Meandering Myrtles

Here’s the copy from our source (a Bark post last November titled Meandering Lines)… “This Myrtle (Myrtus communis) belongs to Andrea Albergo. The pot is by Greg Ceramics and the photo is by Harry Harrington. I chose it for the lead tree for several reasons; I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Myrtle with such a massive trunk (turns out I had), deadwood on most non-conifers isn’t all that common (though becoming more common) and I like the loose abstract meandering lines of the deadwood and living veins.” Yesterday we feature a very muscular Myrtle (Myrtus communis) for your viewing … Continue reading Meandering Myrtles

Even Though No Vacation Goes Unpunished, We’re Back & Ready for the Next Round

You almost never see Myrtles this massive. And when you do, they’re never from North America (go ahead, prove me wrong). This one is from Spain. It belong to Gabriel Bonsaisantboi Romero Aguade (something of a regular here on Bark). Here’s his caption… “After a day and a half removing inner leaves, it’s ready for a wire and correction.” We’ll just feature one tree today. I’m recovering from jet lag and worse, buried in two weeks of work (no vacation goes unpunished). Anyway, I’m back and Ric (our warehouse master) will be back and recovered from routine surgery on Monday Continued below… … Continue reading Even Though No Vacation Goes Unpunished, We’re Back & Ready for the Next Round

Monster Bonsai, True Confession & the Meaning of Life

It’s hard to tell just how large this monster is from this photo (cropped from the photo just below), but it does provide some notion of how massive the trunk is and a pretty good look at the details on the pot… In the past I’ve always managed to post in spite of being on vacation… which might beg a question about the meaning of vacation (maybe even the meaning of life). Anyway, this is my first post in almost a week, and – true confession – much of it is borrowed from a 2011 post that was titled Vacation Gallery. The original … Continue reading Monster Bonsai, True Confession & the Meaning of Life

Two Trees, Quick & Easy

The pot is cut off, but this lush Shimpaku with its strong shari and those expressive little jin, is okay without it… for the moment at least. This tree and the other shown here belong to Mariusz Folda. Mariusz’ bonsai are becoming regulars on Bonsai Bark I’m flying out West today, so we’ll make this one quick and easy. Just two trees with a close up of each. Both full sized photos are from Mariusz Folda’s facebook timeline. The cropping for the closeups was done by our crack Bonsai Bark staff (that’s me) Continued below… NEW LOWER PRICES ON BONSAI … Continue reading Two Trees, Quick & Easy

Soft & Squishy

Juan Andrade’s caption for this photo is… “Keto, mochi and wet cement. Soft and squishy was today’s theme.” We’ll skip the mochi and wet cement for now, and focus on the Keto. BTW: I don’t know if you noticed, but this is a very unusual tree (eccentric works)… one feature that stands out is the trunk’s horizontal thrust and then the sudden shift to vertical. This abrupt effect is softened by all the movement. In particular the way the live vein snakes along the deadwood and the curlicue vertical section. There are other striking peculiarities, but we’ll leave those to … Continue reading Soft & Squishy

Bonsai Art Techno Style – An Uprising of a New Generation?

I lifted these shots from a video that’s a part of an article from ABC Australia, titled, Japan’s ancient art of bonsai threatened by waning interest among youth. The embedded text – 30 minutes from scratch – might give some pause for thought. You may have heard some buzz lately about lack of interest in bonsai by Japanese youth. The other day I stumbled upon an article & video about this very topic, and what one person is trying to do about it. Though it’s never a bad idea to experiment and add some fresh inspiration to any established convention, … Continue reading Bonsai Art Techno Style – An Uprising of a New Generation?

Bonsai Art… As Art

Bonsai Art Magazine living up to it’s name… Not many words today. We’ll just show you some covers of Bonsai Art (and some of our sales, of course). As far as the aesthetics of bonsai goes, it’s my favorite magazine. Continued below… As long as we’re on the topic of quality bonsai magazines… Bonsai Today Sale Ends Tomorrow 40% to 50% off Bonsai Today Back Issues Each issue is rich in step-by-step how-to articles by the old masters 40% off 1-9 Bonsai Today back issues 50% off 10 or more back issues This may be your last chance for certain … Continue reading Bonsai Art… As Art

More Bonsai by Harry & Our Big Book Sale Ends Tonight

I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen Privet bonsai quite as spectacular as Harry Harrington’s. We’ve shown a number of Harry’s over the years, including this one, but it’s certainly worth another look. It’s in a handmade pot that was designed and built by Swedish potter Thor Holvila. Just wanted to give those of you who have pre-ordered Harry Harrington’s The Foundations of Bonsai a heads up. We expect it this coming week (but then we also expected it last week… international shipping has its quirks). By the way, we are still excepting pre-orders and now is the time… today is … Continue reading More Bonsai by Harry & Our Big Book Sale Ends Tonight

A Bonsai Pot that Set the Armies Marching

This powerful little Trident maple with its massive trunk and distinctive mottled soft blue pot deserves top billing. The photo is from a section on Takao Koyo in the Japanese Bonsai Pots Blog. This all started with a couple pots by Takao Koyo on Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai Blog. A quick search lead to a Takao Koyo jackpot at Ryan Bell’s Japanese Bonsai Pots blog, and from there a link to Takao Koyo’s blog, where you can enjoy an abundance of great pots and trees. This post originally appeared two years ago (Jan, 2015). I’ve done some editing but the … Continue reading A Bonsai Pot that Set the Armies Marching

The Foundations of Bonsai

This Common Privet was originally dug from an English hedge row. It belongs to Harry Harrington who has been developing it since 2004. The photos are from Harry’s book, The Foundations of Bonsai. We’re excited about our ‘new’ The Foundations of Bonsai, an all-encompassing how-to book that is targeted to beginning and intermediate enthusiasts. The North American edition (Stone Lantern Publishing) is due to arrive at our warehouse within the next week or two. We strongly recommend The Foundations of Bonsai to people buying their first trees (or second, or third…), or really to anyone still grappling with keeping their … Continue reading The Foundations of Bonsai