Chocolate Bonsai

If you read Japanese, you might learn something about this and the other bonsai shown here. Otherwise, you can do what I do; simply enjoy these sweet little trees (and other plantings) and their equally sweet pots. All the photos shown here are from Pinterest. If what many of us suspect is true, that the population of aging bonsai lovers is not being replaced in large enough numbers by younger enthusiasts, then we should be seeing increasing interest in smaller trees. Nevertheless, what we usually see online are larger, more dramatic trees. I suppose this makes sense as drama sells … Continue reading Chocolate Bonsai

A Bonsai Pot that Set the Armies Marching

This powerful little Trident maple with its massive trunk and distinctive mottled soft blue pot deserves top billing. The photo is from a section on Takao Koyo in the Japanese Bonsai Pots Blog. This all started with a couple pots by Takao Koyo on Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai Blog. A quick search lead to a Takao Koyo jackpot at Ryan Bell’s Japanese Bonsai Pots blog, and from there a link to Takao Koyo’s blog, where you can enjoy an abundance of great pots and trees. This post originally appeared two years ago (Jan, 2015). I’ve done some editing but the … Continue reading A Bonsai Pot that Set the Armies Marching

Five Shohin Bonsai Plus One

A sweet little Firethorn (Pyracantha) in full flower. Yesterday we showed one with a few berries and if you scroll down you’ll see one with a lot more than a few. Thought we’d continue yesterday’s Shohin theme with a few more photos. I’ll spare you too much commentary. The photo above is from Bonsai Mike. Continued below… NEW SALE 25% off All Bonsai Books Choose from 50 different titles additional 10% off orders 100.00+ FREE Shipping on U.S. orders 50.00+ be sure to select Free Shipping when you check out It’s not everyday you see a shohin Buttonwood (Conocarpus … Continue reading Five Shohin Bonsai Plus One

Shohin Bonsai – An Art Unto Itself

This muscular little pine is a great example of well done Shohin bonsai. You might notice the lack of secondary and tertiary branching and thus the limited foliage. There is only so much you can do on such a small canvass. This results in an overall look and feel that is quite different than larger trees. Almost like an art unto itself. It’s Shohin day today. Little bonsai with big advantages. A few of these advantages are: shohin tend to be less expensive than larger trees, they take up a lot less space, they are easy to lift and move, … Continue reading Shohin Bonsai – An Art Unto Itself

Short & Sweet

Here’s what Bob Bailey wrote when he posted this tiny but powerful pine by Koji Hiramatsu: “One of his finest and only 10cms tall.” And just in case you happen to live in one of the three countries* that haven’t adopted the metric system, that’s just under 4″ I’m not sure how we managed to overlook Koji Hiramatsu for so long (in February it will be eight years of approximately 300 posts per year), but we did. Until now. We’re still recovering from the December frenzy and it’s time to wade though digital piles of year end numbers and obligations, … Continue reading Short & Sweet

Ordinary Bonsai for Ordinary People

Kishu shimpaku juniper by John Brocklehurst. I like the fragile deadwood twigs and ordinary qualities of this tree, though it could use more refinement and the pot seems a little large, still most of us aspiring bonsai artists would love to see it on our bench. This may be our busiest weekend of the year. That’s my excuse for resurrecting another post from our archives. This one is from January 2013. It was titled, Small Is Still Beautiful. I chose the current title because the trees shown here, though very good, are not quite the jaw dropping world class bonsai … Continue reading Ordinary Bonsai for Ordinary People

What Do Shohin Bonsai & Suiseki Have in Common?

The 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Finest Shohin Bonsai Display by Melvyn Goldstein. The varieties are: Japanese Five-Needle Pine, Dwarf Hinoki Cypress, Trident Maple, Zelkova and Sargent Juniper. Unfortunately given that some of the individual trees were less well lit than others, the photo isn’t as good we’d like (Oscar worked with what he had). You can expect a better shot when the album comes out. One answer to the question above – What Do Shohin Bonsai & Suiseki Have in Common? – is they were both on display at the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition and a prize winner … Continue reading What Do Shohin Bonsai & Suiseki Have in Common?

Tiny Bonsai Master?

Bright yellow flowers and a light yellow pot makes for a soft contrast. Haruyosi doesn’t identify this little gem, but the flowers look a lot like Potentilla. Though the yellow Potentilla I have in my yard has much smaller leaves relative to the flowers. We’ll continue with tiny bonsai today, though not all are by Shohin master Haruyosi, who we’ve been featuring lately (I originally wrote tiny bonsai master Haruyosi, but that doesn’t work so well). Yesterday we featured freshly trimmed Shimpaku juniper by Haruyosi, now it’s a freshly trimmed Ezo spruce (aka Yezo spruce), also by Haruyosi. I love … Continue reading Tiny Bonsai Master?

Tiny Trees, Brilliant Flowers & Wild Horses

This sweet little quince with its brilliant flowers belongs to Haruyosi. It’s a safe bet that he also made the pot. It has been several years since I first stumbled upon Haruyosi. Every since that fortunate day, we periodically return to him and his delightful tiny trees and pots. In this case, it’s a rerun (we last showed these photos a little over a year ago), but it’s a good one, so I don’t think you’ll mind. I happen to believe that quince flowers are as brilliant and pure as any flowers anywhere. So we’ll stick with quince this time … Continue reading Tiny Trees, Brilliant Flowers & Wild Horses

Feel the Love for Bonsai

This looks a lot like a Tsukomo cypress, though we can’t be sure because the foliage is difficult to make out. We originally discovered these photos on Morten Albek’s Shohin blog. Morten found them at Bonsai Project, Feel Feel Bonsai. My response was very positive when I first saw them, though their title Feel Feel the Love for Bonsai is catchy, it seemed a little too romantic, so I dropped the second Feel (or was it the first?). Whichever you prefer, I hope you enjoy the photos. Here’s part of what Morten Albek wrote about this unusual project. “In Japan … Continue reading Feel the Love for Bonsai