Strolling Through Walter’s Backyard Bonsai Garden

Well, we know it’s a pine, but we could only guess the variety and we’ll forsake guessing today (your guess is as good as mine) Seeing the trees photographed at home on their benches is a different experience than seeing them when they are photographed in a studio setting. All the photos shown here are from Jennifer Price’s timeline. The only text provided is… “Discussing trees in Walter Pall garden today….. We’ll leave the rest to you (no guessing or researching today) FALL POTTING SPECIAL ENDS SUNDAY 25% OFF LIST PRICES ON ALL HIGH IMPACT PLASTIC BONSAI POTS 25% OFF … Continue reading Strolling Through Walter’s Backyard Bonsai Garden

Our National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, an American Treasure

This famous old Japanese white pine is one of the most powerful bonsai anywhere. You can find it at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. As always. the photo, though enticing, doesn’t begin to do justice Overslept this morning and then had to deal with delivery of 127 boxes of Bonsai Aesthetics wire (about 7,000 individual rolls of wire in 3 sizes: 100gram, 500gram & Kilo rolls), so we’re already way behind schedule. Time for our archives. This one is from Bark’s first month in existence (Feb, 2009) Next time you are in Washington DC, don’t miss the opportunity to visit our exciting National … Continue reading Our National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, an American Treasure

Simplicity, Elegance & More than a Little Skill…

Simplicity, elegance and more than a little skill is expressed in plantings like this and the one below. Often Penjing landscapes will include a whole range of items, both manmade and natural. In this case we have only three trees and what looks like three rocks, or rock clusters. And of course the elegant long thin white penjing tray (white trays are common, especially with waterscapes) I found the two Penjing landscapes featured here on Pham Thái Bình’s timeline. It’s not clear who the artists are, though the caption for the one above says with Dang Nguyen Van, though there are reasons to believe Dang is … Continue reading Simplicity, Elegance & More than a Little Skill…

Bonsai Hedge Cutting Method

The Japanese maple that Walter Pall uses to illustrate his ‘hedge-cutting method.’ This photo was taken four years after Walter started working with this tree. The before photo is below Continuing with Walter Pall… we originally ran this post on Walter’s hedge-cutting method in 2013, but it’s so good that it’s worth another look I first learned about hedge shearing bonsai from Jim Smith (sadly now deceased), a highly respected American Bonsai Artist and grower who worked primarily with tropical and sub-tropical bonsai. Because Jim lived in Florida, I figured that hedge shearing was only used in the tropics or sub-tropics, due to rapid rates … Continue reading Bonsai Hedge Cutting Method

Roshi Tools 30% to 40% off Special Ends Tonight – Roshi Bonsai Tools Are Famous for Precision, Durability, Beauty & Great Prices

Our selection of over 50 high quality and affordable Roshi Bonsai Tools come in both stainless and high carbon steel, and right now our Stainless Roshi tool are 40% off list and our Cabon Steel Roshi tool are 30% off list ROSHI TOOL SPECIAL ENDS TONIGHT 40% OFF ALL ROSHI STAINLESS BONSAI TOOLS 30% OFF ALL ROSHI CARBON STEEL BONSAi tools SPECIAL ENDS FRIDAY, AUGUST 10th at 11:59pm EDT Our famous Roshi tools are known for precision, durability and beauty and very reasonable prices – now even more reasonable – When I fist saw Roshi tools I was struck by their beauty. Then, when … Continue reading Roshi Tools 30% to 40% off Special Ends Tonight – Roshi Bonsai Tools Are Famous for Precision, Durability, Beauty & Great Prices

The Evolution of Bonsai

This photo and the others shown here are from a post by Ryan Neil titled, Bald Cypress #1, Evolution I recently found these photos and an eye opening story by Ryan Neil on his Mirai blog. It’s titled Bald Cypress #1 Evolution. Ryan’s story touched on American trees and American bonsai and how they can’t be judged except on their own terms. But rather than me trying to explain, here’s part of what Ryan wrote… “Bald Cypress #1 embodies the diversity of landscape and form Mirai strives to explore through our trees. Its rapid taper, flat-topped foliage, and overall Dr. Seuss-esque form demands … Continue reading The Evolution of Bonsai

Bonsai Superlatives

I’m running out of superlatives. How about… ‘somewhere north of magnificent.’ My only question is, could the pot be a little bigger? By Hsieh, Shun-Chin of Taiwan Continuing with spectacular Ficus bonsai… Though the Taiwanese aren’t alone, a large dose of creative bonsai energy seems to be emanating from that unique island. And it’s not just Min Hsuan Lo and Cheng, Cheng-Kung, they have plenty of talented company. If you want some evidence, check out the Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibitions FALL POTTING SEASON SPECIAL 25% OFF LIST ON ALL HIGH IMPACT PLASTIC BONSAI POTS 25% OFF LIST ON ALL BONSAI SOIL … Continue reading Bonsai Superlatives

More Ficus Bonsai – Amazing Roshi Tool Special Ends Friday

Finest Tropical Bonsai & Finest Accent Plant. The tree is a Tiger bark Ficus (Ficus microcarpa) by Hoe Chuah. I’ve cropped this lead photo to show just the tree (a photo showing Soon Chuah’s companion is just below and a photo of the tree with the companion is below that). The first three photos in this post are from Bonsai Empire. Continuing with our 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition theme from yesterday and our Ficus bonsai theme from the day before. And of course, our encouragement for you to visit the 6th U.S. National next month A family that does … Continue reading More Ficus Bonsai – Amazing Roshi Tool Special Ends Friday

6th U.S. National – Bonsai on a Steady Upward Curve

This award winning dwarf Japanese garden juniper (Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’) belongs to Creighton Bostrom of Waxhaw, North Carolina. The photo is from the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. You can find it and all the other trees in the Exhibition Album. The same goes for the 4th Exhibition (the albums for 1, 2 and 3 are out of print) Thanks to Bonsai Empire for the photos shown here (and for identifying the varieties and the owners). They just made my job easier. And of course, thanks to Bill Valavanis and all the kind folks who put together the previous U.S. National Bonsai Exhibitions … Continue reading 6th U.S. National – Bonsai on a Steady Upward Curve

Elevated Company

The sheer power of this magnificent tree places it in elevated company. It’s a 50cm (20″) tall Ficus microcarpa by one of our favorite South American bonsai artists, Nacho Marin of Venezuela. The pot is by John Evans of the USA. Yesterday we featured a Ficus from Taiwan, so picking up that thread… and because I’m still on mini-vacation, we’ll take the quick path This one originally appeared here in May, 2015 Though this post was inspired by Nacho Marin’s powerful Ficus (above) and though Nacho is South American, when we start looking at Ficus bonsai we seem to circle back to Taiwan NEW FALL … Continue reading Elevated Company