Tiny Pots, Tiny Trees…

This tiny Shimpaku juniper belongs to Yoshiyuki Kawada. Staying with our little trees theme, but moving from Haruyosi to another Japanese artist who also makes their own small pots and plants them with small trees (even smaller than Haruyosi’s). His name is Yoshiyuki Kawada, and though I’m just becoming familiar with his trees and pots, so far I’m impressed (this post originally appeared here in November, 2016 – with some changes today). NEW BONSAI TOOL SPECIAL 40% off list prices on all our Bonsai Aesthetics Tools see below Another little Shimpaku. This one has a powerful feel for such a small tree Tiny … Continue reading Tiny Pots, Tiny Trees…

Fat Trunks, Small Pots

Japanese maple, borrowed from Bill Valavanis’ blog. Bill took this photo at this year’s Kokufu (the World’s oldest and most prestigious bonsai exhibition) along with several dozen shots of other remarkable trees. But there’s something about this one that keep me coming back. Part is the way the massive trunk almost fills the pot, something you don’t see every day and almost never with Japanese maples. And there’s more, including the tree’s unusual movement and direction that might make you wonder what it would look like shot from other angles. With the exception of the tree above, all the bonsai shown here belong to Tomohiro Masumi. All, … Continue reading Fat Trunks, Small Pots

Just One Today, but It’s a Good One

Bonsai perfection. Luis Vallejo provides the following information with this tree… “Fortunella hindsii Kumquat, By Nobuichi Urushibata, Taishoen. Luis Vallejo Bonsai Garden, Photo Miguel Krause.” Taishoen is Nobuichi’s bonsai nursery in Japan. Luis Vallejo is an accomplished bonsai artist and the owner of Museo de Bonsai Acalanes in Spain. Fortunella hindsii Kumquat, is of course the type tree, with the Fortunalla hindsii being the smallest of the Kumquats. Just one tree today, but it’s a good one. I found it on Luis Vallejo’s timeline. If you’ve been following Bark for a while, or if you’re someone who appreciates European (particularly Spanish) bonsai, you’re no … Continue reading Just One Today, but It’s a Good One

Bonsai Pest Control & Special of the Day

I borrowed this photo from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus website. Here’s part of what Michael has to say about it and some other trees he worked on while in Japan… “The work here was done as an apprentice in Japan, from 2003-2006…. in the second half of my apprenticeship, I was allowed a more natural and relaxed feeling in the branching and foliage presentation, represented in this image which won Mr. Suzuki a Prime Minister’s award.” The tree is a Japanese white pine. Michael apprenticed with Mr Suzuki for three years. Here’s your link for the part I left out. Continuing with the bonsai wisdom … Continue reading Bonsai Pest Control & Special of the Day

Feed Your Bonsai for Health & Beauty

Lush summer foliage and impressive deadwood on an old Shimpaku juniper.The lush foliage is the result of timely feeding.* The photo is from our Masters Series Juniper book. I know the tree is from Japan, but don’t know who the artist or owner is. For some of you lucky ones, it’s already spring. For most of the rest of us, it’s time* to start enriching the soil with slow release fertilizers. This post is one of our archival favorites (July, 2015). Nothing has changed since then, except our lower fertilizer prices. Many, if not most people underfeed their bonsai. There are … Continue reading Feed Your Bonsai for Health & Beauty

The Right Place at the Right Time

That’s a lot of deadwood, but you can see the living vein just peeking out on the far left. Here’s what Bill Valavanis wrote about this remarkable tree… “Sargent Juniper created by Minoru Akiyama who received the coveted Prime Minister Award a few years ago at the Sakufu Bonsai Exhibitions for professional bonsai artists. Here it is displayed under the owner’s name.” This is our third straight Kokufu post. As with the previous two, all the photos were taken by Bill Valavanis. I feel a bit lazy sometimes, borrowing so liberally from Bill. It’s just that he and his camera seem land in the … Continue reading The Right Place at the Right Time

More Kokufu Bonsai!

I borrowed this bonsai that belongs to American Doug Paul and rest of the bonsai shown here from Bill Valavanis. They represent a very small sampling of the photos Bill has taken so far at the ongoing 92nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. Today is my first day back from vacation and as you know, no vacation goes unpunished, so we’ll make this short and sweet. Five more Kokufu photos borrowed from Bill Valavanis. Stay posted, we’ll show you some more, including some prize winners. Meanwhile a visit to Bill’s blog might be a good idea. Two excellent bonsai tool sales end tomorrow night and another … Continue reading More Kokufu Bonsai!

Holiday Bonsai Delights!

We originally posted this magnificent tree by Min Hsuan Lo exactly 7 years ago today (sorry, I don’t know the variety Now I do thanks to Clinton Scott… it’s a Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis)). Anyway, it’s worth another look and the time is right All of today’s photos are from Min Hsuan Lo’s Bonsai blog and they all appeared here exactly 7 years ago today. That’s a great thing about bonsai of this magnitude… they are already so old and so well developed that seven years might as well be yesterday Year End Roshi Tool SPECIAL 40% off List Prices on Roshi Bonsai … Continue reading Holiday Bonsai Delights!

Rocky Mountain Bonsai

I lifted this Rocky mountain juniper from Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai. A photo of the entire tree is below So many thoughts zip through my mind when I see trees like this…. not the least of which is the objection that some people have to deadwood, especially lavish displays; even though if you’ve been to upper reaches of our Western mountains, you’ll see deadwood everywhere. In many cases trees with massive deadwood and only one or two living branches. Or, in some extreme cases just a few living twigs. Stories of long lives in harsh conditions told by deadwood. Continued below… NEW SITE WIDE SPECIAL … Continue reading Rocky Mountain Bonsai

Winter Bonsai Berries

This sturdy Japanese fine tooth holly (Ilex serrata) originally appeared on our 2010 Bonsai calendar (speaking of, our 2018 Calendars are now discounted as part of our New Site Wide Sale). This post started out to about Cotoneaster berries. That is until Bill Valavanis gently let me know that the tree above is an Ilex, even though I would have bet that it’s a Cotoneaster. But then I’ll never bet against Bill when it comes to bonsai. The photos and some of the text in this post are from our archives (June, 2015) NEW SITE WIDE SPECIAL 20% TO 60% OFF LIST PRICES ON EVERYTHING* *there are 4 … Continue reading Winter Bonsai Berries