Bonsai Elegance from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum

I’ve never been to the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, but if the elegance of the display shown in this photo is any indication, maybe I should start saving my yen. Continuing our Omiya Bonsai Art Museum theme and still on vacation so we’ll also continue borrowing from our archives (with a little value added today). The three photos shown here were part of a post that appeared in May, 2012. Japanese five needle pine (Goyomatsu) from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum’s gallery. Japanese five needle pines are also called Japanese white pine. The Latin is Pinus parviflora, or sometimes Pinus … Continue reading Bonsai Elegance from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum

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

Bonsai Before & After – Foundations & Inspirations

English field elm, after & before by Harry Harrington. Here’s Harry’s caption… “… before and after images of my Ulmus minor/English Field Elm Bonsai. The ‘before’ image was taken in 2006, a couple of years after I had collected the tree and while I was still grafting in a few roots at the base. Height 27″/66cm, trunkbase 9″/22cm in diameter. Collected in August 2004. Pot by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery.” It has been a while since we visited our friend Harry Harrington. You can enjoy Harry’s ongoing bonsai endeavors on facebook and you can can visit his extensive bonsai4me website. Better still, … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – Foundations & Inspirations

It’s all about Yew

This impressive old tree with its melted wax deadwood and cinnamon bark is yet another dramatic Yew. So dramatic that it’s easy to miss it’s unusual companion. The tree and the little piece of deadwood belong to Mauro Stemberger. The pot is Tokoname. When we originally posted these photos (December, 2012) many of us were just beginning to appreciate Yew for bonsai. Since then they have been pushing their way into our consciousness with a vigor worthy of their robust nature. Anyway, and bad puns aside, I know that I’ve praised yew before. Still, at the risk of repeating myself, I’m a big fan. For landscaping and for bonsai. Continued below… … Continue reading It’s all about Yew

Before & After Bonsai, Six Years Later

Before and after six year later. It’s a European yew (Taxus baccata ‘Summer Gold’) that was dug in 2011 and completed (not that a bonsai is ever completed) in 2017. Sometimes before and afters only show just that… the before and after photos. This time we got lucky with a series of photos (from Josef Burschi’s timeline) that make it a lot easier to understand how the process evolved. Josef Burschi lives in Kisújbánya, Baranya, Hungary. This is his first appearance on Bonsai Bark MID-WINTER SITE WIDE SALE ENDS TOMORROW NIGHT Almost All Items Discounted 25% to 40% off List Prices Some Items … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai, Six Years Later

Six Sweet Little Trees

Here’s a rather famous dwarf Princess persimmon that we’ve shown several times over the years and is still worth another look. Aside from the luminous fruit, distinctive little pot and the twisted trunk, it’s also hard not to notice the spots on the leaves. No matter, it’s still a sweet littl tree. If you’ve ever tried to grow fruiting bonsai, you know that getting healthy fruit to grow and to stay on your trees is no mean feat (birds, wind, insects and other problems will conspire against you). Like yesterday the images in this post are all from Katsumi Komiya’s facebook … Continue reading Six Sweet Little Trees

Elevating the Bonsai Experience

There’s a lot to like here. The obvious part is the perfect little tree itself (looks a lot a Japanese five needle pine) and, in addition to other outstanding features, there’s the way the moss and lichen seamlessly tie the trunk and soil surface together, enhancing the feeling of age. There’s also the cleaned and polished pot and stand and the professional quality photo that elevate the whole experience.* The photos in this post are all from Katsumi Komiya’s timeline and I’m reasonably sure the trees are all his, though I can’t verify this. He doesn’t identify them all, but we’ll do our best. … Continue reading Elevating the Bonsai Experience

Korea Bonsai Artists Exhibition

In addition to the strong trunk and nebari, there’s so much dynamic and expansive movement with this tree. The fruit looks like what you might find on a Chinese quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis) and the tree could certainly pass, so quince is a safe guess. I don’t know who the artist or owner is This post is the first of a series on the recent Korea Bonsai Artists Exhibition. The photos were taken by Mu Jong Park and posted on facebook. The trees aren’t identified, nor are the artists or owners, so I’m already breaking my New Year’s resolution not to post unattributed bonsai. However, I think … Continue reading Korea Bonsai Artists Exhibition

Bonsai Island Paradise

Though it’s not really a bonsai if it’s in the ground, this one is a very close cousin. This photo and all the photos in this post are from Stone Garden. Continuing with our Korean bonsai theme. This one is from our archives (April, 2014). Tomorrow we’ll return to the Korean Bonsai Artists Exhibition. The bonsai shown here reside at a place called Stone Garden, on an island just south of Korea and due west of Japan’s Kyushu Island. The island’s name is Jeju and judging by the photos, it’s a rather magnificent place, with warm enough weather for plants that are … Continue reading Bonsai Island Paradise

An Old Bonsai Favorite

If you know Gedemerta’s bonsai, you’ll recognize this as one of his many Pemphis acidula. The rough bark, preponderance of deadwood and the tiny leaves give it away The photos shown here are from an old favorite of ours, Gedemerta Bonsai Bali. Though I just discovered these (on facebook of course), I also just noticed they date all the way back to 2012, so they may be familiar to some of you. In fact, at least one of them has been shown here on Bark (the Barbados cherry, but with a different pot) and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more than one. MID-WINTER … Continue reading An Old Bonsai Favorite