Shopping for Bonsai in Japan

I’ve always had a soft spot for three fingered Shohin bonsai (bonsai that are easily held with three fingers). Particularly ones from Japan, where most of the good ones seem to show up… at least in photos. This one looks like a Shimpaku juniper. It’s from Bonsái Pavía, as are all the photos in this post. Today must be my lucky day. Not only did I discover a new bonsai company (new to us at least), I also discover a never before used theme for Bonsai Bark… shopping for bonsai in Japan. The new company is Bonsái Pavía in Madrid, Spain. They’re the ones doing … Continue reading Shopping for Bonsai in Japan

Roots, Rocks & Summer Vacation

I love this tree. The texture and movement as it flows over the rock is perfect, and the fine ramification (branching) is excellent. Nice pot too. The photo is from the 2017 Kokufu Exhibition. No variety is given (the majority of great Japanese root-over-rock bonsai are Trident maples, but the ramification seems too delicate for a Trident, so your guess is as good as mine) Stone Lantern will be closed from July 28th to August 14th but you will be able to order during that time Orders received after the 3:00pm EDT, July 27th will be sent on a first come, … Continue reading Roots, Rocks & Summer Vacation

Full Cascade Before & After – Stone Lantern Summer Vacation

Here’s another routine maintenance before and after. As you can see, it’s a monster cascading Juniper. Just how ‘monster’ we don’t know, as there’s no size given. Nor is there a variety (looks a lot like a Shimpaku juniper) or an artist/owner Like yesterday’s post, this one is from BonsaiBaison. It’s part of a their series on before and after bonsai with high quality mature trees Stone Lantern will be closed from July 28th to August 14th (see below for details). Orders received after the 3:00pm EDT, July 27th, will be sent on a first come, first served basis, beginning on the … Continue reading Full Cascade Before & After – Stone Lantern Summer Vacation

Monster Demo Bonsai on a Monster Hydraulic Turntable

That’s famous bonsai master, Kunio Kobayashi on the right, getting ready to tackle his monster demo tree. And yes, that’s a Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntable gamely holding the behemoth up. The after shot is below It’s Saturday, a good day to catch up mowing, weeding and trimming outside. Not bonsai (who mows bonsai?) but just our landscape gardens. Anyway, to save time, we’ll resurrect this post from a couple months ago. It’s a bit of an infomercial for our popular Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntables, but the photos are still very good. Time to pay another visit to the recent … Continue reading Monster Demo Bonsai on a Monster Hydraulic Turntable

Rising to the Challenge – Another Before & After Bonsai

This radical before and after Sargent’s Juniper (Juniperus sargenti, aka Shimpaku) required technical and artistic skills you don’t see everyday. The artist is Salatore Liporace Staying with our before & after theme. This one is from our archives (August, 2014). It was titled Technical Skills, Great Vision & An Unsolved Mystery. The artist is Salvatore Liporace. My assumption at the time about the type tree was mistaken, so to avoid confusion, I’ve eliminated much of the text from the original post. This is an excellent example of a before and after bonsai. The before is full of challenges and promise (good stock is half the battle) … Continue reading Rising to the Challenge – Another Before & After Bonsai

Before & After – Same Artist, Another Bonsai

The striking results you see here involve the eye of an artist and the skill of a professional. In this case, Manuel Germade is both the artist and the professional. There’s no mention of the type tree and I won’t guess. The caption reads “Manuel Germade Bonsai Maintenance – Rocco Cicciarello (Italy)” I cropped the before photo to eliminate distracting background clutter (see below) Picking up where we left off with another before and after by Manuel Germade. Like yesterday’s post, Manuel takes on an already well established bonsai that has become overgrown. Also like yesterday, the process involves both ordinary maintenance and an upgrading of the … Continue reading Before & After – Same Artist, Another Bonsai

Before & After – Maintaining & Upgrading Quality Bonsai

This high quality bonsai provides an excellent example of a before and after, when the before is already a well established tree. The tree belongs to Yannik Kiggen (coincidentally, we just did a first time post on Yannick last month). The artist is Manuel Germade, another first timer here on Bark. Though the variety isn’t mentioned, it looks like a lot like a Yew (Taxus) Back to before and after. This time the tree is an already a well established bonsai, while the artist Manuel Germade, though perhaps also already well established, is new to us. Though there are many different types of before and … Continue reading Before & After – Maintaining & Upgrading Quality Bonsai

Dance, People, Bird & Other Innovative Bonsai

Selecting a lead tree isn’t always easy. Especially with so many good bonsai to choose from. I settled on this one partly because it’s a full cascade and good full cascade bonsai aren’t that common, and partly because of the tree’s overall relaxed feel; the unusual way the foliage seems draped across the top and just how loose all the foliage hangs. Not to say that its wild shape and extraordinary deadwood aren’t enough to make this tree worthy. But then most of Gede Merte’s bonsai show wild shapes and extraordinary deadwood. The tree is Pemphis acidula. A common plant … Continue reading Dance, People, Bird & Other Innovative Bonsai

Root Over Rock Bonsai with Sherlock Holmes

Not exactly root-over-rock, but more like root-next-to-small-rock. Still, simplicity contrasted with a wild shape and texture make for a striking bonsai. By the way, I did not commit the sin of chopping off the pot, though I did adjust the image to take out background noise. All three photos shown here were lifted a social meadia post titled ‘Bonsai Indonesia‘ by Silky Jemiran. Silky lists the owner of this tree as Zhylonk Kiakiz Alfarizhy. Sometimes tracking down the real owner of a bonsai that appears on social media requires the imagination and determination of a Sherlock Holmes. Even then, you … Continue reading Root Over Rock Bonsai with Sherlock Holmes

Flying Bonsai & Other Wonders

This fluid tree with its distinctive flying pot (by Erik Križovenský)is from Bonsai Do. The caption says with Tony Tickle (I visited Tony’s blog and couldn’t find it). There’s also this quote by Thomas Browne (it’s in Spanish on Bonsai Do, but here’s the original English): Art is the perfection of nature. Nature hath made one world, and art another. Here are some photos we captured from Bonsai Do on facebook. The good news is they have put together a impressive selection of photos along with some famous quotes. The bad news is that most of the trees aren’t identified … Continue reading Flying Bonsai & Other Wonders