You Can Look but You Better Not Touch & Other Scary Bonsai

Halloween? At first glance you might just see the tree and the cobwebs and miss the hands. This photo and the one just below are from Robert Steven’s 2014 International Bonsai Art & Culture Biennale. We’ve added two photos (Nick’s Poison ivy & a strange looking Trident maple) to our Halloween posting from the last two years. Continued below… LOWEST WIRE PRICE YET 500 gram (1.1 lb) BONSAI WIRE ONLY 7.95 PER ROLL this special will end November 8th at noon EST – There’s something about those ‘severed’ arms that’s just a little ominous. Is this where the recent ‘Black Scissors’ rage started? … Continue reading You Can Look but You Better Not Touch & Other Scary Bonsai

Great Bonsai Photos Make a Real Difference

Close up of Chinese quince that belongs to Luis Vallejo. Here’s the original caption… “Pseudocydonia sinensis (Thouin), Masahiko Kimura Nursery, Japan, in the Luis Vallejo bonsai collection since 2009” There’s a photo of the whole magnificent tree at the bottom of this post We featured a few Luis Vallejo bonsai yesterday and now it’s his bonsai again today. This time with some of the best quality bonsai photographs we’ve seen yet. A friend sent me a link to them last night from Pinterest (via Empire Bonsai). Continued below… SPECIAL ENDS WEDNESDAY GREEN T BASIC MODEL HYDRAULIC LIFT TURNTABLE details below… This little gem … Continue reading Great Bonsai Photos Make a Real Difference

Art Shots from a Famous Bonsai Museum

The bark on this tree speaks of age and combined with the low somewhat twisted shape of the trunks, creates a story of harsh conditions (most varieties of deciduous trees that grow in open easy conditions, tend to grow more upright). The photo was posted by Luis Vallejo. Based on the leaves, I’m guessing it’s a Chinese elm (but that’s just a guess… see below). All the photos shown here are from Luis Vallejo’s Museo De Bonsais Alcobendas. Some are what you might call art shots, with emphasis on features rather than the usual straight on full bodied front shots. Luis doesn’t identify the trees, so I’m … Continue reading Art Shots from a Famous Bonsai Museum

Before & After White Pine at the Pacific Bonsai Museum

Here’s a before and after that involves bringing an overgrown tree back to it former splendor. The tree is a formal upright Japanese white pine that resides at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. The artist is Tyler Sherrod. I’m a big fan of the Pacific Bonsai Museum and of course, a good before and after bonsai. Especially with such a noble looking tree. While we’re at the museum, did you know that you can have the honor of becoming a member, and in so doing, supporting one of our genuine North American bonsai treasures? Here’s what Tyler Sherrod wrote about this tree … Continue reading Before & After White Pine at the Pacific Bonsai Museum

Brilliant, Full Fall Color Pomegranate Bonsai

You can find this brilliant, full fall color Pomegranate (Punica granatum)and a whole host of other powerful bonsai at Bonsai Mirai. It has been a while since we featured Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai. If you don’t know Bonsai Mirai, you’re in for a treat. And if you’re ever in the Portland Oregon area, you can enjoy a real time visit to what just might be the most impressive yamadori (bonsai collected from the wild) collection in North America. Continued below… LOWEST WIRE PRICE YET 500 gram (1.1 lb) BONSAI WIRE ONLY 7.95 PER ROLL plus numerous other specials at Stone Lantern – Just three photos … Continue reading Brilliant, Full Fall Color Pomegranate Bonsai

Literati Bonsai from the Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition

To my eyes, this literati style pine one of the most distinctive trees that Bill Valavanis posted from the recent 4th Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition. We’ve got more photos by Bill Valavanis today. This time we’ve selected Literati style bonsai (Bunjin in Japanese) from the recent 4th Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition. You can see some more bonsai from this exhibition in a post we did last week. Or better still, you can visit Bill’s Welcome to My Bonsai World blog . By the way, Bill has made no claim that any of the trees I chose to show here are or aren’t literati style. That’s completely on me Continued below… LOWEST PRICE YET 500 gram … Continue reading Literati Bonsai from the Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition

Mystery Bonsai

Our source for this lovely beast doesn’t say a word about the artist or the tree itself, and Image Search proved itself useless again (“Best guess for this image: flowerpot”), so your guess is as good as mine. Getting another late start today* so we’ll make this one short and sweet. Just one magnificent mystery tree. Continued below… NEW Bonsai Fertilizer Special 30% OFF LIST PRICES In addition to Green Dream & other Bonsai Fertilizers this special includes Superthrive, Pro-Tekt, Rooting Compound & Mycorrhizal Fungi Here’s a closer look at the large sabamiki and the rest of the trunk with all the wild texture and movement … Continue reading Mystery Bonsai

Bill’s Bonsai Photos at the Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition

It’s hard to tell how large this tree is, but I’d guess that it’s fairly substantial. No matter how large or small, it’s a powerful twin trunk juniper with excellent taper, fluid lines and deadwood that’s just right (substantial, but not overdone). I borrowed this and the other photos shown here from some shots Bill Valavanis took at the 4th Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition Even before Bill Valavanis was inducted into the U.S. Bonsai Hall of Fame (see our post from one week ago), we always tried to keep track of what he was up to. In this case he was taking photos at the recent 4th … Continue reading Bill’s Bonsai Photos at the Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition

More Great Shots from Bonsai San

The way the foliage clings to the trunk gives this tree a wild unstyled look. The deadwood and aged bark don’t hurt this effect either. I lifted the photo from Harry Harrington’s timeline. Here’s Harry’s caption… “This was one of my personal favourite trees in the Show (one of many), a Pinus mugo/Mugo Pine by Václav Novák in a Klika-Kuratkova bonsai pot.” The internet is swamped with great photos from the just completed European Bonsai San Show. Rather than attempting to show them all we’ll settle for the ones we’ve already posted (here and here) and the ones in this post that we borrowed from Harry Harrington. Continued … Continue reading More Great Shots from Bonsai San

Japanese Maple Bonsai Adventure

We’ve been indulging our annual fall color fixation lately, so why one one more… albeit a subtle one? This Japanese maple is from Korean nursery-grown stock. We found it on Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures blog. You might notice how the two smaller trees lend perspective and exaggerate the effect of the main tree. Monday morning and pressed for time, so we’ll take a little shortcut. This post originally appeared one year ago today, with a little value added Back in the mid-to-late 20th century, when the average person had no idea what the art of bonsai was, almost all bonsai in … Continue reading Japanese Maple Bonsai Adventure