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This rock forest is by the Magician, Masahiko Kimura. A master of the art of bonsai, professionally and at play Bill Valavanis is in Japan again and we’re all the better for it. Especially if you like a steady stream of great bonsai photos. In fact, I wouldn’t be offended if you just skipped out and headed over to Bill’s blog (after you take note of our book special). Meanwhile, if you’re still here, today it’s Kimura at play. Here’s a quote from Bill… “Our first stop was the bonsai garden of Masahiko Kimura, The Magician. I immediately noticed the increased number of tall rock plantings he created … Continue reading The Magician Playing with Bonsai
We’ve all waited long enough and now the Pacific Bonsai Museum’s Natives is here. We’ve featured some photos in the past, but now we’ve got the real thing. One hundred and five mind stopping pages. Now available at Stone Lantern Here’s the Museum’s description… “As artistic representations of trees, bonsai are collected from the wild to be cultivated as works of art. While the natural forces that shaped the tree are visibly echoed in its trunk and branches, the direct link between a bonsai and its native habitat has been lost. By displaying a tree with a portrait of its … Continue reading Natives Is Here! Brilliant & Unique, Bonsai at Its Best
One American larch, four pots (plus the original pot below). All this images in this post were borrowed from Boon Manakitivipart (the image above is a composite that we put together). Boon is at it again. This time it’s our prized local larch (Larix laricina). Around here we call it Tamarack (the Algonquian name that means “wood used for snowshoes”). No matter what you call it, it is in my opinion, by far the best local wild species for bonsai. Bar none. This is one of several Which pot do you prefer? posts that were pieced together from Boon’s facebook posts. … Continue reading Snow Shoes & Bonsai
Contrast! This shot has to go in our Bonsai Bark hall of fame photos (if we had such a thing). The big one is a Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) and the small one is unidentified, though it looks a lot like a Shimpaku juniper. Both belong to Mariusz Folda Suddenly we’re inundated with fall color bonsai photos. Our colors in northern Vermont peaked three weeks ago and now the rest of the world is catching up. Mariusz Folda, a long time favorite here on Bark is from Bielsko-Biala in southern Poland Two New 30% off Tool Specials Okatsune Bonsai & Garden Tools Koyo … Continue reading Brilliant Beech Bonsai & Tiny Companion
Here’s the caption that was posted with this photo… “Congratulations Peter Tea, professional bonsai artist and instructor, Auburn, California, for judged bonsai competition winning Best Conifer and Best in Show (California Juniper) at the Golden State Bonsai Federation (GSBF) Convention 41, October 24-28, 2018, Sacramento, California – “Creativity Taking Flight”. Photo by Peter Camarena.” I cropped the original photo (see below) to enjoy a closer look I was beginning to think Peter Tea had gone into hiding and then this popped up. Turns out he was hiding in plain sight. I just lost track for a while and that’s too bad, … Continue reading Tea Time – Best in Show
Before and after by Robert Steven. The tree is a Casuarina that originally belonged to Ismail Saleh and now belongs to Robert. Here’s part of what Robert wrote about this transformation… “I changed the viewing angle, squeezed the dead part close to the living part then reset the foliage pads. Sooner or later the dead part will rot, then I should redesign the composition again” Here’s a little history from Robert about this famous tree… “The Legend ! This is one of the oldest Casuarina bonsai in Indonesia which has been going through a long path of transformation and survival, yet still keeps changing … Continue reading Shape Shifting by Robert Steven
Here’s what Bill Valavanis has to say about Harvey Carapella’s backyard bonsai garden… “Enjoy the colorful bonsai garden of Harvey Carapella. His outstanding private bonsai collection is a joy to appreciate, especially at this time of year. I’m quite proud of my friend’s bonsai talent and accomplishments. WOW!” From Bill’s timeline It’s a small world…. It turns out that our Bonsai Star for the Day, Harvey Carapella is an old friend of a good friend of mine here in Vermont. It’s not a bonsai connection, just one of those serendipity type things. When we discover these kinds of connections, my question … Continue reading Harvey’s Brilliant Backyard Bonsai Garden
Before and after Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) by Todd Schlafer. The tree belongs to Mike Andrews. For the Godzilla reference, scroll down to the bottom of the post Continuing with another before and after transformation by Todd Schlafer (see Oct 19th). Here’s a quote by Mike Andrews (facebook)… “Progression of collected Rocky Mountain Juniper. Collected by Randy Knight, delivered to my house September 2016. Initial design and structure setting with Mauro in April 2017. Fertilized heavily and full sun 2017 and 2018 growing seasons resulted in very nice dense foliage. Finally detail wired and pad formation by Todd yesterday. … Continue reading Godzilla Refines a Monster Bonsai – Before & After
This before and after by David Benavente provides a look at what you can do with a piece of rebar, some nerve, and more than a little skill. I originally posted this in 2010 and can longer find David’s original, but if memory serves, the tree is a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) Continuing with David Benavente (see yesterday’s post) and our before and after from the day before… The photos for this post are from a a 2010 Bark post. I’ve reworked them some, and the text is new. For more on David, you can visit his website and you can visit him … Continue reading A Piece of Rebar, Some Nerve & More than a Little Skill