Monster Maple on Fire

Shishigashira Japanese maple on fire at Kouka-en. Yesterday was a one photo post. Today it’s a one tree post (with several photos). I found this powerful old Japanese maple on Bjorn Bjorholm’s feed. Bjorn is featured here on Bark regularly. He also has a website (just a click away). Kouka-en is also worth a visit if you have a little time on your hands. Continued below… Site Wide Sale Ends Tomorrow Night 20% to 25% off Everything* Don’t get caught napping! Sale ends Wednesday, Dec 14th at 11:59pm EST We just added a couple dozen more items to … Continue reading Monster Maple on Fire

Snake Skin Bonsai

The contrast of black background and red leaves works to a tee. The tree is a Arakawa (Snake skin) Japanese maple that belows to Luis Vallejo. All three photos shown here are by Miguel Krause. Just a quickie today while I continue to try to catch up from vacation (no good vacation goes unpunished). I found the photos on Luis Vallejo’s facebook feed. This is not the first time we’ve shown Luis’ bonsai and I don’t think it will be the last. In addition to showing you the striking color contrast, I want to remind you that 4 excellent sales … Continue reading Snake Skin Bonsai

‘Art Shots’ from the European Bonsai San Show

Here’s a great trunk shot of an old English yew (Taxus baccata) that belongs to Andres Alvarez. The pot is listed as Chinese, which most likely means it’s Yixing. This shot makes it look like a short muscular tree, but it’s actually quite tall. You’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s post or visit Harry Harrington’s site for a photo of the whole tree (the same goes for the other photos in this post). Yesterday’s post was devoted to Harry Harrington’s photos from the recent European Bonsai San Show. Today we’re going to continue with Harry’s photos from the show, only … Continue reading ‘Art Shots’ from the European Bonsai San Show

Walter Pall’s 3 Tree Japanese Maple Bonsai Adventure

Japanese maple from Korean nursery-grown stock. From Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures blog. The two smaller trees exaggerate the effect of the main tree. Back in the mid-to-late 20th century, when the average person had no idea what the art of bonsai was, almost all bonsai in the U.S. were from landscaping nursery stock. Most were in early stages of development and most never got beyond those early stages (it was a slaughter). 4 Great Sales & other Specials (see below) The three tree maple grove above is also from nursery stock, though no doubt nursery stock grown for bonsai, … Continue reading Walter Pall’s 3 Tree Japanese Maple Bonsai Adventure

Four Big Sales End Tonight – Tomorrow It’s off to the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

This tropical Dwarf black olive (Bucida spinosa) with its melted wax feel and gaping trunk is a truly unique tree that only Mother Nature (and Mary Madison’s skilled hands) could create. It’s from the 2008, 1st U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition album (out of print, but we still have 3 & 4). The 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, a colossal event in our world is this weekend. Later today I’ll pack my bags and tomorrow I’ll point my car west to Rochester. I hope to see you there. Continued below… Big Bonsai Wire & Tool Sales end tonight at 11:59pm EDT … Continue reading Four Big Sales End Tonight – Tomorrow It’s off to the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

If you only visit one bonsai event this year, make it the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

I borrowed this famous cascading Juniper from he 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition website (cropped to better fit a certain social media’s format). If you only visit one bonsai event this year, I suggest you choose the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Rochester NY, September 10th & 11th. Rearrange you life if necessary so you can be there. Each one is better than the last and the last one (two years ago) was mind-stopping. The buzz was palpable and from conversations with dozens of others, the feeling was universal. And it wasn’t just the bonsai, though they amazed more each … Continue reading If you only visit one bonsai event this year, make it the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

High Quality Bonsai (& Photos) in Hand…

It’s not unusual to see a photo of someone holding a small bonsai in one hand. However, you seldom see a photo with two hands. This two-handed approach gives the feeling the tree is being offered. This photo and the others in this post are from Japan Shohin Bonsai. The tree appears to be a Shimpaku juniper. One of the problems with photographing bonsai is conveying size. The easiest and perhaps best way is to provide something familiar for contrast. It used to be fairly common to see bonsai with cigarette packs before smoking fell out of favor. You also … Continue reading High Quality Bonsai (& Photos) in Hand…

Keeping the Bonsai Vibe Cool in Rising Summer Heat

Here’s what Bjorn Bjornholm wrote about this impressive root-over-rock (root-swallowing rock) bonsai. “Trident Maple after defoliation and subsequent second flush. The leaves are all pinky nail size or smaller.” Given all the publicity lately, you might think Bjorn Bjorholm is a rising bonsai superstar. A couple weeks ago we featured a post about Bjorn Bjorholm’s Online Bonsai Course and so far we’ve featured about a dozen posts on Bjorn and his bonsai. All the photos in this post are from Bjorn’s facebook feed. You might also like to visit his website and Bonsai Empire’s site on Bjorn’s intermediate online bonsai … Continue reading Keeping the Bonsai Vibe Cool in Rising Summer Heat

Fall Color in February?

Japanese maple in full fall color. Though you can only see part of the base of the trunk, still, you can get a pretty good idea just how powerful this tree is; with or without leaves. This photo and all the photos in this post are from Luis Vallejo’s Bonsai Studio (Bonsai Estudio), at the Bonsai Museum Alcobendas. It’s sunny and about five Fahrenheit (-15 celsius) this morning. A little early to get our hopes up, but we can dream. Meanwhile here’s some color to fuel those dreams (fall color, but who’s choosy?). All the photos in this post are … Continue reading Fall Color in February?

Two Handed Bonsai

It’s not unusual to see a photo of someone holding a small bonsai in one hand. However, you almost never see a photo with someone holding a bonsai with two hands. Until now that is. This two handed approach gives the feeling that the tree (a rather spectacular Shimpaku juniper) is being offered. This photo and the others in this post are from Japan Shohin Bonsai. One of the problems with photographing bonsai is conveying size. The easiest and perhaps best way is to provide something familiar for contrast. It used to be fairly common to see bonsai with cigarette … Continue reading Two Handed Bonsai