The Biggest Challenge with the Smallest Trees

I won’t guess the species this time (crabapple?), I’m not good at it anyway. What I will guess is that these are fairly normal human fingers, which means this is a very small bonsai. This and two other photos in this post are from Eric Sin’s facebook page. Last two days of vacation. Rather than actually work at putting together a new post, we’ll dive back into our archives. This one appeared just over three years ago (Tiny Bonsai). We’ve done some essential editing, enlarged the photos and added one tree. The biggest challenge with the smallest trees Mini bonsai … Continue reading The Biggest Challenge with the Smallest Trees

Sweet Bonsai – Still Fat and Happy

Sweet tree, phenomenal pot. The little tree is a Pyracantha coccinea Roem by Haruyosi. The pot is also by Haruyosi. All the trees and pots in this post are by Haruyosi. Yesterday it was Flowing quince bonsai by Haruyosi. Today it’s Pyracantha bonsai by Haruyosi. Five trees, two varieties. All flowering. There are two common names for Pyracantha: One is Pyracantha (it’s not that often the Latin name and common name are identical) and the other is Firethorn. Either way, and as you can see, they make good bonsai (especially miniature bonsai); both the leaves and flowers are small and … Continue reading Sweet Bonsai – Still Fat and Happy

Wild Horses, Tiny Trees

This sweet little quince with its brilliant tiny flowers belongs to Haruyosi. It’s a safe bet that he also made the pot. It has been a couple years since I first stumbled upon Haruyosi and his delightful tiny trees and pots and though I’m usually loath to use the term bonsai master (once you introduce the term, pretty soon you see even moderately accomplish bonsai artists called bonsai master and that just ain’t right), if I were to use it, Haruyosi would be a good place to start. Or, more precisely, Shohin Bonsai Master. While were throwing the term around, … Continue reading Wild Horses, Tiny Trees

Bonsai on the Plaza

Bonsai on the plaza. What could be better, sidewalk cafes, old world architecture and bonsai? All the photos in this post are from Barbazza Bonsai in Treviso, Italy. I think this the first time we’ve featured bonsai on a plaza. In Italy, or for that matter, anywhere. The displays belong to Barbazza Bonsai. The city is Treviso. You can visit Barbazza on facebook or on their website. Or, best of all, you could go to Italy. Another great bonsai and architecture shot. Looks like Treviso is an old walled city. And then there are the ubiquitous men on … Continue reading Bonsai on the Plaza

Who Needs Flowers? Suthin Bonsai Before & Mostly After

After. This Bougainvillea is a uniquely compelling bonsai with or without flowers. Still, it would be nice to see it in full bloom, We’ll keep our eyes open and let you know. All the trees and the photos in this post belong to Suthin Sukosolvisit. Just the other day I wrote that Suthin Sukosolvisit is one of the great American bonsai artists. We could amend that to one of the world’s great bonsai artists. This post and all our numerous other posts featuring Suthin’s bonsai help support this contention. Further support can be found by visiting Suthin on facebook and his … Continue reading Who Needs Flowers? Suthin Bonsai Before & Mostly After

Red on Red & Delicate Spring Beauty

There are few things more delicate and beautiful than fresh spring Maple leaves (Trident maple in this case). This exquisite tree and exquisite pot are perfect expressions of the artistry of Haruyoshi. Up at 2:00am yesterday and slept fitfully on the plane. I’ll use the ensuing exhaustion as a excuse to dig into our archives once again. This one is from last April. It’s all Haruyosi, which ties in to some of our recent posts. The only hard part with a post like this, is figuring out which photo to show first (the one that shows up on facebook and … Continue reading Red on Red & Delicate Spring Beauty

Easy to Move and a Delight to Behold…

I think this one qualifies as Mame (‘bean’ in Japanese). Bonsai-wise, mame is a common word for the very smallest bonsai. When we originally posted this, I didn’t know who this lovely little bonsai belonged to. I’ve since been told that it is a Haruyosi tree. Strange how once you know something it’s obvious. And btw, the sweet little pot was no doubt made by Haruyosi as well. Oh, and I’m pretty sure the tree is a Pyracantha. On the road again (and out of the bone chilling cold for a precious minute) so we’ll go archiving once again. This … Continue reading Easy to Move and a Delight to Behold…

A Soft Spot for Tiny Trees

This remarkable little tree has a whole lot going in a very small space: three trunks, great branching, good movement, taper, nebari (more or less) and a well developed apex (tiny leaves don’t hurt either). Altogether, no mean feat. It belongs to Ipunk Bonsai Pasuruan, one of our ten million facebook friends. Beyond that, the only pieces of information listed are: sancang ny (I’m guessing Vietnamese) and SOLD. I have a soft spot for tiny trees. Especially tiny trees where scale is provided by hands and fingers. Almost everyday I scroll through ten thousand photos waiting for something to jump … Continue reading A Soft Spot for Tiny Trees

When Was the Last Time You Saw a Pink Bonsai Pot?

The more I look, the more I love this powerful little bonsai with its proportionally massive trunk and mottled tropical ocean-blue pot that accentuates its bright green leaves (it’s the coffee). The photo is from a section on Takao Koyo in the Japanese Bonsai Pots Blog. The tree is a Trident maple. This all started with a couple pots (below) by Takao Koyo that were recently purchased by Morten Albek and put up on his Shohin Bonsai Blog. A quick search lead to a Takao Koyo jackpot at Ryan Bell’s Japanese Bonsai Pots blog. Here’ a little piece on Takao Koyo … Continue reading When Was the Last Time You Saw a Pink Bonsai Pot?

Luminous Leaves, Glowing Glazes & Contrasting Colors

You don’t see that many bright yellow pots. The glaze is expensive and hard to come by and the brilliance of the color can be overwhelming. But in this case the little tree holds its own. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a better choice of pots to set off the the richly hued Trident maple leaves. The photo, like all the rest in this post, is from Haruyosi’s facebook timeline. I didn’t set off to talk about pot-tree color combinations, but that’s what happened anyway. I guess it’s pretty easy to tell why. I think you could spend a … Continue reading Luminous Leaves, Glowing Glazes & Contrasting Colors