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

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

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

The Soul of a Tree

“In Japan, I’m sure they would say this is not bonsai and cut this very long branch off,” says (Ryan) Neil. “But when I purchased this piece of material (Ponderosa pine), the only thing I could think is: man, how could you take this wild, undulating branch that — although it may sit outside of the dimensions of what the Japanese model says makes a bonsai — you cut that off and you lose the soul of the tree. So I think what makes the American style special is preserving the wildness and resisting the temptation to domesticate it.” From … Continue reading The Soul of a Tree

Great Close Ups and other Bonsai Wonders

It’s not that often that you’ll find a tree with with the top half of the trunk deadwood. When you do, and in the right hands, the result can be striking. It’s a Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) that belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). All the photos in this post are from Ryan’s facebook photos. One of the things I like about Ryan Neil’s photos are his close-ups. It doesn’t hurt that his trees are phenomenal and so well photographed in the first place. But then to show such vivid close-ups invites you in further. Like you are there in … Continue reading Great Close Ups and other Bonsai Wonders

Dramatic Multi-Trunk Bonsai – Koyo Japanese Tools

Three robust Shimpaku junipers on a stupendous rock. From the Omiya Bonsai Museum via Bonsai Empire. Continuing our Omiya Bonsai Art Museum theme (with the rock planting above; the rest of the photos are from various other places). I’m in the middle of a two week vacation, so it’s back to our archives. This post (with a few minor changes today) originally appeared here in August 2015. That’s Ryan Neil’s hand posing for a professional photo with a one of the largest single rock, root-on-rock plantings you’ll ever see. Here’s his caption: “In the studio today with @hornbecker shooting for the Artisans … Continue reading Dramatic Multi-Trunk Bonsai – Koyo Japanese Tools