Bonsai Ethics & Livelihood

I think this magnificent tree is a Japanese beech. It’s from Bonsaimania. All it says is: La foto de este bonsái pertenece al álbum de Jordi Escaler (The photo belongs to Jordi Escaler’s album). As far as I know, neither Bonsaimania or Jordi Escaler are Japanese, yet anyone who knows about Japanese bonsai will readily recognize this as almost certainly Japanese.(whoops – according to Aleksander Dechnik Vázquez this tree is a Carpinus Turczaninovii (Korean hornbeam), that won the award of merit at Noelanders Trophy XIII, and is owned by Germán Gómez Soler – now my only defense is a guess … Continue reading Bonsai Ethics & Livelihood

Don’t Be that Person!

This lovely tree will have to remain a mystery. The person who posted it doesn’t say anything about it, including where he or she found it, so we’ll return the favor. If you’ve been reading Bonsai Bark for a while, you may be aware of my occasional rants (gentle rants I hope) about failure to attribute bonsai to the artists and provide other pertinent information about the trees. And yes, as you suspect, we’re talking about social media. I think this is mostly just laziness. Somewhere in the course of a photo’s journey from one person’s timeline to the next, … Continue reading Don’t Be that Person!

Not Exactly Bonsai, but Close Enough

I know this is a bonsai blog and this isn’t a bonsai, but it’s close enough. You might call it something like a giant Penjing style landscape. Or maybe just an exceptional landscape planting (probably Chinese) and leave it at that. I found on at a place call Bonsai Mag. They don’t provide much information about who they are, or about this photo. Just heard from Dennis (one of our subscribers), that it belongs to Lâm Ng?c Vinh Yesterday and day before we featured Harmut Muenchebach’s brilliant Bavarian backyard bonsai garden. Today we’ll continue the landscape theme with the garden … Continue reading Not Exactly Bonsai, but Close Enough

Brilliant Bavarian Backyard Bonsai Garden

Harmut Muenchebach’s brilliant Bavarian backyard bonsai garden. It wouldn’t be hard to indulge in a little envy here, but better to just enjoy. Just stumbled upon these brilliant photos of Hartmut Muenchenbach’s magical Bavarian backyard bonsai garden. They’re from a post on Walter Pall’s timeline titled Jennifer Price at Hartmut Muenchenbach’s. The only other text says This is in Bavaria, Germany. 3 DAYS ONLY 40% off 2 or more 500 gram Bonsai Aesthetic Wire only 8.70 per roll and just in case you’re new to this, 8.70 a roll is so very low this special ends Wednesday night at 11:59pm EDT … Continue reading Brilliant Bavarian Backyard Bonsai Garden

A Unique Bonsai Art – Wire Sale Ends Tonight

This is what you can do if you have the right stock, a great slab and a good eye. The planting belongs to Heinz Leitner (If you’d like to know more about the trees, visit our original post from last year). The slab is by Erik Križovenský. Once you’ve seen Erik’s distinctive looking slabs and other bonsai containers (for lack of a better word) you’ll be able to spot them anywhere. This post* started out with some photos of a unique bonsai forest on an equally unique cement slab (it’s a special frost-resistant cement) and ended with a photo of … Continue reading A Unique Bonsai Art – Wire Sale Ends Tonight

Old Bonsai & Ancient Trees

This magnificent Juniper bonsai is said to be 800 years old, which makes it a very old bonsai. But not the oldest bonsai we know of and nowhere near the oldest living tree in the world. It resides at Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. We borrowed the photo from Bonsai Empire. Getting another late start and the sun is shining (you’d be surprised how few sunny days we have here in Vermont) so time to get outside. All this is an excuse for recycling this post from March of last year. The tree below is called Old Tjikko. … Continue reading Old Bonsai & Ancient Trees

Nice Tree, Spectacular Pot & Other Small Bonsai Wonders

Nice tree. Spectacular pot. This shot is from the just completed World Bonsai Convention. I cropped the original (see below) to eliminate some background noise. Staying with the World Bonsai Convention theme, though this time it’s all Shohin (small trees). I can’t read the name of the person who took these photos, but here’s your link. SALE ENDS TOMORROW NIGHT ROSHI TOOLS 30% OFF plus an extra 10% off orders 100.00 or more Sale includes all of our large selection of Roshi Tools including Roshi Tools sets and kits sale ends tomorrow, Wednesday at 11:59pm EDT Judging by the … Continue reading Nice Tree, Spectacular Pot & Other Small Bonsai Wonders

A Goldmine of Great Bonsai

Cascading Shimpaku juniper with copious deadwood and floating foliage clouds. This could only be described as an exceptionally powerful and distinctive bonsai, even if you take issue with such well-manicured foliage. The photo was taken by Enrique Castano. I cropped it a little to eliminate background noise There’s an online goldmine of great photos from the World Bonsai Convention, so we’ll just keep digging in that vein. The photos in this post are by Enrique Castano WATERING SALE ENDS TONIGHT 20% off Watering Cans, Nozzles & Wands sale ends tonight, Sunday at 11:59pm EDT This powerful tree must be a … Continue reading A Goldmine of Great Bonsai

“Some of the incredible trees you witness upon entering…”

Hot off the press. This swirling, whirling dervish of a tree would be hard not to notice, even at the World Bonsai Convention where the competition is just a little stiff. Some people have all the luck. These photos were taking at the World Bonsai Convention (happening as we speak) by Mark Field. Here’s Mark’s brief comment… “Some of the incredible trees you witness upon entering the show!” Okay Mark, now you’ve got our attention… ROSHI TOOLS NOW 30% OFF 25% 30% off Roshi Bonsai Tools plus an extra 10% off orders 100.00 or more Sale includes all of our … Continue reading “Some of the incredible trees you witness upon entering…”

Refining a Masterpiece Japanese White Pine

Left side of a recently trimmed and wired masterpiece Zuisho Japanese white pine. The artist is Naoki Maeoka. This Zuisho Japanese white pine must be one of the most outstanding formal upright bonsai in the world. It’s perfect taper, perfect branching with just the right amount of open space between each branch, perfectly rounded apex, and so on, all attest to this view of near perfection. But then near perfection is the goal with formal upright bonsai. And Naoki Maeoka is a master when it comes to refining extraordinary bonsai. 20% off all Bonsai Wire Sale Ends Tonight at 11:59pm … Continue reading Refining a Masterpiece Japanese White Pine