New Site Wide Sale for Your Bonsai Essentials

NEW 20% OFF SITE WIDE SALE MEANS DOUBLE DISCOUNTS* *ON OUR ITEMS THAT ARE ALREADY ON SALE (MOST OF OUR ITEMS ARE ALREADY ON SALE) AND A MINIMUM OF 20% OFF ON EVERYTHING ELSE  This is a One Time Opportunity that may not last very long – 20% discount will be deducted when you check out – FREE Shipping Still Applies on Continental U.S. orders 75.00 or more but only if you select Free Shipping when you check out – –

Rough & Rugged Old Bonsai – Two Day Book Special

This rugged old tree starkly contrasts with the way it’s presented; the professional studio photo, the quality stand and pot cleaned and oiled to perfection. As you can see, it’s a pine. I won’t bother to guess the variety, but here’s where I found it and here’s the caption… Nippon Bonsai Sakka Kyookai Europe España a SAKKA TEN 2012 – PEÑISCOLA. Fotos de estudio realizadas por Alex Espuny (Studio Photos by Alex Espuny). I’m mesmerized by this tree’s rugged, natural look. So even though we’ve shown it before (with two more photos today), I’m going to ask you to indulge me in a second time NEW 2 DAY … Continue reading Rough & Rugged Old Bonsai – Two Day Book Special

Two Potentilla Bonsai & Two Brand New Books

Would you ever guess that these two little gems are Potentilla? Both are sweet in their own way, and so’s the photo; the muted painterly background, the contrasting pot colors and contrasting dead and live wood on both trees. I don’t know what the little companion is, but I like it too. I found it on Roman Stresow’s timeline. His caption is Just two Potentilla When I saw the photo above and then read that the trees were Potentilla (aka Cinquefoil), I felt a little tug of excitement. Not only were both little trees unique, but they’re Potentilla, a type tree I have … Continue reading Two Potentilla Bonsai & Two Brand New Books

Shadow Shots & Stainless Bonsai Tools

Juniper with shadow. This and the other trees shown here belong to Luis Vallejo It’s time to visit Luis Vallejo, one of our favorites. I was attracted to these photos for their artist value as well as for the trees themselves. The only text Luis provided is… “Preparando exposición. 17/25 Noviembre 2018.” Though I suspect you can get it without translation, here it is just in case… Preparing for exposition,  November 17-25. (scroll down for details) NEW SPECIAL ALL STAINLESS TOOLS 40% OFF LIST PRICES SEE BELOW One tree, two shadows. I don’t know what type tree this is, and know even less about the one … Continue reading Shadow Shots & Stainless Bonsai Tools

A Piece of Rebar, Some Nerve & More than a Little Skill

This before and after by David Benavente provides a look at what you can do with a piece of rebar, some nerve, and more than a little skill. I originally posted this in 2010 and can longer find David’s original, but if memory serves, the tree is a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) Continuing with David Benavente (see yesterday’s post) and our  before and after from the day before… The photos for this post are from a a 2010 Bark post. I’ve reworked them some, and the text is new. For more on David, you can visit his website and  you can visit him … Continue reading A Piece of Rebar, Some Nerve & More than a Little Skill

A Few Shots from the Asheville Bonsai Expo

This muscular olive is from the recent Asheville Bonsai Expo. The photo and the others shown here are by Owen Reich. I cropped most of Owen’s originals, including this one (see below) for closer looks All the photos shown here were taken by Owen Reich at the recent Asheville Bonsai Expo. Owen doesn’t mention the varieties or the owners, but this is common with photos taken at shows, where distractions (mostly people) are everywhere and it’s hard to keep track. For more photos from the Expo you can visit Owen’s timeline. I’m busy today, so I’ll spare you my usual comments TIE POTS ARE BACK … Continue reading A Few Shots from the Asheville Bonsai Expo

A Dangerously Beautiful Tree that Grows Against all the Rules of Bonsai

I borrowed this luminous Amur maple (Acer ginalla) from Mariusz Folda’s Ibuki Studio Bonsai & Ceramics. Here’s Mariusz’ caption… “Everybody who knows the growth characteristics of the variety knows how ginalla is unique with their branch structure. It happens that It just grows against all ‘the rules of bonsai’ ?  Still I wanted to show the true nature of the tree. It was developed from a yamadori. It was a perfect stamp (does he mean ‘stump’?) and the rest is a result of many years of our cooperation (?). 75 cm high. Pot and table by Ibuki.” We found all three images shown … Continue reading A Dangerously Beautiful Tree that Grows Against all the Rules of Bonsai

Nature’s Wild Bonsai

A Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) sculpted by wind and snow. It lives near Granite Lake at 8,500 feet in the Emmigrant Wilderness (near Yosemite in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains). This photo and the next two are borrowed from Bonsai Society San Francisco. Thanks to Terry Davis of Mullet Wrapper fame for the suggestion Tomorrow and Sunday are travel days, so today is our last full day of vacation. To save time I decided to resurrect this post from April of this year. It relates to what we’ve been up the last five days (Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce and environs), though we didn’t see any trees quite as dramatic as … Continue reading Nature’s Wild Bonsai

Bonsai Tie Pots Are Back!

Our last shipment of Tie Pots sold out in two or three days. Now we’ve got more and we’re running a special for those of you who missed out, or who would like to try more. They’re still 18.00 each for 1 or 2 pots, but now you can save and pay only 16.00 each for 3 or more Tie Pots have the potential to revolutionize bonsai growing   NEW ROSHI TOOL SPECIAL  30% OFF LIST PRICES ON ALL ROSHI BONSAI TOOLS INCLUDING TOOL KITS & SETS Roshi Bonsai Tools You’ll love the precision, durability, beauty  & reasonable prices of our Roshi Tools … Continue reading Bonsai Tie Pots Are Back!

Hand Held Bonsai & a Glass of Good Red Wine

The leaves are very large in relation to the size of the tree, but this often happens with small bonsai and seems to work. At least in this case and many others I’ve seen. No variety is given, but clearly this is a Japanese maple. I cropped this photo and most of the others shown here for a closer look I like good photos of hand held small bonsai. Mostly because it’s an aesthetically pleasing way to provide scale. A much better effect than a soft drink can (though Suthin’s glass of wine does the job without offending my sensibilities). I borrowed … Continue reading Hand Held Bonsai & a Glass of Good Red Wine