Drifting a Little Farther Afield

What a great photo. It helps to have such an excellent subject for sure (Japanese black pine). It’s from post titled ‘The Dark Horse’ on the Bjorvala Bonsai Studio blog. The full tree and pot are shown below. There’s really not much of theme going on with this post, other than a digital tour of some bonsai blogs/websites. So we’ll leave it at that… except to say that we’re going a little farther afield than we usually do. I have a soft spot for hand painted bonsai pots. This one is from the ‘for sale’ section of Ryan Bell’s … Continue reading Drifting a Little Farther Afield

A Nice Pot, a Little Soil…

Succulent with flowers. Such brilliant colors are hard to argue with. All the companion plantings shown here are succulents that belong to Eraydin Erdogan, a bonsai potter living in Turkey (the pots are his creations). The great thing about succulents is that anybody can grow them. All you need is a nice pot, a little soil and a juicy little plant or two. No green thumb or amazing sense of aesthetics necessary. You can even forget to water (up to a point at least). The following three paragraphs are from earlier Bonsai Bark posts (from 2011 and from 2009). If … Continue reading A Nice Pot, a Little Soil…

It’s Not Everyday…

One side of a brilliantly artistic bonsai pot by Miyazaki Isseki. The other three sides and two corner views are below. All the photos in this post are from Sam & KJ’s Suiseki blog, which BTW is one of the better blogs around and well worth a visit. I don’t think we’ve ever devoted a whole post to just one pot. But then, it’s not everyday you see a pot quite like this. The way the bright white glaze sets off the brilliance of the colors and artistry of the scenes has made such an impression, that I don’t think … Continue reading It’s Not Everyday…

Good Companions

Sumptuous succulents, perfect pot. Planting by Wolfgang Putz. Pot by Dan Barton. From Wolfgang’s website. Good companions. We’ve featured Wolfgang Putz several times (mostly his bonsai) and ditto with Dan Barton (mostly his pots). Now we’ve got them in one place; Wolfgang’s website; specifically the section on Companion plantings. Looks like an altogether auspicious collaboration. Hosta “Golden Tiara” – FUNKIE by Wolfgang Putz. Slightly split pot by Dan Barton. All the companions in this post are by Wolfgang and all the pots are by Dan. Pleione limprichtii – TIBETORCHIDEE Sempervivum spec. – HAUSWURZ Sempervivum arachnoideum – … Continue reading Good Companions

Bonsai Events, Dirty Pick Ups and a Few Loose Ends

This pine (looks like a Japanese white; Pinus parviflora) is from the 2011 Taikan-ten bonsai exhibition in Japan. The photo was borrowed from Empire Bonsai. You don’t see that many great multiple-trunk bonsai (here’s another one we posted recently) and I think this one qualifies. It’s hard to tell from this angle if all the trunks are sharing a single root-system. It could be a twin-trunk tree and a triple-trunk clump combined. Upcoming events. It’s time to catch up on some upcoming bonsai events and some other loose ends. Which reminds me, if you’d like to promote an event, just … Continue reading Bonsai Events, Dirty Pick Ups and a Few Loose Ends

Winter Sale Last Day & New Pots

Bonsai Pots. You may or may not know this, but we are now offering a very large selection of Yixing bonsai pots. I think Yixing pots are among the very best pots in the world. Especially when you consider the prices. Winter Sale. Today (January 31st) is the last day of our Winter Sale. Right now we have hundreds of items that are reduced below our normal low prices, and our usual volume discounts also apply. It’s not that we won’t keep some items on sale after this (we’ll always have deep discounts), but just not so many at once. … Continue reading Winter Sale Last Day & New Pots

A Simple & Elegant Solution

Museum worthy. A bevy of sweet succulents has found the perfect nest in this colorful ceramic art by Horst Heinzlreiter. It’s Horst (of course) Choosing the right pot for the right tree (or non-tree plantings in this case) is critical if you want first-rate art, bonsai or otherwise. All the pots and plantings in this post are by Horst Heinzlreiter. We’ve featured Horst’s pots before and, will no doubt feature them again. They are simply too unique and too beautiful to pass up. The simple solution If you own a striking bonsai pot and your bonsai talent or enthusiasm is … Continue reading A Simple & Elegant Solution

Elevating the Art of Bonsai Ceramics

Horst Heinzlreiter, ceramic artist All the pots shown here are by Horst Heinzlreiter. They are lifted from his facebook photos. There are nine shown here in no particular order and with no reference to size or anything else, other than my taste and a little certain degree of randomness. You can find most (maybe all) of these pots along with more information (including size and price on some) on Horst’s website. I need another adjective I won’t bother you with any more comments this time; the pots speak for themselves and my adjective supply is a little over-used anyway. Same … Continue reading Elevating the Art of Bonsai Ceramics

Weeky Wire: Dynamic Movement, Great Bonsai Events, Depth of Field

Dynamic movement. There’s something compelling about the shape and sense of movement expressed by this Carlos van der Vaart tree, even though the trunk’s somewhat uniform corkscrew effect gives me pause. I originally found this image on facebook, where the caption reads Carlos van der Vaart with Van Tuan Nguyen. It also appears in the gallery on Carlos’ website. Our Stone Lantern warehouse is closed this week. Orders received this week will be shipped next week (the week of the 23rd) on a first-come, first-serve basis. Speaking of orders; don’t forget to fertilize your bonsai! Under-feeding leads to weak trees. … Continue reading Weeky Wire: Dynamic Movement, Great Bonsai Events, Depth of Field

At Bonsai’s Edge

Mosses etc in a stone container. All the photos in this post are from Moss and Stone Gardens. If it’s in a bonsai pot You can plant almost anything in a bonsai pot. If it’s woody, you can call it a bonsai. If it’s not, you can call it a companion or accent plant; a planting that’s designed to enhance a bonsai display. Or it could be designed to stand on its own, in which case you can call it a kusamono (for more on this, you can check out Willi Benz’ Bonsai, Kusamono, Suiseki, or this earlier post). No … Continue reading At Bonsai’s Edge