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

An Old Bonsai New Year

This brilliant penjing by Robert Steven appeared in one of our earliest posts (way back in 2009). It’s from Robert’s book Mission of Transformation (now out of print) In three days we’ll turn the digital page on another year of brilliant bonsai and occasionally intelligent comment. On behalf or my two hard working compatriots; Ric Walter (the heart and soul of our warehouse) & Barbara Patitucci (our all-accomplishing jack of all trades) and all the other good people who are part of the Stone Lantern family -Fedex drivers, postal workers, our vendors and countless others who keep our gears oiled – I would like to wish you a Cheerful, … Continue reading An Old Bonsai New Year

Wild Bonsai from Up Near the Tree Line

A great tree with a long story of a rugged life spent on the side of cold snow burdened mountain. Somewhere up near the tree line and far from the cushy life of domestically grown bonsai A little change of pace today; a rugged mix of yamadori (collected from the wild) pines. We originally found them at Amics Del Bonsai Corbera and featured them here last December. None are identified. Nor are their owners. IT’S NOT TOO LATE… orders received by noon EST today (Monday) will be shipped today HOME STRETCH SALE Almost Everything Discounted Some Items as much as 70% off List Prices Order Now for … Continue reading Wild Bonsai from Up Near the Tree Line

Happy Bonsai Holidays! Merry Bonsai Christmas!

Though it’s usually considered bad form to lop off part of the pot, in this case it’s all about the color (and the wildly expressive trunk). The variety is listed as Issho-no-haru. This and the rest of the photos in this post are from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! No matter what you celebrate (or don’t celebrate), may you and your loved ones enjoy the Season and have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. This post is borrowed from our 2014 archives, so I’m cheating just a bit. But I like it so much and believe that you … Continue reading Happy Bonsai Holidays! Merry Bonsai Christmas!

Principles of Bonsai Design with a Personal Touch

This berry-laden Cotoneaster belongs to David DeGroot, long time bonsai artist, teacher, museum curator and author (Principles of Bonsai Design). Here’s Dave’s caption… “In honor of the approaching holidays I posed a cotoneaster that is decorated with its own red berries before a celebratory gold screen. The bonsai was originally developed by the late Ann Spencer of Portland, OR. The pot is by Sarah Rayner.” I took the liberty to crop this photo. The original is below I’ve long respected David DeGroot for his bonsai skills and for his contribution the American and world bonsai communities; as teacher, author and as … Continue reading Principles of Bonsai Design with a Personal Touch

Mammoth Masterpiece

This monster Japanese beech is so massive and so masterful, that once you see it, you’ll never forget it. Continuing with our Japanese beech theme from a few days ago, I couldn’t resist this one. It’s from a post we did back in March, 2016. There was no attribution with our source and we still don’t know who it belongs to. IT’S NOT TOO LATE… orders received before noon EST will be shipped the same day orders receive after noon will be shipped the same day or the next day SITE WIDE SALE Almost Everything 30% – 70% off List Prices Order Now for Immediate … Continue reading Mammoth Masterpiece

Arts of the Earth & The Principles of Bonsai Design

Beech with vase. The tree is a Japanese beech ‘Fuji’ by Kazuhiro Ohashi. The photo is from Weyerhaeuser’s Pacific Rim Arts of the Earth Exhibit. This exhibit took place in 2006. In 2013 the Weyerhaeuser corporation gifted its entire bonsai collection to what is now know as the Pacific Bonsai Museum. You can read the whole story here. Continuing with our Japanese beech theme (see the tree above), we’re going to journey back to the early days of this century and revisit a unique bonsai and ceramic art exhibition from 2006. I think you’ll like the photos and the commentary by David DeGroot, who was the curator at the WeyerhaeuserPacific Rim Bonsai Collection (now … Continue reading Arts of the Earth & The Principles of Bonsai Design

Celebrating Our National Bonsai & Penjing Museum

This brilliant Japanese Maple was donated to our National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by Ryutaro Azuma. It has been in training since 1906. The photo is from Capital Bonsai. It’s time to celebrate our National Bonsai and Penjing Museum once again. If you are anywhere near our nation’s capital, or plan on being anywhere near, don’t miss this phenomenal display. Even if you have no plans on being near Washington DC, you can always make new plans. You won’t be disappointed. SITE WIDE SALE UP TO 60% OFF SOME ITEMS EVERYTHING DISCOUNTED MOST ITEMS 30% TO 60% OFF* This and other specials apply only to … Continue reading Celebrating Our National Bonsai & Penjing Museum

Brilliant Bonsai Colors by Haruyosi

You don’t see that many bright yellow pots. The glaze is expensive and hard to come by and the brilliance of the color can be overwhelming. But in this case the little tree holds its own. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a better choice of pots to set off the the richly hued Trident maple leaves. Yesterday one of the trees we featured was by Haruyosi, which reminded me how much I like his seemingly endless collection of Shohin bonsai. This post originally appeared November 2014. It’s one of my all time favorites I think you could spend a lifetime browsing … Continue reading Brilliant Bonsai Colors by Haruyosi

Small Is Beautiful

This little deciduous tree with its profusion of small orange fruit isn’t identified, so we can only guess. Based on the fruit and the bark we’ll try Crab apple. If we’re wrong and you know what it is (or think you do) you can put it in the comments on our timeline. It’s Shohin time today. All the photos shown here are from a facebook page, called, of all things… Shohin. Continued below… Bonsai Books all discounted, some up to 60% off Chose from our large selection of quality Bonsai Books Japanese Garden & related Books too We don’t have to guess this time. Here’s the … Continue reading Small Is Beautiful