Bonsai Beautyberry & Other Little Gems

This brilliant little Japanese beautyberry (Callicarpa japonica) is well named indeed (it’s nice when the name of a plant says something about how the plant looks; an onamonapia of sight). I found this photo on Bonsai Empire They attribute it to AR&B*, but I think AR&B picked it up somewhere else and failed to attribute. Looking at the tree, I’m almost certain that it’s a Japanese bonsai. The rest of the photos in this post are from an old Bark post called Luminous Fruit. The artist is Katsumi Komiya. If you’ve ever tried to grow fruiting bonsai, you know that … Continue reading Bonsai Beautyberry & Other Little Gems

Bonsai Guessing Game at the Montreal Botanical Gardens

This vivid close up was taken by Bill Valavanis at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. The tree is a Chinese privet. To see a photo of the whole tree and a whole range of other great photos, visit Bill’s blog. Bill Valavanis is up to his old tricks. Exploring and promoting bonsai with flair and dedication. The result is one of the best bonsai blogs you’ll find. This time it’s the famous bonsai collection (collections actually, though the Penjing section was closed) at Montreal’s Botanical Gardens. I didn’t start out to turn this post into a bonsai varieties guessing game, it … Continue reading Bonsai Guessing Game at the Montreal Botanical Gardens

Our Masters Series Juniper Book Is Due Back in December – Bonsai Wire & Tool Sale

The Magician again. This sculpted Shimpaku juniper is by Masahiko Kimura, a master of stylized and not so stylized bonsai. From our Masters’ Series Juniper book (out of print, but due back in December). There are also numerous examples of Kimura’s bonsai in The Magician, another Stone Lantern Masters’ Series book. 25% off 500 gram (1.1 lb) rolls of Bonsai Wire Plus 10% off for Stone Lantern orders 100.00 or more 25% off Roshi Bonsai Tools Plus 10% off for Stone Lantern orders 100.00 or more

Photographing Bonsai – Which Background Is Best?

Background #1. This exceptional Mugo pine belongs to Walter Pall. The pot is by Peter Krebs. For more on this tree and others you can visit Walter’s Bonsai Adventures blog. If you’ve been following Bark for a while, you might have noticed that we have long advocated paying attention to the quality of the photos you present and that just shooting willy-nilly with little concern about background noise, lighting, space around the tree and so forth, diminishes the beauty of even the best bonsai. Walter Pall grows and styles great bonsai and goes the extra distance when it come to … Continue reading Photographing Bonsai – Which Background Is Best?

All You Need Is the Right Pot and Just a Touch of Art

This unusual gem is part of an excellent selection of Kusamono from Tony Tickle’s garden. In Tony’s own words… “I have a large collection of dwarf Hostas, these flourish in my rather damp garden, in summer the other Kusamono come into flower and leaf. Here are a few they include Astilbie, Thrift and sedums. Most of the Pots are from my friend Dan Barton but there are pots from Gordon Duffet and many other European Potters.” Five of the nine photos in this post are Tony’s. It’s summer, the sun is shinning for a change and my bonsai and gardens … Continue reading All You Need Is the Right Pot and Just a Touch of Art

Wire All the Way Out to the Tips and Don’t Forget to Take It All Off

Japanese white pine bunjin wired at Taisho en. From ‘The Art of Bonsai.’ Taking the first Sunday of spring (ha!) off today, so we’ll dig it into the vast wealth buried in our archives. The original is titled Wiring Tips: Take It All Off (but not too early). It appeared in May of 2011. BTW: it’s no accident that it’s about wiring. Our Big Kilo Wire Sale ends tonight and I thought this might serve as a good reminder. It this light, I’ve added something called Wiring All the Way Out to the Tips from another earlier post. Take it … Continue reading Wire All the Way Out to the Tips and Don’t Forget to Take It All Off

Red on Red & Delicate Spring Beauty

There are few things more delicate and beautiful than fresh spring Maple leaves (Trident maple in this case). This exquisite tree and exquisite pot are perfect expressions of the artistry of Haruyoshi. Up at 2:00am yesterday and slept fitfully on the plane. I’ll use the ensuing exhaustion as a excuse to dig into our archives once again. This one is from last April. It’s all Haruyosi, which ties in to some of our recent posts. The only hard part with a post like this, is figuring out which photo to show first (the one that shows up on facebook and … Continue reading Red on Red & Delicate Spring Beauty

Another State-of-the-Art Saikei by Toshio Kawamoto – This Time in a Completely Round Pot

Enchanted lands is another in a series of plantings from Toshio Kawamoto’s Sakei classic. The tree are 3 five year old ezo spruce, 16 five to eight year old Cryptomeria (6-8 inches tall), 7 three to eight year old Satsuki azaleas and 3 three year old Tsutsuji azaleas. The pot is a round unglazed tray, 28 inches (71cm) in diameter (it’s hard to tell from the photo just how large the planting is). We’ve been resurrecting a series of plantings from Toshio Kawamoto’s classic Saikei, Living Landscapes in Miniature (long out of print), so let’s just keep going. And why … Continue reading Another State-of-the-Art Saikei by Toshio Kawamoto – This Time in a Completely Round Pot

Betting On 2015 – Bonsai Calendars Are Here

We’re getting close and we’re feeling more confident everyday that there will be a 2015. In fact, we’re so confident about 2015 that we’ve gone ahead and imported some Japanese Bonsai and Garden Calendars. It’s worked in the past, so why not let your guard down a little and take a positive view about another year? If you have friends, be sure to tell them that you read it first right here. 2015 is coming! Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. The first page of our 13 page Bonsai Calendar happens to be the cover. … Continue reading Betting On 2015 – Bonsai Calendars Are Here

Bonsai Wire Sale: Kilo Rolls for as low as 12.95

Don’t let yourself run out of Bonsai Wire. It’s great to have exactly the right wire at hand when you need it. Up to 30% off Kilo Rolls of Bonsai Wire 1-2 Rolls 10% off = 16.65 each 3-9 Rolls 20% off = 14.80 each 10+ Rolls 30% off = 12.95 each plus an added 5% off on orders of 100.00 +