Bill’s Bonsai Photos at the Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition

It’s hard to tell how large this tree is, but I’d guess that it’s fairly substantial. No matter how large or small, it’s a powerful twin trunk juniper with excellent taper, fluid lines and deadwood that’s just right (substantial, but not overdone). I borrowed this and the other photos shown here from some shots Bill Valavanis took at the 4th Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition Even before Bill Valavanis was inducted into the U.S. Bonsai Hall of Fame (see our post from one week ago), we always tried to keep track of what he was up to. In this case he was taking photos at the recent 4th … Continue reading Bill’s Bonsai Photos at the Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition

Another Brilliant Bonsai in Full Fall Foliage & Other Famous Trees

Always nice to lead with a little color. This cheerful full fall color Trident maple belonged to Suthin Sukosolvisit when we first showed it way back in 2009. I don’t know who the lucky owner is now. Suthin’s luminous little tree above plays well with our ongoing fall foliage theme, while the rest of the trees shown here, play well with our long standing appreciation of Suthin’s bonsai. Continued below… Two NEW Yoshiaki Sales Yoshiaki Japanese Bonsai Wire 40% OFF LIST PRICE YOSHIAKI JAPANESE BONSAI hand tools 40% OFF LIST PRICE Yoshiaki, a leading name in Japanese Bonsai Products This Tsukomo cypress-on-a-half-shell was offered … Continue reading Another Brilliant Bonsai in Full Fall Foliage & Other Famous Trees

I’m Still Surprised by the Quality & Price of Our Roshi Bonsai Tools – Especially When I Use Them

Our selection of over 50 high quality and affordable Roshi Bonsai Tools come in both stainless and high carbon steel NEW Roshi Bonsai Tool Special 25% TO 40% Off List Prices CHOSE FROM 60 DIFFERENT TOOLS AND TOOL KITS ROSHI SETS THE STANDARD FOR AFFORDABLE, QUALITY BONSAI TOOLS When I fist saw Roshi tools I was struck by their beauty. Then, when I held them in my hand, it was easy to feel the quality and I was surprised by how affordable they are. Now, a few years later, I’m still surprised by the quality and price of each and every one. Especially when … Continue reading I’m Still Surprised by the Quality & Price of Our Roshi Bonsai Tools – Especially When I Use Them

Long Live the Bonsai King

Full cascade Japanese black pine (Pinus thumbergii). Japanese for Black pine is Kuromatsu (kuro is black and matsu is pine). Yesterday we resurrected trees from the famous Kokufu Exhibition and the response has been very positive, so why not keep digging in the same vein? Japanese black pines are sometimes referred to a the king of bonsai. This may be in part due to their natural strength; they tend to have powerful trunks and thick lush foliage. Rugged bark doesn’t hurt either. King or not, the best of the black pines are undeniably among the most impressive bonsai in the world. All the … Continue reading Long Live the Bonsai King

A Bonsai in Hand…

When it comes to fall color, this little Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) puts on a pretty good show, with the contrasting brilliance of the pot and leaves being nothing short of spectacular. All the trees shown in this post are by Cristian De Ross, a first timer here on Bark. I always feel a little lucky when I stumble upon superior Shohin bonsai. Especially when they’re hand held. The hand gives perspective on size without the distraction of the awkward drink cans you sometimes see. In this case the superior Shohin belong to Christian De Ross. Christian lives in Caxias do Sul, Brasil. You can see more of his remarkable shohin and … Continue reading A Bonsai in Hand…

A Well Traveled, Hard Working Bonsai Artist

Bjorn Bjorholm posted this root-on-rock gem the other day. It looks like a juniper, but I can’t tell for sure what kind and won’t bother to guess. Speaking of guesses, I’ll venture that some or all of the trees might share a single root system, and that the rock formation is manmade. I cropped this photo to eliminate background noise. A version that shows the whole planting is just below. Bjorn Bjorholm has to be one of the most well-traveled and hard working bonsai artists anywhere. At least that’s the impression I get from his posts on facebook. Speaking of, stay posted … Continue reading A Well Traveled, Hard Working Bonsai Artist

A Very Variegated Unusual Bonsai

I think this unusual gem is the first variegated privet bonsai I’ve seen. Here’s what our source for this photo, Miguel Ros of Museo Tatsugoro said when he posted it… “It’s a Ligustrum with a natural graft of the same species. Its leaves are variegated!!!. It’s a beautiful tree.” (If you’re interested, here a link to what Wikipedia has to say about natural grafts.) When I stumbled upon this unusual tree on Miguel Ros Museo Tatsugoro timeline, I thought the variegated and the unvariegated leaves look a lot like leaves you might find on two different Serissa foetida varieties, but that the trunk is … Continue reading A Very Variegated Unusual Bonsai

No Bonsai Are Too Big for Green T – FREE $50 Coupon with Basic Model

No bonsai is too big for Green T. Speaking of too big, it’s not everyday you see a Japanese maple with trunk this massive. It belongs to Jean Paul Polmans and a Basic Green T Turntable exactly like this one can can belong to you along with a FREE 50.00 coupon that’s good for any future Stone Lantern purchase Order your Green T Basic Model Hydraulic Lift Turntable and receive a FREE 50.00 Stone Lantern Coupon see below for more reason to enjoy your own Green T… Four Good Reasons to Order Your Green T Basic Model Now FREE 50.00 Coupon good for any … Continue reading No Bonsai Are Too Big for Green T – FREE $50 Coupon with Basic Model

Bonsai Rafting – Sinuous & Straight

This rugged sinuous root raft-style planting is by our friend, Robert Steven. I don’t know the variety, but my guess is that Robert will let us know. We’ve added one photo (just below) to this post on raft-style bonsai that originally appeared here in August 2015 We don’t need to say much about raft-style bonsai – Peter Adams has it covered below -except that all the bonsai rafts shown here are sinuous root style (netsunagari in Japanese) as opposed to rafts with straight line trunks, like nature’s raft just below NEW LOWEST PRICE YET KILO BONSAI WIRE ONLY 14.95 PER ROLL Only 13.45 off with your … Continue reading Bonsai Rafting – Sinuous & Straight

A Magnificent Affront

This magnificent old yamadori Shimpaku, with its self framing deadwood has to be one of the most outrageously unusual bonsai we’ve ever posted. It’s from Taisho-en in Japan. I originally found it here. Spectacular smokey Yosemite (day before yesterday with a fire detour), Rustic old Jamestown (Yesterday), San Francisco to Portland (today, more fires) and back home to Vermont (Monday). It’s a wonder we even have time to answer our email – but we try – and a wonder we have time to whip up a new post. Again, we try, but today we’re re-whipping one from August, 2014 Trees as unusual as … Continue reading A Magnificent Affront