Bonsai Bark Weekly Wire

Boon Manakitivipart (Bonsai Boon) discovered this muscular Kuromatsu on his latest trip to Japan. You can visit Bonsai Tonight for more. Something new A while back we tried to get a bonsai calendar off the ground. After what seemed like lack of interest from our readers, we abandoned the idea. Now we have another idea, it’s related to the calendar notion, but more expansive. We’ll call it Bonsai Bark Weekly Wire for now. Rather than try to explain, we’ll just get started and see where it goes. This year’s BCI tour is timed to coincide with two of … Continue reading Bonsai Bark Weekly Wire

Playing with Shadows & Light

Boon Manakitivipart. Western juniper debut with Jalaluddin Din. Bonsai Boon All the photos shown here were posted on facebook by Boon Manakitivipart. Boon is a well-known American bonsai artist and influential bonsai teacher. You can find more about Boon here. Shadows and light I like these photos. Not only are the bonsai quite intriguing, but the photos offer something you don’t see that often; bonsai photography with an artistic flair. The one possible downside is that the play of shadow and light sometimes makes it a little harder to see some of the details on the trees. On balance though, … Continue reading Playing with Shadows & Light

What About Deciduous Bonsai?

You can find this magnificent elm and other seriously stupendous deciduous bonsai at Andy Rutledge’s The Bonsai Journal in an article by Andy with photos by Boon Manakitivipart. In a bonsai world dominated by conifers and tropicals… …it’s a good idea to remember the wonder of deciduous bonsai. Okay, this may be an overstatement, but still, how many top notch elm bonsai do you see on the internet? Warehouse vacation Our warehouse is on vacation until July 12th (it needs a break, not to mention a new paint job). Orders placed before then will be shipped on, or soon after, … Continue reading What About Deciduous Bonsai?

The Art & Science of Judging Bonsai

Japanese black pine from Bay Island Bonsai via Bonsai Tonight. Still a ways to go, but perfect for learning how to evaluate bonsai. Good timing Thanks to Jonas of Bonsai Tonight for posting this timely article on judging bonsai. Our $1,000 Bonsai from Scratch contest is in full swing (it’s not too late to enter) and a question that arises around any bonsai contest is: how are bonsai judged? Bay Island Bonsai‘s judging form that was designed by Boon Manakitivipart. If you go to Bonsai Tonight you’ll see a number of forms that were used to evaluate these two trees … Continue reading The Art & Science of Judging Bonsai

BABA & Boston Ivy Bonsai

Boston Ivy bonsai at the Bay Area Bonsai Associates 29th annual exhibition. As usual when it comes to BABA, I’m borrowing from The three photos shown here are by Jonas at Bonsai Tonight. Consistent high quality bonsai I’m impressed with what the Bay Area Bonsai Associates has been up to. High quality bonsai just keep coming from that dynamic Northern California group. A big part of their excellence is due to the energy and skill of Boon Manakitivipart, founder and operator of Bonsai Boon and BABA’s prime player. But he’s not alone. (Whoops! Boon is associated with Bay Island Bonsai. … Continue reading BABA & Boston Ivy Bonsai

Character, Strength & Boon’s Transplanting Tips

Though it has the raw look of yet to be refined tree, still, there’s a lot to like about this bonsai. Its massive nebari ads great strength, character and balance and the hollow in the trunk (sabamiki) provides a further touch of character and age that sets it apart from more ordinary bonsai. It belongs to Boon Manakitivipart, owner of Bonsai Boon (my mistake, see comments) and distinguished bonsai artist and teacher. Though Boon doesn’t say what it is, I’ll guess that it’s a California live oak of some sort (Quercus suber?). From a bonsai tip entitled WINTER CARE: REPOTTING, … Continue reading Character, Strength & Boon’s Transplanting Tips

The Akio Kondo Bonsai Award

This awesomely stocky little Korean Hornbeam by Jonas Dupuich of Bonsai Tonight (photograph also by Jonas) recently won the Akio Kondo Bonsai Award at the Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit in Northern California (my apologies to Jonas for cropping his photo, but I wanted to show the tree as close up as possible). Boon & Bay Island Bonsai Boon Manakitivipart is one of North America’s most accomplished bonsai artists and the owner of Bonsai Boon (we’ve featured Boon’s trees several times on Bonsai Bark). He is also the driving force behind Bay Island Bonsai, which is one of North America’s paramount … Continue reading The Akio Kondo Bonsai Award

Bonsai Tonight with Boon & Peter Tea

This heavy gnarly trunked Japanese black pine is from Bonsai Tonight. When Jonas took this photo, it had just been styled at a Bay Island Bonsai workshop by Peter Tea. It’s not clear if the tree is Peter’s or if it belongs to Boon (it’s not unusual for a student to work on a teacher’s tree), though I imagine that it’s Peter’s. We’ve now been informed the the tree belongs to Boon (see comments). Close up of the trunk. Closer up still. You could search for a long time and never stumble across a trunk as abundant in natural character … Continue reading Bonsai Tonight with Boon & Peter Tea