Rugged Bonsai in the Perfect Setting

The natural look. This photo captures two things I love about Eladan Gardens. The first is the rugged uncontrived feel that characterizes Dan Robinson’s bonsai, and the second is the perfect setting. The tree is a Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis). We seem to be stuck on Sierra junipers lately, but who’s complaining? In this case it’s only one (see above and a closeup below) with several other non-Sierra photos to enrich the experience. This post (with some changes today) originally appeared in May 2016. Back in May, 2016 I finally visited Dan and Diane Robinson’s magnificent Elandan Gardens. It was a quick visit … Continue reading Rugged Bonsai in the Perfect Setting

Freeze Damage in Bonsai & Other Woody Plants

This now famous bonsai planting resides at the North Carolina Arboretum. The photo was put up on the Internet Bonsai Club forum by Arthur Joura. The caption reads “This planting is one of a small handful in our bonsai collection that consists entirely of plant material that can tolerate the extremes of winter, and so it remains on the bench, on display in the Bonsai Exhibition Garden all through the year.” The statement ‘can tolerate the extremes of winter’ makes sense if you live someplace like North Carolina, but less so if you live someplace like Vermont. Thanks to a … Continue reading Freeze Damage in Bonsai & Other Woody Plants

Bonsai of the Day

This dramatically undulating Japanese Maple in its spectacularly vivid full fall foliage splendor (blame it on too much coffee) resides at Showa Memorial Park in Japan. I stumbled upon it and some other mind popping photos on a recent post titled Bonsai of the Day by Oscar at Bonsai Empire. The only connection I can see that ties these photos together is none of them are shot with neutral backgrounds (my usual choice). This and the fact that I like the trees… but that applies to all the photos we post Kilo Bonsai Wire Special 14.95 FOR KILO ROLLS OF WIRE IS TOO GOOD TO … Continue reading Bonsai of the Day

The Tallest Trees in the World?

This Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii* subsp. glauca) is one of numerous extraordinary bonsai at Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai (near Portland, Oregon). It was originally collected in the Rocky mountains by Randy Knight. It’s age is given as 100-250 years. Height is 36″ (91cm), width 52″ (132cm). Yesterday’s post got me thinking about Firs and it wasn’t a long trip from firs (Abies varieties) to Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii). So even though Douglas firs are not true firs, still, these photo are just too good to pass up NEW Deeper Discount 1 Kilo (2.2 lb) Bonsai Wire now only 16.00 … Continue reading The Tallest Trees in the World?

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

A Genuine Bonsai Pioneer, Roshi Tools, Bonsai Wire, Bonsai Soil & Flashing Back to the Artisans Cup

Close up of Dan Robinson’s Mountain hemlock, taken on my cell at the Artisans Cup. In SF now in the midst of another short family vacay, so to save precious time we’ll dig back to October 2015 at the Artisan’s Cup. We featured Dan Robinson’s bonsai and digs a couple posts ago, so continuing in the same vein… Continued below… Roshi Bonsai Tool Sale 30% off 2 or more roshi tools roshi sets the standard for affordable high quality bonsai tools 30% off 2 or more roshi tools plus another 10% off orders 100.00 or more and FREE Shipping on … Continue reading A Genuine Bonsai Pioneer, Roshi Tools, Bonsai Wire, Bonsai Soil & Flashing Back to the Artisans Cup

Nature & Human Artistry at their Most Brilliant

Ancient pine, snow, a frozen pond and a blue water glimpse of Puget Sound. This and the other photos shown here are from Dan Robinson’s Elandan Gardens. Last year my friend and I spent a memorable afternoon wandering around Dan Robinson’s famous Elandan gardens and marveling at his magnificently rugged, extraordinarily unique bonsai collection. If an amazing collection of bonsai isn’t enough, the trees are set in the perfect setting. A melding of a nature at its most brilliant and equally brilliant human artistry. All this on a grand scale that can only be partially appreciated with photos. Still, here … Continue reading Nature & Human Artistry at their Most Brilliant

Dan & Roy – Picasso & a Bonsai Grafting Master

Roy Nagatoshi grafted the Shimpaku foliage onto this masterpiece 700 year old yamadori California juniper that Dan Robinson collected and continues to grow and develop (provided Dan still owns it). You can find a lot more about this and dozens of other ancient masterpieces in Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees, Will Hiltz wonderful book about Dan (the Picasso of bonsai) and his on going love affair with bonsai and nature. This post started out to be about the bonsai and grafting skills of Roy Nagatoshi (here’s a good example of Roy’s work from a 2014 Bark post). But somewhere along the … Continue reading Dan & Roy – Picasso & a Bonsai Grafting Master

Picasso’s Bonsai Garden

The natural look (or who needs manicured bonsai?). This photo captures two things I love about Eladan Gardens. The first is the rugged uncontrived look that characterizes Dan Robinson’s bonsai, and the second is the perfect setting. The tree is a Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis). Earlier this month I finally visited Dan and Diane Robinson’s magnificent Elandan Gardens. It was a quick visit and all I had to shoot with was my cell. So the photos aren’t nearly as good as most of the borrowed Elandan photos from previous posts. But some shots are unique and hopefully capture something of … Continue reading Picasso’s Bonsai Garden

Old Bonsai Tell Stories

I like this little tree. It tells a story – any tree that grow to over 250 feet (see below) in optimal conditions and yet looks like this, has a story. It’s a Poderosa pine. I don’t know who collected it, but it belongs to Colin Lewis (unless he sold it). Yesterday was Ponderosa pines, so we’ll continue on that track today. BTW: I didn’t set out to make this post about rare cork bark Ponderosa, but it has headed in that direction, at least in part. This is because some of the photos and text here are from a … Continue reading Old Bonsai Tell Stories