Brilliant Bonsai Berries and Something for Cat Lovers

Two bunches of brilliant berries on either side of central gap… In this shot, almost all the berries and foliage are parted down the middle, which provides a clear view of the trunk all the way from the base to the apex. This is quite unusual. Most bonsai will show the lower third or half of the trunk while most of the upper regions are hidden, or at least partially hidden. The tree is a Pyracantha. The pot is Japanese and the artist is Christian De Ross Today we’re picking up where we left off yesterday, with the bonsai of Christian De … Continue reading Brilliant Bonsai Berries and Something for Cat Lovers

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…

Bjorn’s Biggest Loser – Before & After – Fertilizing Old Trees

Before and After. This masterpiece Itoigawa Shimpaku was restyled by Bjorn Bjorholm at Keiichi Fujikawa’s Kouka-en Bonsai Nursery in Ikeda City, Japan, where Bjorn was apprenticing at the time. The photo is from a post on Bjorn’s Bjorvala Bonsai Studio blog, as are all the photos in this post. Continuing with our Bjorn Bjorholm theme (it fits well with our ongoing before and after theme as well). This post originally appeared here in April, 2013, with a few minor changes today In Bjorn’s own words… “This massive Itoigawa Shimpaku has a long history as a bonsai. It was first shown in the Kokufu-ten about 35 years ago, … Continue reading Bjorn’s Biggest Loser – Before & After – Fertilizing Old Trees

Tall Cliffs & a Rickety Little Bridge

Partial shot of a large penjing style planting that features water, tall cliffs and a rickety little bridge. The artist is Bjorn Bjorholm with some friends as able assistants Yesterday we featured a planting and a few other bonsai by Bjorn Bjorholm and friends. Today we’ve got another one from the same event (you can visit Bjorn on facebook for more) KILO BONSAI WIRE ONLY 14.95 PER ROLL this special ends this Thursday additional 5% off orders 150.00 or more Bjorn and friends posing with their masterpiece. Bjorn is the one with the blue T-shirt A piece of the action… THE Book for Penjing … Continue reading Tall Cliffs & a Rickety Little Bridge

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

Boxwood Bonsai – Before & After Armageddon

Michael Hagedorn’s Japanese boxwood. Here’s part of what Michael wrote about this tree (from his Crataegus Bonsai blog)… “And after the new flush of leaves came out, summer 2017. Defoliation creates regrowth with smaller leaves. This photo is after minimal wiring and pad cleanup. There is a scale shift from the earlier, un-defoliated 2017 photos, and the structure of the tree comes out a bit better than the earlier attempt 14 years ago as a well-manicured foliage ‘mop.’ Which was fine for dusting or generally shrubbery use in Monty Python movies, but less good for bonsai.” Up to our old … Continue reading Boxwood Bonsai – Before & After Armageddon

Before & After Bonsai, Artists & Philosophers & the Strangest Cat Video I’ve Ever Seen

Here’s a fairly simple maintenance before and after. I found it on Mariusz Janusz Komsta’s timeline. Here’s Mariusz’s caption… “Taxus Stavrakos – good job Stavros Stavrakis, from now it can be only better – refinement of dead wood, new pot, more density and clean trunk needed … in the near future” Mariusz Komsta’s caption above provides a few answers about this tree and raises at least as many questions. First, as you may know, Taxus Stavrakos is not a Yew species (though the tree is a Yew). More like a little joke on Mariuzs’a part. Second, when I followed the link provided, … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai, Artists & Philosophers & the Strangest Cat Video I’ve Ever Seen