Before & After – Antes y Despues

Before and after Itoigawa juniper (Juniperus chinesis ‘itoigawa’) by David Benavente. It helps to start with a magnificent tree. Still, this takes nothing away from the considerable skills of an artist like David Benavente. In fact, bringing a great tree back to shape and taking it to the next level is one of the things that defines a highly accomplished bonsai artist. Sticking with our reoccurant Before & After theme, today’s Itoigawa juniper is one of several remarkable Before & Afters (Antes y Despues) that David Benavente posted several years ago. By the way, if you’re confused about the difference between Shimpaku, Kishu and Itoigawa, here’s something from … Continue reading Before & After – Antes y Despues

Floating Clouds

Here’s an unusual tree for your enjoyment. Or, for your criticism if you feel the profusion of small foliage pads (floating clouds) is unnatural. Personally I don’t have a problem with it. It’s rich and full of energy, with all those intriguing little pieces that hang together so well. The kind of tree you could look at for a long time and still see some feature that you missed. It belongs to Hsiu Yang, one of Taiwan’s many great bonsai artists. It’s obviously a Juniper, but no species is given. Just one tree today. I borrowed the photo above from a post we did in September, … Continue reading Floating Clouds

Before & After Root-Over-Rock Black Pine Bonsai

Root-over-rock Japanese black pine by Suthin Sukosolvisit. No major restyling, but what a striking improvement. Sutin’s caption reads simply… “Japanese black pine 2011-2013” The original before and after photos are from Suthin’s timeline A big part of learning about bonsai involves transforming rough stock into beautiful, or at least passable bonsai. However, it’s equally important to do the periodic work necessary to keep a bonsai beautiful, or soon enough it will return to its rough state (or worse). Allowing a tree to just grow on its own for a while is essential to its health, and bringing it back into shape after this period of unrestrained growth is also … Continue reading Before & After Root-Over-Rock Black Pine Bonsai

A Second Look

Fluidity and power. If you’re not into the highly styled look, then you’re probably not crazy about this tree. But it might be possible to take a second look with some effort to relax any notion of what a bonsai should look like. When I do this I see an impressive work of art (in this case at least), though admittedly you’d never see a tree in nature that looks quite like this one. It’s was posted on facebook by Minoru Akiyama, one of Japan’s many outstanding bonsai artists. No species is given, but Shimpaku juniper is probably a safe … Continue reading A Second Look

$100.00 Bonsai Detective Contest

Tree number 1 in our Bonsai Detective Contest Here’s a simple contest to amuse you while you wait for the spring growing season The prize The prize is a $100 gift certificate to Stone Lantern and recognition of your brilliance here on Bonsai Bark What you have to do to have a chance to win Provide the species and owner (and/or artist) and a link to your source for at least 8 trees (better to have all 10 if you can) email me wayne@stonelantern.com with Bonsai Detective in the subject and with your well organized answers listed in the body of the email. Be sure to put BONSAI DETECTIVE in the subject line. Continued below… Roshi Bonsai … Continue reading $100.00 Bonsai Detective Contest

Freeze Damage in Bonsai & Other Woody Plants

This now famous bonsai planting resides at the North Carolina Arboretum. The photo was put up on the Internet Bonsai Club forum by Arthur Joura. The caption reads “This planting is one of a small handful in our bonsai collection that consists entirely of plant material that can tolerate the extremes of winter, and so it remains on the bench, on display in the Bonsai Exhibition Garden all through the year.” The statement ‘can tolerate the extremes of winter’ makes sense if you live someplace like North Carolina, but less so if you live someplace like Vermont. Thanks to a … Continue reading Freeze Damage in Bonsai & Other Woody Plants

30% to 40% off Yoshiaki Japanese Bonsai Turntables

Japanese white pine on a Yoshiaki Bonsai Turntable. If you think you’ve seen this tree before, it might be because we featured it a few weeks ago. Courtesy of Bill Valavanis. NEW BONSAI TURNTABLE SPECIAL* 30% to 40% off list on Yoshiaki Japanese Bonsai Turntables 3 Days Only – Now is your chance *special does not include Hydraulic Green T Turntables Heavy Duty Bonsai Turntable by Yoshiaki 13″ The very best non-hydraulic turntable list price 195.00 NOW ONLY 129.00 – and, at the other end of the spectrum… Mighty Mouse Bonsai Turntable by Yoshiaki 8″ small but strong – great … Continue reading 30% to 40% off Yoshiaki Japanese Bonsai Turntables

Bonsai Berries and Other Winter Delights

Nothing like brilliant little berries to brighten things up in this white winter deep freeze we’ve been ‘enjoying’ lately (it’s 11am and my thermometer says -9F). The translation of Katsumi Komiya’s caption for this tree says simply… “Plum” I did quick online search and didn’t come up with a match for a plum with fruit this small, but if you really want to know, my guess is you might find it with a little perseverance. And it might help not to take plum too literally. Today’s bonsai all belong to Katsumi Komiya and there’s plenty more where these came from (you guessed it… facebook) OUR BRILLIANT SITE WIDE … Continue reading Bonsai Berries and Other Winter Delights

An Impressively Massive Japanese Maple Bonsai & an Equally Impressive Japanese Garden

This impressively massive Momiji (Japanese maple), perched on its Green T Turntable, belongs to Jean-Paul Polmans. Today’s post is mostly about Jean Paul Polmans‘ extraordinary blending of powerful bonsai and beautiful gardens, and just a bit about our powerful and beautiful Green T Professional Turntables. Continued below… Extended One Day OUR BRILLIANT SITE WIDE SALE has been extended until 11:59pm EST January 1st Almost Everything Discounted Some Items as much as 70% off List Prices SALE ENDS AT 11:59pm EST, TOMORROW, JANUARY 1st The entryway into Jean Paul Polmans’ Japanese style garden and bonsai collection. I borrowed this photo and the one below from Andys Shohin … Continue reading An Impressively Massive Japanese Maple Bonsai & an Equally Impressive Japanese Garden

Bonsai Flowers, Snow & Nasty Bugs

Japanese 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 … Continue reading Bonsai Flowers, Snow & Nasty Bugs