Why Every Bonsai Lover Needs to Make a Trip to the Northwest

This lovely bonsai lives at the Pacific Bonsai Museum near Seattle. We borrowed the photo from their website. I cropped some text and other images out of the original image (below). I love the Pacific Bonsai Museum. Not only do I love the idea of a museum devoted 100% to the art of bonsai, but I also love this particular 100% bonsai museum. The setting is beautiful, the trees are among the best and the devoted and knowledgeable staff host a series of exciting events. Continued below… Wire Sale Ends Sunday Night 25% off our entire selection Bonsai Wire we … Continue reading Why Every Bonsai Lover Needs to Make a Trip to the Northwest

New Free Shipping Rates & Discounting at Stone Lantern

Starting Monday, May 8th, we will initiate the following changes FREE Shipping for Continental U.S. orders 100.00 or more Extra 10% off for all orders 150.00 or more These changes will allow us to keep our prices down and continue to offer deeply discounted Sales on a range of items… …including 3 excellent sales currently running for bonsai wire, bonsai tools & embroidered bonsai clothing Thank you for your continued support

New Discounting & Free Shipping Rates at Stone Lantern

Old World Bonsai Plaza

This Shohin Trident maple is one of a large group of bonsai displayed on a plaza in Treviso, Italy. Getting a deplorably late start this morning, so we’ll take a quick journey back three years to a unusual post about some Bonsai on an Italian plaza. I have no idea if it was a one-off situation or they’re still displaying bonsai there to this day. I think this the first time we’ve featured bonsai on a plaza. In Italy, or for that matter, anywhere. The displays belong to Barbazza Bonsai. The city is Treviso. You can visit Barbazza on facebook … Continue reading Old World Bonsai Plaza

How Much Would You Pay for a Bonsai?

Would you pay 6,000 dollars (5,500 euros) for this bonsai? How does someone who wants to sell a bonsai arrive at a price and how does someone who wants to buy that bonsai decide if that price is fair? There really are no firm guidelines on valuing bonsai, at least that I know of. The best I can say is the value of a bonsai depends on what at least one person is willing to pay. Unless of course, you’re in the business of buying and selling bonsai. Then there are at least two values involved. The three trees shown … Continue reading How Much Would You Pay for a Bonsai?

Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Here’s what Harry Harrington has to say about this impressive tree, and in particular it’s recovery and transformation from what you see in the photo below… “This is probably the best example I have of the usefulness of anti-transpirant, an Itoigawa juniper bonsai that came to me in a very bad way a couple of years ago, and was sprayed with anti-transpirant once a month to reduce further moisture loss from the leaves while it recovered and grew new roots. (Second image is from just 6 months later after styling).” We’ve been featuring Harry Harrington a lot these days. Part … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Bonsai Art… As Art

Bonsai Art Magazine living up to it’s name… Not many words today. We’ll just show you some covers of Bonsai Art (and some of our sales, of course). As far as the aesthetics of bonsai goes, it’s my favorite magazine. Continued below… As long as we’re on the topic of quality bonsai magazines… Bonsai Today Sale Ends Tomorrow 40% to 50% off Bonsai Today Back Issues Each issue is rich in step-by-step how-to articles by the old masters 40% off 1-9 Bonsai Today back issues 50% off 10 or more back issues This may be your last chance for certain … Continue reading Bonsai Art… As Art

Walter’s Massive Forest & Other Hornbeam Bonsai

This massive Hornbeam forest belongs to Walter Pall. Walter doesn’t mention the variety in his gallery section (you might be able to hunt it down on his blog), but given that Walter lives in Germany, You might guess that it’s a European hornbeam (Carpinus betula), but I wouldn’t take it to the bank. The other day someone asked if we would do something on Hornbeams, so here it is, the beginning of a series on the Hornbeam genus (Carpinus). And in case the person who asked is actually reading this (or anyone else is interested), our archives contain several Hornbeam … Continue reading Walter’s Massive Forest & Other Hornbeam Bonsai

The Foundations of Bonsai Vision and Artistry

Sabina juniper from Harry Harrington’s The Foundations of Bonsai (Stone Lantern Publishing North American edition). Harry’s caption reads: “This Sabina juniper was collected from altitude in Spain. It grew in thin stony soil and would have been covered in a thick layer of snow for 4 months each year. As a result, despite being at least 100 years old, it is naturally very small.” The pot is by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery. Height 6″ (15cm) Spread 16″ (41cm). The grainy effect is from our prehistoric scanner. The Foundations of Bonsai has arrived and all the pre-orders have been shipped. … Continue reading The Foundations of Bonsai Vision and Artistry

Two Simple Tricks With Bonsai Wire

Japanese white pine from our 2017 Bonsai Calendar (Sorry, sold out). This tree has no doubt been repeatedly wired over years of development. The photo above is from the October page of our 2017 Bonsai Calendar. The rest of this post is from March 2010. Two dates separated by more than eight years. But the advice is timeless. Yesterday several thousand pounds of Bonsai Wire arrived and now we’ve got Kilo Rolls coming out of our ears Our Solution? Lower Kilo Wire Prices Now Only 14.80 (or 13.90) with our 20% to 25% off Site Wide Sale Too long … Continue reading Two Simple Tricks With Bonsai Wire