Freedom, Artistry & Boundless Enthusiasm

Sometimes the toughest choice I make all day is deciding which tree to show first. All seven bonsai shown here exhibit the sense of freedom and artistry that caught my attention and helped make that other tough decision; what or who to blog about. Finally, this wildly uninhibited juniper (the one I saw first) won out. It and the rest of the trees shown here belong to Isao Omachi. Whether you like Isao Omachi’s bonsai or not (though it’s hard for me to understand why anyone wouldn’t), you have to admire his boundless enthusiasm and playfulness, which even if you … Continue reading Freedom, Artistry & Boundless Enthusiasm

Old Bonsai & Ancient Trees

This magnificent Juniper bonsai is said to be 800 years old, which makes it a very old bonsai. But not the oldest bonsai we know of and nowhere near the oldest living tree in the world. It resides at Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. I borrowed the photo from Bonsai Empire. Old Tjikko. This lonely Norway spruce (Picea abies) is said to be 9,500 years old. But the trunk you see in this photo is only a few hundred years old. The tree above is called Old Tjikko. It originally gained fame as the world’s oldest tree, but … Continue reading Old Bonsai & Ancient Trees

No Hidden Flaws or Ugly Spots

Cheng, Cheng Kung starts with this view, so we’ll call it the front (south). It has been a while since we featured a 360 degree Bonsai. The Juniper bonsai shown here is from Cheng, Cheng Kung’s Si-Daio website . If you visit Cheng’s Si-Daio you can watch the tree spin a full 360° circle. This 360° bonsai brings to mind an old discussion whether a quality bonsai should be attractive when viewed from any angle. No hidden flaws or ugly spots, no matter where you stand in relation to the tree. I’ve taken screen shots from 8 different points of … Continue reading No Hidden Flaws or Ugly Spots

Brilliant Bonsai, Brilliant Photo

A little fuzzy when blown up to fit our format, but still… Both the brilliant tree and the equally brilliant photo come to us via Mark Arpag. The original is below. We don’t usually do one tree posts, but it’s already 11am and I’m still trying to catch up from vacation. Not that we ever really catch up, but hope still springs… The original. From Mark Arpag’s facebook feed. He doesn’t say what it is, but my best guess is needle juniper. 25% off Koyo Japanese Bonsai Tool Sale Plus Bonsai Wire and Bonsai Today Sales FREE Shipping on … Continue reading Brilliant Bonsai, Brilliant Photo

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

A Humble Bonsai Artist’s Ordinary House on an Ordinary Street, Somewhere…

Night shot out the back door of a humble bonsai artist’s ordinary house on an ordinary street, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. There are lots of good bonsai blogs these days. I’ve got three or four favorites, but there’s one that keeps bringing me back. The photos are plentiful and very good (even exciting), with shots of some of the best bonsai in North America (and people having entirely too much fun). These alone are worth the price of admission (there isn’t a price, but if there were…). But it’s the writing and the value of the content that really … Continue reading A Humble Bonsai Artist’s Ordinary House on an Ordinary Street, Somewhere…

Unusual Bonsai and a Human Tendency to Orthodoxy

This magnificent old yamadori Shimpaku, with its self framing deadwood just might be one of the most outrageously unusual bonsai you’ll ever ever see. It’s from Taisho-en in Japan. I originally found this image here. Today is catch up day after a hectic week, so once again it’s archive time. This one is from August 2014. It was titled ‘A Magnificent Affront to Bonsai Orthodoxy.’ Trees as unusual as the one above are often controversial. I think some of this controversy is a human tendency to orthodoxy. We get used to things a certain way and next thing you know … Continue reading Unusual Bonsai and a Human Tendency to Orthodoxy

Tough, Durable, Flexible & Beautiful

This wild masterpiece is a Shore Juniper (Juniperus procumbens) by famous bonsai innovator Masahiko Kimura. The photo is from our Juniper book. This post originally appeared in January, 2010. Junipers are tough, durable, flexible (they take to wire like they were made for it) and pruneable. They don’t mind having their roots heavily pruned and they take to container culture. Their needles tend to be small and dense and both their needles and bark come in a range of attractive colors and textures. Perhaps best of all, junipers take to carving like few other plants; and their deadwood is both … Continue reading Tough, Durable, Flexible & Beautiful

Crazy Shimpaku Bonsai

One of several great Shimpaku junipers from a post by Bjorn Bjorholm. I picked this one in part because of the little curlycue jin (dead branch) hanging down. I’ve seen plenty of other intriguing jins, but this one is so distinctive and in a place so prominent that it comes close to stealing the show (in spite of the light background that diminishes its effect, and in spite of the many other wonders of this tree). We’re busy around here, but we’re still trying to post everyday. So, it’s the archives again. This one is from April 2014. I picked … Continue reading Crazy Shimpaku Bonsai

Bill’s Bonsai Exploration

Infinity sign. A piece of a Japanese white pine trunk at the Shimpuku-Ji Temple in Japan. This and the other photos in this post are from Bill Valavanis’ Bonsai blog. The photos in this post are from Bill Valavanis’ 2015 Autumn Japan Bonsai Exploration (part 6). Bill has been posting loads of photos from the Exploration almost daily for the last week. The handful shown here represent a small fraction of the photos you’ll find on Bill’s blog. Continued below… Not a bad setting for a spectacular bonsai display. Yesterday Bill and friends visited the Shimpuku-Ji Temple. In Bill’s own … Continue reading Bill’s Bonsai Exploration