If you only visit one bonsai event this year, make it the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

I borrowed this famous cascading Juniper from the 5th National Bonsai Exhibition website (cropped to better fit a certain social media’s format). If you only visit one bonsai event this year, make it The 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Rochester NY, September 8th & 9th. Do whatever it takes! Rearrange you life if necessary so you can be there. Each National Bonsai Exhibition is better than the last, and the last one was mind-stopping. The buzz was palpable and from conversations with dozens of others, the feeling was universal. And it wasn’t just the bonsai, though they amazed me more each time … Continue reading If you only visit one bonsai event this year, make it the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

The Original Backyard Bonsai – Tool & Soil Specials End Tomorrow

Trident maple root-over-rock by Wolfgang Putz. Staying in the backyard one more day. This one is our first backyard bonsai post from 2009 (over 3,000 posts ago), with a few changes today Today it’s Wolfgang Putz’ backyard. It turns out Wolfgang is a bonsai professional, so his backyard is really a bonsai nursery. Since this original backyard post, our focus has been mostly non-professional backyards SOIL SPECIAL ENDS TOMORROW 30% OFF LIST PRICES ON ALL BONSAI SOIL special ends Sunday, July 1st at 11:59pm EDT – This ariel shot shows part of Wolfgang Putz’s back yard bonsai display. Clearly this is a labor of … Continue reading The Original Backyard Bonsai – Tool & Soil Specials End Tomorrow

Brilliant Bonsai Garden from the Front this Time

Today it’s Harmut Muenchebach’s spectacular front yard. Yesterday it was the back This bonsai garden is so exceptionally beautiful that I’d feel remiss not showing you the other side. This post originally appear here in May of last year We were going to move on from yesterday’s post until I stumbled upon the photos shown here. Now our picture of Hartmut Muenchenbach’s magical Bavarian bonsai garden is a little closer to complete. Though the photos here are by Walter Pall and Jennifer Price (just like yesterday’s), we found them at a place called Bonsai Mag ROSHI TOOL SPECIAL ENDS SUNDAY 40% OFF ALL ROSHI STAINLESS … Continue reading Brilliant Bonsai Garden from the Front this Time

Brilliant Bavarian Back Yard Bonsai Garden

Harmut Muenchebach’s brilliant Bavarian backyard bonsai garden. It wouldn’t be hard to indulge in a little envy here, but better to just enjoy. Let’s keep going with perhaps the most enchantng Backyard Bonsai Gardens we’ve seen yet. It belongs to Hartmut Muenchenbach of Bavaria. I found the photos on Walter Pall’s timeline titled Jennifer Price at Hartmut Muenchenbach’s. We originally featured it just over a year ago. BONSAI SOIL SPECIAL ENDS SUNDAY 30% off list prices on all Bonsai Soil special ends Sunday, July 1st at 11:59pm EDT – Impressive tree in an impressive garden A closer look at the tree’s details … Continue reading Brilliant Bavarian Back Yard Bonsai Garden

Backyard Bonsai #17

I like it when people offer a peek into their inner worlds. It’s a generous act. This one belongs to Zdenek Svoboda. Zdenek lives in Skalica Slovakia, a place that’s a mystery to me Picking up our Backyard Bonsai series with a visit to Zdenek Svoboda in Slovakia (via his timeline on fb). There are plenty more great photos where these came from. If my count is correct, this is our 17th backyard display. Our first was Wolfgang Putz’ yard, in May, 2009 By the way, if you have a bonsai display in your backyard, we’d love to see it KILO BONSAI WIRE SPECIAL 16.95 PER ROLL ONLY … Continue reading Backyard Bonsai #17

A Rare Bonsai Occurrence – Harry’s Flowering Privet

This flowering Privet belongs to Harry Harrington (as does the wristwatch). I took the liberty to crop the original photo (see below) for a closer view Our talented and prolific friend Harry Harrington is at it again. Here’s his caption for the tree shown here (from his fb timeline)… “I think this is quite a rare occurrence, one of my Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) bonsai not only flowering, but in scale with the tree itself! Collected in 2009 from a hedge growing in West London, this has always been one of my favourite Privet. Height 14″/34cm, 5″/12.5cm trunk diameter. Pot by Victor … Continue reading A Rare Bonsai Occurrence – Harry’s Flowering Privet

Stupendous Bonsai – a Good Place to Start

Stupendous is a good start in the search for words to describe this old full cascade Pemphis acidula by Budi Sulistyo. Ahh, to live in the tropics where stuff like this grows everywhere (well, not exactly like this, but still…). I first saw it in facebook in an album entitled My bonsai by Budi. By the way, Budi lives in Indonesia I’d venture that we’ve seen as many astounding Pemphis acidula as almost any other bonsai variety. Especially if we’re talking tropicals. Yesterday we featured three (along with some other tropical wonders), which got me thinking. Why not take a … Continue reading Stupendous Bonsai – a Good Place to Start

Bonsai Waterfalls & Strange Beasts

Not technically a cascading bonsai, but the foliage does cascade down along the trunk. Almost like a waterfall. Speaking of the trunk, not only does it express more than enough power and grace, but the way the grooved deadwood at the base of the trunk twists around behind and pops out again toward the top adds a nice touch. The tree is listed as Pemphis which is a genus of tropical plants. The species isn’t given but when it comes to bonsai Pemphis usually (always?) mean Pemphis acidula Today’s featured artist, Trang Jira lives in Bangkok, Thailand. His trees are unique and unlike most of the trees we show, they don’t owe that much to … Continue reading Bonsai Waterfalls & Strange Beasts

A Magnificent Celebration of American Bonsai Coming Soon

Winner of the Finest Bonsai Masterpiece at the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. It’s a Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga Mertensiana) that belongs to Eric Schikowski. The photo is by Joseph Noga as are all the photos in Exhibition Albums 2-5. Just a friendly reminder… It’s time to make your plans. The 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition is the premier North American celebration of bonsai. The one event you don’t want to miss and it’s only a little more than two months away. We look forward to seeing you there! BONSAI FERTILIZER SPECIAL ENDS TONIGHT 30% OFF LIST PRICES special ends tonight, Friday, June 22nd at 11:59pm Time … Continue reading A Magnificent Celebration of American Bonsai Coming Soon

Bonsai Boon with and without Flowers

This powerful old Satsuki azalea belongs to Boon Manakitivipart. The shot was taken just before spring pruning. Boon’s caption with this shot and the one just below is… “Satsuki azalea Debloom and thinning” Boon Manakitivipart (Bonsai Boon) is one of our favorites and has appeared numerous times here over the years. In addition to being a highly accomplished and prolific bonsai artist, Boon is teacher to many of the best American bonsai artists. The photos shown here were taken from Boon’s timeline. Three of them are first timers here. You might notice that flowers were removed during spring pruning on … Continue reading Bonsai Boon with and without Flowers