A Most Unusual & Provocative Bonsai Extravaganza

I don’t know how big this planting is, though I’m leaning toward pretty big. Impressive too with its sophisticated sense of depth (larger trees in front and smaller toward the back). Not to overlook the very large pot with its flowing lines and no doubt hefty price tag. This photo and the next three below are from Bill Valavanis’ blog Continuing with yesterday’s mixed media bonsai theme, this one is from Robert Steven’s 2014 1st International Bonsai Biennale. At the time we referred to it as the most unusual and provocative bonsai extravaganza ever TWO NEW TOOL SPECIALS Famous Roshi BONSAI Tools 30% … Continue reading A Most Unusual & Provocative Bonsai Extravaganza

Superior Bonsai Deserve a Superior Turntable

Everything looks good on a Green T turntable and this luscious azalea in full flower is no exception (it will look even better on with the new green rims – see below). Here’s part of the caption that the folks at Green T wrote with this photo… “@bonsaiwarsaw loves azaleas! This variety of bonsai require lots of special care and dedication and we are glad that such a young innovative bonsai artist is trusting Green T to do his best!” I cropped the original photo to feature just the tree. The uncropped version is below. Just in case you missed … Continue reading Superior Bonsai Deserve a Superior Turntable

Cross Country Bonsai Wagon

One of several bonsai recently posted by Bonsai Mirai. No varieties were given for any of the trees shown here (on social media*), but we do know that they belong to Ryan Neil. If you’d like to know more about these trees and you have time, you can sort through the Mirai website. Even if you don’t find all the ones shown here, you’ll see many of the very best American yamadori (collected from the wild) trees. *Bonsai Mirai’s fb timeline Just in case you forgot, this post can serve as another reminder about the rapidly approaching 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. It’s the one bonsai event … Continue reading Cross Country Bonsai Wagon

Heavenly Bonsai, an Old Larch, a Tree that Never Gave Up & a Terrific Subtext

American Larch (Larix laricina – aka Tamarack) by Larch Master Nick Lenz (from our archives). This brings us to the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (September, 8th and 9th in Rochester). We will bring some field grown larches of our own. Nothing like this masterpiece. Just some rough stock, mostly 15 to 25 year old that originally came from a friend’s land. We have been digging some every year and growing them on here at my place, for the last 14 years or so. We’ve been pruning for taper, so we’ve got some pretty good trunks. We’ll try to have some … Continue reading Heavenly Bonsai, an Old Larch, a Tree that Never Gave Up & a Terrific Subtext

Backyard Bonsai 14 – “A Little Bit Above Average”

Bird’s eye view of Dan Dolan’s backyard. It’s Monday Monday and I’ve been at work since 7:00am, mostly answering emails and putting out small fires. Given that time is of essence, we’ll get out our tools and dig back into our archival mine. This one, Dan Dolan’s backyard, originally appeared in September, 2015. It fits well with our recently resurrected backyard theme Dan Dolan sent along some of his thoughts on bonsai and bonsai display… “Unlike many enthusiasts who heed the remonstrance of American bonsai masters to acquire only the best material upon which to work…… I take only the least promising … Continue reading Backyard Bonsai 14 – “A Little Bit Above Average”

Bonsai Folk Art

Bonsai folk art. There’s so much that’s unusual and delicious about this one, that I won’t bother to say much, except that the tree looks like an Olive (talk about asleep at the wheel, and thanks to a couple astute readers, we’re going have to revise this to Rosemary), I love it and Juan Antonio’s caption says… “Otro listo. Romero Palaui.” I don’t know who Romero Palaui is, but his name comes up on Pinterest a lot. The World Cup Finals start in about 80 minutes, so we’ll save researching him for another time Continuing with our newly discovered Juan Antonio Pérez (see … Continue reading Bonsai Folk Art

Revisiting the Great Bonsai Debate

A naturalistic Norway spruce (Picea abies) by Walter Pall (from Bonsai Today issue 106) A blast from the past. This post originally appeared here in July, 2009, our 6th month Barking (this means we’ve been doing this for almost ten years). I don’t know if the topic is still relevant to any of you, but there was a time when it created a bit of a buzz and I think many of us can learn something by reading what Walter Pall has to say about the topic (below). As always with reruns, I’ve made a few changes. In the expanding galaxy of … Continue reading Revisiting the Great Bonsai Debate

Feed Your Bonsai (They Don’t Survive on Water, Light and Love Alone)

Your bonsai may never look like this, but they can be this healthy if you tend to basic care, including ample fertilizing. It’s a Japanese maple that belongs to Walter Pall. Walter lists its height as 75cm (30″) and its age as around thirty years. It was imported from a Korean nursery in 2016. The pot is a Tokoname from Japan. This is not the first time we’ve encouraged you to tend to your bonsai’s nutrient needs, and it won’t be the last. The tree above appeared here on Bark a few months ago. Most of the rest of what you see here … Continue reading Feed Your Bonsai (They Don’t Survive on Water, Light and Love Alone)

Selling Bonsai & Buying Time – Bill’s Fire Sale

This awesome Full moon maple with its fiery foliage belongs to Bill Valavanis. Here’s Bill’s caption. “The Full moon maple was well developed, one of my favorite developed bonsai. Usually a colorful ribbon was tied to the lower branch to caution people not to damage the lovely branch. As many of my bonsai are, this Full moon maple is often changed in the garden according to season. It is always tied down with one or two pieces of sissy wire.” We can’t go too long without featuring Bill Valavanis. Especially getting this close to the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (in … Continue reading Selling Bonsai & Buying Time – Bill’s Fire Sale

Cage Free Bonsai & Other Wonders

I couldn’t resist. The photo and Cage Free title belong to Rodney Clemons, a well know bonsai humorist and respected artist (Tony Tickle’s American counterpart?). A little whimsy to start the day. You can find the photos above and just below, and much more on Rodney Clemon’s timeline. 30% off Bonsai Pot Sale Ends Wednesday (Tomorrow) at 11:59pm EDT – Rodney Clemon’s famous Kingsville Boxwood. We’ve feature it before and if I had to guess, we’ll probably feature it again someday. The ancient olive below has little to do with bonsai, though it would be easy to imagine it scaled down to bonsai size “The at least 2,000 year old olive … Continue reading Cage Free Bonsai & Other Wonders