Slow Down & Take a Bonsai Tour

Michael Hagedorn reworked this Sierra juniper (grafted with shimpaku) in a refinement session at the Weyerhaeuser bonsai collection (now the Pacific Bonsai Museum), way back in 2009. The before photo is below. This is the third time for this post (nonwithstanding some key changes and additions). And though today is not yet Labor Day, it is Labor Day weekend. Time to chill with family, friends and late summer bonsai chores. It’s rare to find writing that explores our thoughts when we work on our bonsai. So I was surprised and delighted when I read Michael Hagedorn’s post on Crataegus Bonsai, … Continue reading Slow Down & Take a Bonsai Tour

Bonsai News Flash!

We featured this dramatic Sierra juniper here on Bark back in January. This time though, after a long journey from the wilds of the Sierra Nevadas to Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai, it’s made the national bonsai news. We just got an email announcement from The Pacific Bonsai Museum: Here it is, almost word for word: “The Pacific Bonsai Museum proudly announces its first acquisition, a Sierra Juniper by rising bonsai artist Ryan Neil of St. Helens, Oregon. The acquisition was made possible by a generous gift from The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. Here’s a link to the press release for … Continue reading Bonsai News Flash!

The Golden State of Bonsai

Whoa! I am floored. Have you ever seen a bonsai feature more dynamic and powerful than this tree’s massive deadwood swirl? If so, please send a photo. The tree is one of many large bonsai from the private collection of Frank Bardella that were delivered to the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. The image is from Golden Statement Magazine’s facebook photos. If you love bonsai but don’t know Golden Statements Magazine, it’s time to get acquainted. I won’t say much more, except that Golden Statements has been around for a long time (it must have been one … Continue reading The Golden State of Bonsai

Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September

Only Mother Nature. There is no way anyone will ever grow a tree quite like this magnificently wild Rocky Mountain juniper. Taking this a step further, there is almost no way anyone will ever be able to collect and style a tree like this, though there are a handful of people who have the requisite skills and knowledge. In this case, it’s a combination of two who share the skills and knowledge: Randy Knight* found it, collected it and made sure it survived the trauma, and Ryan Neil styled it, potted it and currently keeps it alive and well at … Continue reading Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September

A Method to Mike’s Madness

Looks like an old yamadori California juniper with its heavy twisted trunk. All the bonsai shown here were lifted from the Bonsai Blog of Mike Page. They are all rather unique and they all stray from the trees we usually feature, but to my eye at least, they all stray in more or less in one direction. There is a method to Mike’s madness. This Japanese black pine by Mike won the Yoshimura Award for the Finest Classical Bonsai at the 1st U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (way back in 2008). The luminous grass, the unique pot and the … Continue reading A Method to Mike’s Madness

Twenty Eight Questions for Peter Tea

Kishu shimpaku grafted onto a Seirra juniper. Several artists have contributed to the styling of this powerful old collected tree. The latest (when this photo was taken back in 2013) is Peter Tea. You can follow the progression of Peter’s work on this tree and much more on his excellent blog. The other day I happened upon a unique and worthy new (for me) bonsai blog that had been hiding in plain site (see our last post) since October of 2011. It’s called Yenling Bonsai and it belongs to Jeremiah Lee. In the course of familiarizing myself with Jeremiah’s handiwork … Continue reading Twenty Eight Questions for Peter Tea

Bay Island Bonsai Tonight

I like the way the shari is understated, relative to many juniper bonsai at least. It contrasts nicely with the striking reddish bark, which someone went to a lot to some trouble to clean up. It’s a Sierra juniper, which as you might guess from the name, is native to the Sierra Nevada Mountains (and further north into the Cascades). The photo is from the Bay Island Bonsai’s 15th Annual Exhibit. Aside from the fact that this is an excellent bonsai with potential to become even better, the fact that it’s a native North American species is an added plus … Continue reading Bay Island Bonsai Tonight

Slow Down & Stop Thinking So Much

Michael Hagedorn reworked this collected Sierra juniper (grafted with shimpaku) in a half-day refinement session at the Weyerhaeuser collection in Federal Way, Washington, way back in 2009. The before photo is below. It’s Labor Day here in the U.S. A day when we celebrate working by not working (that’s not really the whole story, but it makes for a good line). Anyway, in the spirit of not working, I thought we’d dig back into the archives and regale you with yet another rerun. But it’s not just any old rerun. It’s a rerun with a message that goes well beyond … Continue reading Slow Down & Stop Thinking So Much

Born in the U.S.A. & A Couple Recent Immigrants

Picasso’s (aka Dan Robinson’s) now famous wild and wonderful Hinoki. It’s from Will Hiltz’ excellent book, Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees, about Dan’s life and work. It’s no longer available through Stone Lantern, but I think they might still have some at Dan’s Elandan Gardens. Here’s the original Bark post. It’s Independence Day (here in the USA at least)! To help you celebrate, why not enjoy a sampling of home-grown (and a couple recent immigrant) bonsai from previous Bark posts? But first, because many of our readers are not US Americans (and because some US Americans don’t know much about history … Continue reading Born in the U.S.A. & A Couple Recent Immigrants

A Boon to Bonsai

From chuhin to shohin. I have a soft spot for stubby little trees. Especially ones with reams of character like this European olive that was originally a stump dug from Boon Manakitivipart’s garden. Bonsai Boon Boon Manakitivipart is without doubt one of North America’s most influential bonsai artists and teachers. Several of his students have become important artists and teachers in their own right, and countless trees of Boon’s and his students’ have appeared on this blog, in magazines and books and elsewhere on the web. All of the photos in this posts (except the very last one) are from … Continue reading A Boon to Bonsai