To Deadwood or Not to Deadwood (for My Friend Sal)

There’s deadwood and then there’s deadwood. It’s a safe guess that this crazy tree is a juniper, just like the other two trees shown here (it may also be a safe guess that it’s a tanuki*). There’s no mention of the artist/owner. Ditto for the other two. Every few days we get a comment from someone objecting to all the deadwood you see on bonsai these days. I get it, things get overdone. Including deadwood. But if we’re going to consider bonsai an art, then we might want to leave room for experimentation. And if we do that, there’s always … Continue reading To Deadwood or Not to Deadwood (for My Friend Sal)

From Wild to Wild – Another Before & After Bonsai

After. This distinctive European spruce, aka Norway spruce (Picea abies) was collected in Switzerland in 1993. It’s now 25cm (10″) high and around 100 years old. The strikingly naturalistic pot (by Mateusz Grobeiny) and those little plants (succulents?) growing around the trunk and flowing down side of the pot add a strong natural touch. So natural that you might imagine stumbling upon the whole planting while hiking in the Alps. The artist and owner of the tree is Walter Pall. You can view the before and after together if you scroll down. Too much going on here today, so we’ll … Continue reading From Wild to Wild – Another Before & After Bonsai

Pine Bonsai – A Less Common Cousin

This handsome cork bark (see corrections below*) Japanese red pine, with its deeply grooved bark tells a story of age and beauty. The artist is Enrico Savini. If someone asked you to name two Japanese pines, you’d probably answer, Japanese black pine and Japanese white pine. This would make sense as most of the Japanese pine bonsai you see are Black or White. However, there is another important Japanese pine. It’s the Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora). One reason you might not think of the Red pine is that it is less common than the Black or White pine and, … Continue reading Pine Bonsai – A Less Common Cousin

No Matter Where You Go, Sooner or Later You’ll Find Walter

This tall, wild looking Sabina juniper was styled by Walter Pall. The photo is from The Art of Bonsai Project. The pot is by Bryan Albright. Got a load of topsoil coming this morning, so we need to make this quick, and what could be quicker than borrowing from our archives? This one is from October 2013. “No matter where you go, there you are” (Buckaroo Banzai) could be paraphrased, “no matter where you go on the web, sooner or later you’ll find Walter Pall ” (the Buckaroo of European Bonsai?). Walter is both prolific and very good at what … Continue reading No Matter Where You Go, Sooner or Later You’ll Find Walter

The Front Yard of the Same Brilliant Bonsai Garden

Today it’s Harmut Muenchebach’s spectacular front yard. Yesterday it was the back We were going to move on from yesterday’s post until I stumbled upon the photos shown here. Now the picture of Hartmut Muenchenbach’s magical Bavarian bonsai garden is a little closer to complete. Though the photos here are by Walter Pall and Jennifer Price (just like yesterday’s), we found them at a place called Bonsai Mag 3 Day Wire Sale Ends Tomorrow Night 40% off 2 or more 500 gram Bonsai Aesthetic Wire only 8.70 per roll and just in case you’re new to this 8.70 is a … Continue reading The Front Yard of the Same Brilliant Bonsai Garden

Walter’s Massive Forest & Other Hornbeam Bonsai

This massive Hornbeam forest belongs to Walter Pall. Walter doesn’t mention the variety in his gallery section (you might be able to hunt it down on his blog), but given that Walter lives in Germany, You might guess that it’s a European hornbeam (Carpinus betula), but I wouldn’t take it to the bank. The other day someone asked if we would do something on Hornbeams, so here it is, the beginning of a series on the Hornbeam genus (Carpinus). And in case the person who asked is actually reading this (or anyone else is interested), our archives contain several Hornbeam … Continue reading Walter’s Massive Forest & Other Hornbeam Bonsai

Another Bonsai Adventure with an Old Ezo Spruce

This Ezo spruce (Picea jezoenis) belongs to Walter Pall. The hand built pot accentuates its natural look. The tree was originally collected in Hokkaido, Japan sometime before 1950 and is over 100 years old. The pot (Walter calls it a stone) is by Dietmar Popp. Inventory today. To save time, we’ll borrow from May, 2015. After this, it’s onward into the New Year and plenty of new posts. In addition to his bonsai, I like Walter Pall’s instructive step-by-step presentations. It’s like you’re standing there looking over his shoulder. Or in this case, Thomas’ shoulder. In Walter’s own words Thomas … Continue reading Another Bonsai Adventure with an Old Ezo Spruce

Sturdy Spruce Bonsai

This impressively sturdy tree is from the cover of Bonsai Today issue 61 (all issues are now 30% – 40% off). As you can see, it’s a Picea glehnii (Sakhalin spruce) though it’s often confused with Ezo spruce (Picea jezoensis) and for all I know, could be an Ezo spruce (there doesn’t seem to be general agreement on which is which). Image courtesy of Bonsai Focus. 30% off Our Famous Roshi Bonsai Tools plus an extra 10% off for all orders 100.00+* FREE Shipping on U.S. orders 50.00+ but you have to select it when you check out if you … Continue reading Sturdy Spruce Bonsai

Walter Pall’s 3 Tree Japanese Maple Bonsai Adventure

Japanese maple from Korean nursery-grown stock. From Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures blog. The two smaller trees exaggerate the effect of the main tree. Back in the mid-to-late 20th century, when the average person had no idea what the art of bonsai was, almost all bonsai in the U.S. were from landscaping nursery stock. Most were in early stages of development and most never got beyond those early stages (it was a slaughter). 4 Great Sales & other Specials (see below) The three tree maple grove above is also from nursery stock, though no doubt nursery stock grown for bonsai, … Continue reading Walter Pall’s 3 Tree Japanese Maple Bonsai Adventure

Before & After – from Wild to Wild

Before and after. This distinctive European spruce, aka Norway spruce (Picea abies) was collected in Switzerland in 1993. It’s now 25cm high and around 100 years old. The pot (on the right) is by Mateusz Grobeiny. The artist and owner of the tree is Walter Pall. The before shot is actually an intermediate shot, taken well after the tree was collected and had been styled some. Now, though you can tell it’s the same tree, the transformation is radical and far from a highly stylized bonsai. Often with before and after shots, the progression is from wild with potential to … Continue reading Before & After – from Wild to Wild