Exquisite Trees, Exquisite Pots

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. 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 in our newsletter). We had the same problem with our previous two posts that featured Haruyosi pots and bonsai (here and here). I won’t bore you much more, except to say that Haruyosi does a couple things that set him apart. First, he … Continue reading Exquisite Trees, Exquisite Pots

A Bonsai Story (Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell)

You can get some idea that this might be a pretty big bonsai from this photo (the little leaf at the bottom helps). But how big, you could only guess. This and the other photos in this post are from Peter Tea Bonsai. I started this post with the title Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell. That’s because I wanted to talk about how difficult it is to tell just how big some bonsai are without something to indicate scale. In photos that is. Now you might not think this is a big deal, but it is. Photos, even when there … Continue reading A Bonsai Story (Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell)

Capital Bonsai Shadows

Here’s Capital Bonsai’s caption for this photo: Three point display with Trident Maple. In training since 1895. Donated by Prince Takamatsu. Mt. Fuji scroll and Japanese Blood Grass. A few years ago there was a lot of buzz about bonsai being a fine art. Now, the issues seems settled. If you start with the right material and add a masterful eye and touch, both the process and the result can be called art. Photographing bonsai, when done well, is also art, and the photos shown here are no exception. They are a small sampling (I chose just one tree) from … Continue reading Capital Bonsai Shadows

Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

This Itoigawa Shimpaku (Juniperus chinensis ‘itoigawa’) by Dougie Smith qualifies as opulent for sure. Outrageous? Well there is that huge rock jutting up from the skinny little (but very handsome) pot. As for outstanding; that goes without saying. Note: I don’t know what the smaller trees down low are. Maybe azaleas? Myrtle? This photo and the others in this post are by Philippe Massard, though I cropped them all to bring the trees closer. All the photos in this post are from the Noelanders Trophy XV which was recently held in Belgium. The photos are all borrowed from Philippe Massard … Continue reading Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

Bonsai Art & Free Flowing Information

Root-over-rock Trident maple by Wolfgang Putz. The photo is from Bonsai Master on facebook as are all three photos in this post. Here are a couple earlier posts on Wolfgang’s bonsai (from May, 2009 and from August 2012). All three of these photos are from someone called Bonsai Master (facebook). When I saw them, I was struck by three things: 1. All three are excellent bonsai. 2. The quality of the photos is also excellent. It make a big difference when people go to the trouble to take a good shot. Facebook (but not just facebook) is overflowing with poorly … Continue reading Bonsai Art & Free Flowing Information

Who Doesn’t Love Good Multi-Trunk Bonsai with Their Morning Coffee?

Trident maple at the 2013 Taikan-ten Exhibition which is happening right now (Nov 18-26). There’s a lot going on with the tree; three major trunks and a baby one sticking out the back, a large mounding nebari and a whole lot of movement. I particularly like the trunk on the right that emerges from the base of the nebari (the base of the base). I borrowed the photo from Bjorn Bjorholm (facebook of course). I started this post thinking we’d show a few Taikan-ten Exhibition trees from the last few years. A sort of mini-history lesson. But that proved too … Continue reading Who Doesn’t Love Good Multi-Trunk Bonsai with Their Morning Coffee?

Capital Color

This Japanese Maple was donated to our National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by Ryutaro Azuma. It has been in training since 1906. The photo, like all but one of the photos in this post, is from Capital Bonsai. It has been at least a month since the colors peaked here in northern Vermont, but we can imagine that somewhere, where the climate is a little more relaxed, some lucky people can still look out and see trees all ablaze. Perhaps if you live in the D.C. area, where most of these photos are from (via the Capital Bonsai blog), you … Continue reading Capital Color

Bonsai Muscle

European olives are often resplendent with character as well as muscle and this one is certainly no exception. I found it on flickr and then, one thing led to another and to the conclusion that this tree belongs to Luis Vallejo (though I couldn’t find evidence on his very attractive site). Fair warning I mentioned this last time, but just in case you missed it: I’m out of town and busy with things too numerous to mention, so we’ll dig into our archives once again. This digging should last about two weeks and then we’ll get back to fresh posts. … Continue reading Bonsai Muscle

360 Degree Bonsai (Second Try)

This front view of a root-over-rock Trident maple is one of a whole series of views you can enjoy on the Northern Ireland Bonsai Society website. We had some problems with links to the version of this when we posted it yesterday. My guess is that the degree mark in 360° Bonsai is the issue, so we change the title to 360 Degree Bonsai. We won’t know if it works until we actually post it, so please don’t panic if you see what looks like the same post twice. Back in pioneering days of this blog, we posted an image … Continue reading 360 Degree Bonsai (Second Try)

360 Degree Bonsai

This front view of a root-over-rock Trident maple is one of a whole series of views you can enjoy on the Northern Ireland Bonsai Society website. Back in pioneering days of this blog, we posted an image of a Satsuki azalea that was taken from a site that showed it in a way that seemed unique at the time; 360 degrees of spinning bonsai splendor. We couldn’t and still can’t show that here (WordPress is pretty basic), so we showed a couple still shots, offered a link (unfortunately no longer live) and moved on. Four and one half years later, … Continue reading 360 Degree Bonsai