Why Every Bonsai Lover Needs to Make a Trip to the Northwest

This lovely bonsai lives at the Pacific Bonsai Museum near Seattle. We borrowed the photo from their website. I cropped some text and other images out of the original image (below). I love the Pacific Bonsai Museum. Not only do I love the idea of a museum devoted 100% to the art of bonsai, but I also love this particular 100% bonsai museum. The setting is beautiful, the trees are among the best and the devoted and knowledgeable staff host a series of exciting events. Continued below… Wire Sale Ends Sunday Night 25% off our entire selection Bonsai Wire we … Continue reading Why Every Bonsai Lover Needs to Make a Trip to the Northwest

Cliff Bonsai – Before & After

As always, we’ll start with after photo. The tree is a Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) The artist is Michael Hagedorn. The before photo is below. I lifted today’s post straight from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. Michael posted fourteen step-by-step photos on this dramatic ‘cliff dweller’. We’ll just show you three of these. I encourage you to visit Crataegus – one of our favorite bonsai destinations – to enjoy the whole sequence. Here’s part of what Michael has to say about the creation of this remarkable planting… “We often think of cliff or rock faces being the place where cascade bonsai get … Continue reading Cliff Bonsai – Before & After

A Golden Opportunity to Refine Your Bonsai Skills and Deepen Your Understanding

This striking shot was lifted from Bonsai Empire’s video on Bonsai Fundamentals, an upcoming course by Michael Hagedorn. This post is to unreservedly and enthusiastically encourage you to take Michael Hagedorn’s upcoming Bonsai Fundamentals Course. Here’s some copy borrowed from the host of the course, Bonsai Empire: “Bonsai Fundamentals is an online tutorial offering unique insights into the fundamental concepts of Bonsai design and techniques. It provides important but often neglected instruction of plant-physiology and Japanese aesthetics, deepening your understanding of the living art of Bonsai. Available from March 11th.” If you know Michael Hagedorn you don’t need any more … Continue reading A Golden Opportunity to Refine Your Bonsai Skills and Deepen Your Understanding

A Strange & Wonderful Bonsai Beast & Other Pot-less Masterpieces

This strange and wonderful beast belongs to Michael Hagedorn. I’m pretty sure it’s a Maple, but not so sure about the variety. No matter though, it’s the amazing non-pot and playful approach to bonsai that gets me. Yesterday we featured Michael Hagedorn and his newly upgraded Crataegus Bonsai website. Today it’s more Michael, but this time it’s a quick look at some of his rather impressive collection of potless bonsai. I’ve got a big firewood delivery today and too much to do anyway, so no time for captions. You can visit Crataegus Bonsai for more photos and for the opportunity … Continue reading A Strange & Wonderful Bonsai Beast & Other Pot-less Masterpieces

Micheal Hagedorn’s Respect for the Natural Way (& Newly Upgraded Website)

This shot is from the portfolio on Michael Hagedorn’s recently upgraded Crataegus Bonsai website. I’m too busy now to try search out the varieties (I couldn’t find them in his portfolio), but I could guess that this one is a Rocky Mountain juniper, though I wouldn’t carve that in stone. The thing that I really like about Michael Hagedorn’s bonsai is the respect he shows for the natural way of bonsai, by allowing each tree to speak for itself. And very skillfully too, with an equal respect for bonsai technique. If you know Michael’s bonsai, you already know what I … Continue reading Micheal Hagedorn’s Respect for the Natural Way (& Newly Upgraded Website)

Michael Hagedorn’s Prize Winning Mountain Hemlock

Michael Hagedorn’s Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana), winner of the Finest Evergreen Bonsai at the recent 5 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. You might notice the absence of a pot or even your basic bonsai slab (that’s a thin synthetic sheet of some sort that it’s sitting on). This photo is from Michael’s website (see below for Oscar Jonker’s Exhibition photo). I’m a big fan of Michael Hagedorn’s bonsai. I think this comes from observing Michael at work (a couple years ago I spent five days studying with Michael) and from taking the time to look closely at his trees. If I … Continue reading Michael Hagedorn’s Prize Winning Mountain Hemlock

Before & After – Yearly Work on any Juniper

Before and after on cleanup day. It’s a Tam juniper (Juniperus sabina ‘Tamariscifolia) that belongs to Michael Hagedorn. Here’s copy about the tree shown above that I lifted from Michael Horndorn’s Crataegus Bonsai: “The day these photos were taken was a basic ‘clean up day’ for the juniper—no wire was applied, removing only old and dangling foliage and shortening shoots that were overlong, and also sanding the bark, cleaning deadwood, and applying lime sulfur. This is yearly work on any juniper.” It’s a little hard to fathom that the tree above is the exact same variety as this low … Continue reading Before & After – Yearly Work on any Juniper

An Independence Day History of Bonsai in the U.S.

This wildly expressive Wisteria reminds me of exploding 4th of July fireworks. The photo is from Bill Valavanis‘ Classical Bonsai Art (out of print). The tree belongs to Robert Blankfield, who originally styled it at a workshop with Bill. This post is resurrected from Independence Day, 2013, with a few additions and subtractions. Tomorrow is Independence Day here in the USA. To help you celebrate, why not enjoy a sampling of home grown bonsai? But first, because many of our readers are not U.S. citizens and because some U.S. folks don’t know much about history anyway, a quick American history … Continue reading An Independence Day History of Bonsai in the U.S.

Hamisu: Misting Bonsai on Hot Summer Days

This wild & wonderful cascading Rocky mountain juniper is from Michael Hagedorn’s latest post on Crataegus Bonsai. Clearly there’s more to do, but even as is, it’s an exciting bonsai. The text below is from a 2010 post we borrowed from Michael Hagedorn on summer misting. In addition being a highly accomplished bonsai artist, Michael is a great teacher, with a wealth of bonsai knowledge almost unrivaled in the West. If you’d like to learn more than you ever imagined about bonsai, you’d be well served to visit Michael’s Crataegus Bonsai. Here’s the original in Michael’s own words: “Last summer … Continue reading Hamisu: Misting Bonsai on Hot Summer Days

Quiet Dignity – Formal Upright Bonsai

This Cryptomeria japonica is reminiscent of the unimaginably vast and towering Giant sequoias in California’s Sierra Nevada. This effect could be enhanced by photographing it from a little lower (see the photo below), but you still get the drift. Back very late last night from vacation, so we’ll revisit our archives one more time. This one was originally titled Quiet Dignity (July, 2011). What great trees. The one above is from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. You seldom see a real good formal upright bonsai and you don’t see many good Cryptomeria bonsai either. Especially in the West (as you might … Continue reading Quiet Dignity – Formal Upright Bonsai