More Before & After Bonsai Mania

Juniper before and after, by Michael Hagedorn, Crataegus Bonsai. Michael says it’s a Juniper procumbens, but it looks a lot like a J. procumbens ‘nana’ to me (that’s the dwarf cultivar), especially in the before below. Continuing with our Before and After mania. This one is from our archives (way back in July, 2010) with some value added today. I have long been a big fan of Michael Hagedorn’s bonsai and his approach to bonsai (here are some of our previous posts on Michael and his bonsai that you might like). Continued below… KILO WIRE ONLY 15.95 this exceptional special ends tomorrow Only 14.35 … Continue reading More Before & After Bonsai Mania

Maintenance Before & After Bonsai

This muscular little tree is a good example of a maintenance before and after. The artist (or artists) that wired and trimmed it perform their magic at Bonsái Pavía. You might remember them from just the other day. The tree looks a lot like a Taxus Yesterday we posted a from scratch before and after. Today it’s a maintenance before and after that we found at Bonsái Pavía. This is when a bonsai that has become overgrown is brought back to presentable (this is a little oversimplified, but you get the drift). Every quality bonsai that has been around for a while, has experienced this type maintenance. In many cases dozens of times. Continued … Continue reading Maintenance Before & After Bonsai

Culture & Local Bonsai Styles

This venerable, naturally dwarfed Ponderosa pine belongs to American/British bonsai artist and teacher, Colin Lewis. Colin lives on the coast of Maine. Ponderosa pines grow in the inland mountains of the western U.S.; two distinctively different environments This post originally appeared here in June, 2011. It was titled Local Bonsai Styles 2: Growing Conditions, Native Species & Culture. I’ve done a little editing and rewriting If you get a chance, take a look at the comments from the last post (from June, 2011). They provide insight into what started as a simple post with a single idea: the effects of human culture … Continue reading Culture & Local Bonsai Styles

Shopping for Bonsai in Japan

I’ve always had a soft spot for three fingered Shohin bonsai (bonsai that are easily held with three fingers). Particularly ones from Japan, where most of the good ones seem to show up… at least in photos. This one looks like a Shimpaku juniper. It’s from Bonsái Pavía, as are all the photos in this post. Today must be my lucky day. Not only did I discover a new bonsai company (new to us at least), I also discover a never before used theme for Bonsai Bark… shopping for bonsai in Japan. The new company is Bonsái Pavía in Madrid, Spain. They’re the ones doing … Continue reading Shopping for Bonsai in Japan

Winter Bonsai Silhouettes – Coming Sooner than You Think

In addition to the massive nebari and the lush soft green foliage contrasted with the soft creme pot, you might appreciate the near perfect photograph. It was taken by the omnipresent Joe Noga (all the photos in this post are his as are numerous other bonsai photos featured on this blog and elsewhere). As you can see, the tree is a Willow leaf ficus. No mention is made of the artist. The photo is from the 2016 Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo gallery. I can’t say with certainty that this year’s Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo will be the best yet, but there’s a good … Continue reading Winter Bonsai Silhouettes – Coming Sooner than You Think

A Small Man Contemplates a White Pine from Below

I borrowed this delicious little gem from Michael Bonsai. Michael doesn’t say who it belongs to or what it is, but given his fondness for Japanese black pines, and given that it looks like a Japanese black pine, well you get the drift. We could even go a little further and speculate that Michael took this photo in Japan; he’s been know to do such things and the tree does have a Japanese feel Continuing from yesterday with Michael Bonsai photos and another plug for this weekend’s Mid-America Bonsai Society Show & Sale… KILO ROLLS ONLY 15.95 Only 14.35 per roll … Continue reading A Small Man Contemplates a White Pine from Below

Meandering Myrtles

Here’s the copy from our source (a Bark post last November titled Meandering Lines)… “This Myrtle (Myrtus communis) belongs to Andrea Albergo. The pot is by Greg Ceramics and the photo is by Harry Harrington. I chose it for the lead tree for several reasons; I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Myrtle with such a massive trunk (turns out I had), deadwood on most non-conifers isn’t all that common (though becoming more common) and I like the loose abstract meandering lines of the deadwood and living veins.” Yesterday we feature a very muscular Myrtle (Myrtus communis) for your viewing … Continue reading Meandering Myrtles

Even Though No Vacation Goes Unpunished, We’re Back & Ready for the Next Round

You almost never see Myrtles this massive. And when you do, they’re never from North America (go ahead, prove me wrong). This one is from Spain. It belong to Gabriel Bonsaisantboi Romero Aguade (something of a regular here on Bark). Here’s his caption… “After a day and a half removing inner leaves, it’s ready for a wire and correction.” We’ll just feature one tree today. I’m recovering from jet lag and worse, buried in two weeks of work (no vacation goes unpunished). Anyway, I’m back and Ric (our warehouse master) will be back and recovered from routine surgery on Monday Continued below… … Continue reading Even Though No Vacation Goes Unpunished, We’re Back & Ready for the Next Round

Monster Bonsai, True Confession & the Meaning of Life

It’s hard to tell just how large this monster is from this photo (cropped from the photo just below), but it does provide some notion of how massive the trunk is and a pretty good look at the details on the pot… In the past I’ve always managed to post in spite of being on vacation… which might beg a question about the meaning of vacation (maybe even the meaning of life). Anyway, this is my first post in almost a week, and – true confession – much of it is borrowed from a 2011 post that was titled Vacation Gallery. The original … Continue reading Monster Bonsai, True Confession & the Meaning of Life

Monster Demo Bonsai on a Monster Hydraulic Turntable

That’s famous bonsai master, Kunio Kobayashi on the right, getting ready to tackle his monster demo tree. And yes, that’s a Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntable gamely holding the behemoth up. The after shot is below It’s Saturday, a good day to catch up mowing, weeding and trimming outside. Not bonsai (who mows bonsai?) but just our landscape gardens. Anyway, to save time, we’ll resurrect this post from a couple months ago. It’s a bit of an infomercial for our popular Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntables, but the photos are still very good. Time to pay another visit to the recent … Continue reading Monster Demo Bonsai on a Monster Hydraulic Turntable