Bonsai Flowers & a Touch of Fall Color

This photo was taken to emphasis the flowers, rather than the tree. If you were to take a photo of this tree when it’s not in flower, you’d take it a from a point a little lower to better show the powerful trunk and nebari. Sometimes photos just seem to appear on my desktop without any reference. This is the case here, so my apologies for failure to attribute this multi-hued Satsuki azalea to its rightful owner Entering the second week of a two week vacation. Today it’s the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We’re experiencing unusual wet, grey … Continue reading Bonsai Flowers & a Touch of Fall Color

A Juniper Orchid Bonsai – Michael’s Ingenious Before & After

Michael Hagedorn’s ingenious Juniper orchid. Here’s part of what Michael wrote about this unlikely creation… “Some of you might remember a quirky Shore Pine that we put on a post in 2017, calling it the first Pine Orchid in the yard. Yesterday this juniper was styled, and it hangs on the neighboring post that supports the shade cloth structure (thank you Bobby Curttright). The juniper is a bit of a Frankenstein” Continuing with American bonsai leading up to the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (Rochester, NY, September 8th & 9th – it’s not too late to make your plans)… today it’s … Continue reading A Juniper Orchid Bonsai – Michael’s Ingenious Before & After

A Most Unusual & Provocative Bonsai Extravaganza

I don’t know how big this planting is, though I’m leaning toward pretty big. Impressive too with its sophisticated sense of depth (larger trees in front and smaller toward the back). Not to overlook the very large pot with its flowing lines and no doubt hefty price tag. This photo and the next three below are from Bill Valavanis’ blog Continuing with yesterday’s mixed media bonsai theme, this one is from Robert Steven’s 2014 1st International Bonsai Biennale. At the time we referred to it as the most unusual and provocative bonsai extravaganza ever TWO NEW TOOL SPECIALS Famous Roshi BONSAI Tools 30% … Continue reading A Most Unusual & Provocative Bonsai Extravaganza

Feed Your Bonsai (They Don’t Survive on Water, Light and Love Alone)

Your bonsai may never look like this, but they can be this healthy if you tend to basic care, including ample fertilizing. It’s a Japanese maple that belongs to Walter Pall. Walter lists its height as 75cm (30″) and its age as around thirty years. It was imported from a Korean nursery in 2016. The pot is a Tokoname from Japan. This is not the first time we’ve encouraged you to tend to your bonsai’s nutrient needs, and it won’t be the last. The tree above appeared here on Bark a few months ago. Most of the rest of what you see here … Continue reading Feed Your Bonsai (They Don’t Survive on Water, Light and Love Alone)

Cage Free Bonsai & Other Wonders

I couldn’t resist. The photo and Cage Free title belong to Rodney Clemons, a well know bonsai humorist and respected artist (Tony Tickle’s American counterpart?). A little whimsy to start the day. You can find the photos above and just below, and much more on Rodney Clemon’s timeline. 30% off Bonsai Pot Sale Ends Wednesday (Tomorrow) at 11:59pm EDT – Rodney Clemon’s famous Kingsville Boxwood. We’ve feature it before and if I had to guess, we’ll probably feature it again someday. The ancient olive below has little to do with bonsai, though it would be easy to imagine it scaled down to bonsai size “The at least 2,000 year old olive … Continue reading Cage Free Bonsai & Other Wonders

Brilliant Bavarian Back Yard 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. Let’s keep going with perhaps the most enchantng Backyard Bonsai Gardens we’ve seen yet. It belongs to Hartmut Muenchenbach of Bavaria. I found the photos on Walter Pall’s timeline titled Jennifer Price at Hartmut Muenchenbach’s. We originally featured it just over a year ago. BONSAI SOIL SPECIAL ENDS SUNDAY 30% off list prices on all Bonsai Soil special ends Sunday, July 1st at 11:59pm EDT – Impressive tree in an impressive garden A closer look at the tree’s details … Continue reading Brilliant Bavarian Back Yard Bonsai Garden

Stupendous Bonsai – a Good Place to Start

Stupendous is a good start in the search for words to describe this old full cascade Pemphis acidula by Budi Sulistyo. Ahh, to live in the tropics where stuff like this grows everywhere (well, not exactly like this, but still…). I first saw it in facebook in an album entitled My bonsai by Budi. By the way, Budi lives in Indonesia I’d venture that we’ve seen as many astounding Pemphis acidula as almost any other bonsai variety. Especially if we’re talking tropicals. Yesterday we featured three (along with some other tropical wonders), which got me thinking. Why not take a … Continue reading Stupendous Bonsai – a Good Place to Start

An Exceptional Bonsai – Before & After

Here’s an excellent example of a before and after with an already established tree. It just needed a talented bonsai artist and some free time to bring it back to its previous splendor. In this case the artist is Gabriel Romero Aguade. The tree is an impressively masterful Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis). Not that you don’t have eyes of your own, but I feel that some extra excitement is warranted with a tree like this. It resides at the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid. Here are Gabriel Romero Aguade’s comment (Spanish then English)… “Antes y después del Juniperus chinensis trabajado en el Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid. Si quieres … Continue reading An Exceptional Bonsai – Before & After

When the Sun Gets Too Hot

Award winner at the 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition for the Finest Deciduous Bonsai. It’s a Japanese Maple by Suthin Sukolosovisit of Royal Bonsai. It has little to do with the topic of this post (except that Japanese maple leaves are prone to sunburn), but you might like to know that the 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition is out of print and the last two albums (2014 and 2016) are still available. Got home from vacation at 11:00pm last night after a six hour flight and an almost four hour drive back to Vermont, and now it’s catch up time, so no new post today. However, because we … Continue reading When the Sun Gets Too Hot

Michael Hagedorn’s Review of Bonsai Empire’s Advanced Course

Bjorn Bjorholm, course instructor and highly respected bonsai artist and teacher, busy doing something he enjoys The following was posted by Michael Hagedorn of Crataegus Bonsai. We were going to do our own review here on Bark, but a major computer melt down followed by a long planned family vacation, has consumed almost all of our time. But not to worry, Michael Hagedorn knows more and writes better than almost everybody in our trade anyway, so you’re in good hands. – In Michael’s own words… “Once more we have an educational video from Bonsai Empire, using the talents of Bjorn Bjorholm. This is the longest of the three courses … Continue reading Michael Hagedorn’s Review of Bonsai Empire’s Advanced Course