can do if you have the right stock, a great slab and a good eye. The planting belongs to Heinz Leitner (If you'd like to know more about the trees, visit our original post from last year). The slab is by Erik Križovenský. Once you've seen Erik's distinctive looking slabs and other bonsai containers (for lack of a better word) you'll be able to spot them anywhere.

This post* started out with some photos of a unique bonsai forest on an equally unique cement slab (it’s a special frost-resistant cement) and ended with a photo of an even more unique arch (also cement) that serves as a slab of sort. In between is a dramatic cement bonsai pot of sorts. All three, slab, pot and arch are the handiwork of Erik Križovenský, a highly skilled craftsman with a artist’s imagination… I guess that makes him a cement artist

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Summer. Too bad about the slab being cut off, but you get the idea.

 

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Early fall

 

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An upright container by Erik Križovensk.

 

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Tony Tickle's bonsai on books with a radically concave slab and almost no soil. As you can now tell, the slab or whatever you want to call it, is by Erik. The photo is from a 2015 Bark post (originally from Tony Tickle's Bonsai & Yamadori blog).

*this post originally appeared here in March, 2016, though much of the text is new

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Why Every Bonsai Lover Needs to Make a Trip to the Northwest

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This lovely bonsai lives at the Pacific Bonsai Museum near Seattle. We borrowed the photo from their website. I cropped some text and other images out of the original image (below).

I love the Pacific Bonsai Museum. Not only do I love the idea of a museum devoted 100% to the art of bonsai, but I also love this particular 100% bonsai museum. The setting is beautiful, the trees are among the best and the devoted and knowledgeable staff host a series of exciting events.

Continued below…

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"American landscapes, painted by contemporary artist Iuna Tinta, serve as artistic representations of a bonsai’s indigenous ecosystem. Trees from Pacific Bonsai Museum are joined with those of bonsai artists Scott Elser, Michael Hagedorn, Randy Knight, Ryan Neil, & Dan Robinson, all of whom champion the use of native trees as bonsai." Quoted from the Museum website.

 

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If you've been following us for a while, you'll recognize this tree. Here's quote from a previous Bark post... "This magnificent old Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis) lives at the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Washington State. A not-to-miss experience if you're ever out that way. Though the distinctive split trunk needs no comment, you might also notice the highly developed ramification (fine branching). The tree was donated to the Museum by Ben Oki."

 

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This will give you some idea of how the bonsai are displayed and the lovely setting.

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p2100% art of bonsai includes Kusamono of course. "Completing each display are accent plantings by kusamono artist Young Choe and bonsai potter Vicki Chamberlain. Native plants from the featured habitats fill each container which themselves are made from minerals collected from the same region." Quoted from the Museum website

 

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A piece of Elandan Gardens from one of several Bark posts devoted to this blending of Dan Robinson's famously rugged, natural bonsai and jaw dropping scenery. Elandan is an easy 40 min drive from the Museum.

After you’ve spent a day (or longer) at the Museum you can make the short trip to Dan and Diane Robinson’s Elandan Gardens, another bonsai treasure with a magnificent setting. And you might not want to miss Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market and some of the most varied and tasty oysters anywhere in several nearby restaurants.

 

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Michael Hagedorn (Crataegus Bonsai) reworked this Sierra juniper (grafted with shimpaku) in a refinement session at the Pacific Bonsai Museum, way back in 2009 when it was still the Weyerhauser Bonsai Collection.

Speaking of the Northwest, we haven’t forgotten Crataegus Bonsai, Bonsai Mirai and other notables in the Portland area, (Portland is a pleasant 2 hour and 40 minute drive from Seattle). But we’ve done Portland numerous times already and we’ll no doubt do it again.

 

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Starting Monday, May 8th, Stone lantern
will initiate the following changes

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These changes will allow us to keep our prices down and
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Thank you for your continued support

 

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern
Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern
Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

Old Bonsai & Ancient Trees

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This magnificent Juniper bonsai is said to be 800 years old, which makes it a very old bonsai. But not the oldest bonsai we know of and nowhere near the oldest living tree in the world. It resides at Kunio Kobayashi's Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. We borrowed the photo from Bonsai Empire.

Getting another late start and the sun is shining (you’d be surprised how few sunny days we have here in Vermont) so time to get outside. All this is an excuse for recycling this post from March of last year.

The tree below is called Old Tjikko. It originally gained fame as the world’s oldest tree, but that seems a bit of a stretch. Though its DNA may be over 9,500 years old, I wouldn’t say that it’s the oldest tree in the world. Instead, it’s the oldest known living clonal Norway Spruce. Continued below…

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oldest-tree-old-tjikko-sweden-18Old Tjikko. This lonely Norway spruce (Picea abies) is said to be 9,500 years old. But the trunk you see in this photo is only a few hundred years old.

The following quote is from Wikipedia. “The age of the tree was determined by carbon dating of genetically matched plant material collected from under the tree, as dendrochronology would cause damage. The trunk itself is estimated to be only a few hundred years old, but the plant has survived for much longer due to a process known as layering (when a branch comes in contact with the ground, it sprouts a new root), or vegetative cloning (when the trunk dies but the root system is still alive, it may sprout a new trunk).” Wikipedia has a lot more to say and if you’re like me, you’ll find the whole story fascinating.

 

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This rugged little Bristlecone pine was posted on facebook by Jean-Paul Polmans. Bristlecones are considered by many to be the oldest living trees in the world. According to Wikipedia, the oldest Pinus longaeva is more than 5,000 years old (Pinus longaeva is one of the three Bristlecone species). Bristlecones live their long lives in the remote, high altitude, semi-arid mountains of the western U.S.

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Oldest living bonsai? Here's a quote from Bonsai Empire "This Ficus Bonsai is reported to be over a thousand years old; the oldest Bonsai tree in the world. It is the main tree on display, at the Crespi Italian Bonsai museum." I'm not sure about the oldest bonsai in the world part, but it's no doubt very old and very impressive. If the photo looks familiar, it might be because we've shown it before (or because it's a rather famous tree).

 

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"This juniper is tested to be more than 1000 years old, collected in the wild in Japan. It is still a rough material, as it is in training. It is at the Mansei-en bonsai nursery of the Kato family in Omiya, Japan. Photo by Morten Albek." I borrowed the photo and the quote from Bonsai Empire.

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Old World Bonsai Plaza

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This Shohin Trident maple is one of a large group of bonsai displayed on a plaza in Treviso, Italy.

Getting a deplorably late start this morning, so we’ll take a quick journey back three years to a unusual post about some Bonsai on an Italian plaza. I have no idea if it was a one-off situation or they’re still displaying bonsai there to this day. 

I think this the first time we’ve featured bonsai on a plaza. In Italy, or for that matter, anywhere. The displays belong to Barbazza Bonsai. The city is Treviso. You can visit Barbazza on facebook or on their website. Or, best of all, you could go to Italy.


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BarWhat could be better, sidewalk cafes, old world architecture and bonsai?

 

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Another great bonsai and architecture shot. Looks like Treviso is an old walled city.

 

bar4And then there are the ubiquitous men on horses with their grey-green patina (and pigeon droppings) contrasted with brilliant fall colored bonsai.

 

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An old Yamadori pine with a terra cotta tile roof (another ubiquitous feature in southern Europe).

 

bar2One more plaza shot (with other common features in the background).

 

Wire Sale also ends tonight
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30% to 40% off 100 gram Bonsai Aesthetics Wire

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Nice Tree, Spectacular Pot & Other Small Bonsai Wonders

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Nice tree. Spectacular pot. This shot is from the just completed World Bonsai Convention. I cropped the original (see below) to eliminate some background noise.

Staying with the World Bonsai Convention theme, though this time it’s all Shohin (small trees). I can’t read the name of the person who took these photos, but here’s your link.

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Judging by the photos I've seen so far, it would easy to surmise that at least half the trees at the Convention were either Shimpaku junipers (like this one) or pines.

 

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Lilac?

 

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Another Shimpaku

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Kamuna Japanese Azalea Soil

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Close up

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Japanese white pine

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A closer look at the pot (and the base of the trunk)

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Trident maple. Exposed root style

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Your guess is at least as good as mine

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The uncropped original of the tree at the top of the post

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Close up of the spectacular pot

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A small slice of the vendor's section

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More Great Bonsai Shots from the WBC

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Cork bark pine with lightning bolt. I cropped this photo to eliminate background noise while emphasizing the tree and scroll. The original photo (below) and the rest of the photos in this post were taken by Boon Manakitivipartat at the just completed World Bonsai Convention.

The last few days we’ve been featuring shots from the World Bonsai Convention, which ended yesterday. There’s no good reason not to continue… after all some of the very best bonsai in the world were there.

All the photos in this post were taken by Boon Manakitivipart, an influential American bonsai artist and teacher who we’ve been following here on Bark for a long time.

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boon7

There were no captions with Boon's photos, but it's easy to see that this is another Cork bark Japanese black pine.

I did some minor cropping on most of the photos to eliminate background noise. And, as you can see, I also cropped a couple photos to show off some details.

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A closer look at the corky bark. My apologies for the fuzz

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Shimpaku of course

 

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This closeup zooms in on the fluid living vein and its contrast with all that wildly expressive deadwood.

Speaking of Pines & Junipers…
B1-SET-JUNPINE-2

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an excellent value at full price
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list price for the set 64.90
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Another Shimpaku

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Is this an Ezo spruce?

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The uncropped original of the photo at the top of the post

Bonsai Wire Sale
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30% to 40% off 100 gram Bonsai Aesthetics Wire

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