American Bonsai, The Unbridled Art of Ryan Neil at the Portland Japanese Garden

I’ve never seen a bonsai displayed like this. Not even in my imagination, and my guess is the same goes for you (unless you happen to be Ryan Neil). This photo is from a show at the Portland Japanese Garden titled American Bonsai, The Unbridled Art of Ryan Neil. We’ve featured the bonsai of Ryan Neil numerous times here on Bark. But never quite like this (though Ryan’s Artisans Cup does share some of the same revolutionary vision). I won’t say much more except to encourage you to visit the Portland Japanese Garden (if geography puts a crimp in that … Continue reading American Bonsai, The Unbridled Art of Ryan Neil at the Portland Japanese Garden

Two Major Bonsai Events Part 1 – Where Will You Be the Second Weekend of April?

This shot of a Tsukumo cypress(Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Tsukumo’) is from one of Bonsai Boon’s famous Which Pot Would You Choose? posts. Boon is one of the headliners the upcoming 2019 American Bonsai Society (ABS) Convention, April 11 – 14 Boon Manikitipartit Ryan Neil Enrique Castaño Headliners at the upcoming ABS Convention in Houston We’ve got two barn burner bonsai conventions coming up this spring. They are the 2019 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Spring Festival and the 2019 American Bonsai Society (ABS) Convention. Here’s the rub, they’re both on the second weekend of April, so you’ll have to choose Today we’re focusing … Continue reading Two Major Bonsai Events Part 1 – Where Will You Be the Second Weekend of April?

Bonsai Forest Rock Plantings

That’s Ryan Neil’s hand (Bonsai Mirai) posing for a professional photo with a very large root-on-rock planting. Here’s his caption: “In the studio today with @hornbecker shooting for the Artisans Cup promotional material” (from 2015). He doesn’t say what the tree’s are. If you’d like to see the uncropped original, it’s here We’re on a bonsai forest binge these days, so let’s keep going. Though it’s questionable if you’d call these rock plantings forests, they do share the multiple tree and some of the landscape features you’ll find with more conventional bonsai forests BONSAI TURNTABLE SPECIAL TURNTABLES ARE ALL INDIVIDUALLY … Continue reading Bonsai Forest Rock Plantings

Natives Is Here! Brilliant & Unique, Bonsai at Its Best

We’ve all waited long enough and now the Pacific Bonsai Museum’s Natives is here. We’ve featured some photos in the past, but now we’ve got the real thing. One hundred and five mind stopping pages. Now available at Stone Lantern Here’s the Museum’s description… “As artistic representations of trees, bonsai are collected from the wild to be cultivated as works of art. While the natural forces that shaped the tree are visibly echoed in its trunk and branches, the direct link between a bonsai and its native habitat has been lost. By displaying a tree with a portrait of its … Continue reading Natives Is Here! Brilliant & Unique, Bonsai at Its Best

Three Powerful Bonsai, a Quick Spelling Lesson, Ancient Pines & Towering Hoodoos

Colorado spruce from Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai. This one is more about bark than deadwood. Normally bark that covers deadwood is stripped to reveal the deadwood, but in this case it makes sense to leave it. Leaving the high plateaus and mountains of northern Arizona and southern Utah today. A quick detour to SF and family, then back to Vermont via Boston on Sunday. Once we’re back in the office, we’ll find time to sort through our photos. Meanwhile here are some bonsai from our archives that shows three species we’ve seen growing in the wild on this trip. All the photos in this post were … Continue reading Three Powerful Bonsai, a Quick Spelling Lesson, Ancient Pines & Towering Hoodoos

Pomegranate Bonsai in Full Fall Color

You can find this brilliant, full fall color Pomegranate (Punica granatum)and a whole host of other powerful bonsai at Bonsai Mirai. I’m on vacation so we’ll resort to our old tricks. This one originally appeared October of last year. It’s the beginning of fall color time at home, so the time is right I’ve been meaning to feature Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai since we saw them at the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibiton with their vendor’s display of some of the best trees in the building (including the display area). If you don’t know Bonsai Mirai, you’re in for a treat. And if you’re … Continue reading Pomegranate Bonsai in Full Fall Color

The Bonsai Wagon Is On Its Way!

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 Continuing with our lead up to the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition…. If this post looks familiar, it’s because we originally posted it six weeks ago. … Continue reading The Bonsai Wagon Is On Its Way!

American Bonsai Originals

I think this tree has something to say about just how far American bonsai has come. It’s a Japanese white pine by Ryan Neil. From his Bonsai Mirai website. Yesterday we featured a Bald cypress that belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). This got me thinking about just how long we’ve been featuring Ryan’s trees. Turns out it has been exactly seven years (August, 2011). Here it is, our first post devoted solely to Ryan’s bonsai. It was titled Elevating the Art of Bonsai in the West. As always I’ve made a few changes NEW SPECIAL ALL BONSAI & GARDEN TOOLS 25% … Continue reading American Bonsai Originals

The Evolution of Bonsai

This photo and the others shown here are from a post by Ryan Neil titled, Bald Cypress #1, Evolution I recently found these photos and an eye opening story by Ryan Neil on his Mirai blog. It’s titled Bald Cypress #1 Evolution. Ryan’s story touched on American trees and American bonsai and how they can’t be judged except on their own terms. But rather than me trying to explain, here’s part of what Ryan wrote… “Bald Cypress #1 embodies the diversity of landscape and form Mirai strives to explore through our trees. Its rapid taper, flat-topped foliage, and overall Dr. Seuss-esque form demands … Continue reading The Evolution of Bonsai

The Tallest Trees in the World Brought Down to Bonsai Size

Closeup of a California Coast redwood from Bonsai Mirai’s collection. It’s interesting that most Redwood bonsai tend to be so stocky, given that that they are the tallest trees in the world. You can see the photo of the whole tree below Continuing from yesterday with Bonsai Mirai,the home of what must be the largest and most impressive collection of collected bonsai (yamadori) in the country. Today it’s California’s Coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) There are so many iconic North American trees. In fact, and at the risk of just a little chauvinism, our rich array of trees just might be the most … Continue reading The Tallest Trees in the World Brought Down to Bonsai Size