Dramatic Multi-Trunk Bonsai – Koyo Japanese Tools

Three robust Shimpaku junipers on a stupendous rock. From the Omiya Bonsai Museum via Bonsai Empire. Continuing our Omiya Bonsai Art Museum theme (with the rock planting above; the rest of the photos are from various other places). I’m in the middle of a two week vacation, so it’s back to our archives. This post (with a few minor changes today) originally appeared here in August 2015. That’s Ryan Neil’s hand posing for a professional photo with a one of the largest single rock, root-on-rock plantings you’ll ever see. Here’s his caption: “In the studio today with @hornbecker shooting for the Artisans … Continue reading Dramatic Multi-Trunk Bonsai – Koyo Japanese Tools

Spring Is Coming! Only About Twelve Weeks Until Our Bonsai Awaken

The new growth on some Spruce is often a brilliant yellow. Almost like yellow flowers. In this case the spruce is an Ezo (Picea jezoensis). This one resides at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum as do the other trees in this post. Continuing with trees from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, this time with a touch of spring, which will one day come. Even here in Northern Vermont the snow will melt and the ground will thaw. Meanwhile, we can dream For a lot of people, Satsuki azaleas are all about the flowers, so it doesn’t matter that you can’t see the trunk … Continue reading Spring Is Coming! Only About Twelve Weeks Until Our Bonsai Awaken

Brilliance at the Omiya Bonsai Museum

This photo was taken indoors at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama Japan. The same tree photographed outside is just below I’ve been thinking about a series on the Omiya Bonsai Museum. Brilliant red or reddish Japanese maples seem like a good place to start. All the images shown here are from the Museum’s facebook photos. Varieties are not listed. HAVE YOU TRIED OUR ROSHI TOOLS? Roshi Bonsai Tools are manufactured to the highest standards and are famous for precision, durability, beauty and reasonable prices Spring is on its way a good time to upgrade your tool selection – Another maple, … Continue reading Brilliance at the Omiya Bonsai Museum

Happy Bonsai Holidays! Merry Bonsai Christmas!

Though it’s usually considered bad form to lop off part of the pot, in this case it’s all about the color (and the wildly expressive trunk). The variety is listed as Issho-no-haru. This and the rest of the photos in this post are from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! No matter what you celebrate (or don’t celebrate), may you and your loved ones enjoy the Season and have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. This post is borrowed from our 2014 archives, so I’m cheating just a bit. But I like it so much and believe that you … Continue reading Happy Bonsai Holidays! Merry Bonsai Christmas!

Spring Is Coming! Only Fourteen Weeks Until Our Bonsai Awaken

The new growth on some Spruce is often a brilliant yellow. Almost like yellow flowers. In this case the spruce is an Ezo (Picea jezoensis). This one resides at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum as do the other trees in this post. It’s the shortest day of the year and you know what that means… SPRING is coming! I know it’s too soon and a little crazy and even a little cruel to think this way when we still have about fourteen weeks of cold stretched out in front of us before our bonsai wake up and start making their … Continue reading Spring Is Coming! Only Fourteen Weeks Until Our Bonsai Awaken

Three Robust Shimpaku on a Stupendous Rock

Three robust Shimpaku junipers on a stupendous rock. From the Omiya Bonsai Museum via Empire Bonsai. Yesterday we featured a type of bonsai forest, so let’s keep going with another type. Though some people might not call these rock plantings forests, they do share the multiple tree and the landscape features with more conventional bonsai forests. This post (with a few changes) first appeared August 2015. That’s Ryan Neil’s hand posing for a professional photo with a one of the largest root-on-rock plantings you’ll ever see. Here’s his caption: “In the studio today with @hornbecker shooting for the Artisans Cup … Continue reading Three Robust Shimpaku on a Stupendous Rock

Whirlpool, Dancer & Other Magnificent Japanese White Pine Bonsai

Do you recognize this tree? We devoted a whole chapter to it in our Pine book (Jewel to Whirlpool). The artist is Tomio Yamada (at least at that time). It’s called Uzushio which as you might guess, means whirlpool. Like the other trees in this post, it resides at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. It’s finally spring here in northern Vermont. In addition to bonsai, I have a passion for landscaping and it’s time to mulch (we’ll cover the weeds that are already taking hold and see what happens). So to save some time and get back outside before the … Continue reading Whirlpool, Dancer & Other Magnificent Japanese White Pine Bonsai

Happy Bonsai Holidays – Merry Bonsai Christmas

Though it’s usually considered bad form to lop off part of the pot, in this case it’s all about the color (and the wildly expressive trunk). The variety is listed as Issho-no-haru. This and the rest of the photos in this post are from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! No matter what you celebrate (or don’t celebrate), may you and your loved ones enjoy the Season and have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. The photos here are from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. In particular, a part of their collection of Satsuki azalea bonsai … Continue reading Happy Bonsai Holidays – Merry Bonsai Christmas

Suburban Yamadori

This old Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) belongs to Mauro Stemberger. The color coordinated pot is by Petra Hahn (even the moss has reddish spots). I found the photo on The Art of Bonsai Project. We’ve been featuring Yews and carved deadwood a lot lately. An auspicious match, as you can readily see in the photos shown here. One of the great things about Yews is they grow almost everywhere. Half the landscapes here in the Eastern U.S. sport a yew or two. For some of us, it’s possible to find good ones for bonsai in our own front yards (suburban … Continue reading Suburban Yamadori

Bonsai Meets Pop Music Again

This old triple trunk Japanese white pine resides at the Omiya Bonsai Art Musem in Saitama Japan. Busy weekend, so we’ll dip back into our archives. This one is from January 2014. First a confession. The title of this post ‘Bonsai Meets Pop Music’ has little if anything to do with the bonsai shown here. However, if you scroll down, you’ll see that it wasn’t made up out of thin air, and if you read Japanese, some light may be shed. All the trees shown here are from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, which houses one of the best bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Meets Pop Music Again