Bonsai Mirai

Mystery Bonsai with Looping Deadwood

Mystery pine with looping deadwood. Here’s a tree that anyone would like to have in their collection. Unfortunately, I don’t know who the lucky owner is. I found it on pinterest, which tends to be a maze of dead ends when it comes to pinning down the source. It looks like it could be a Ryan Neil tree (Bonsai Mirai), but no luck finding it there. Thanks to several people (see comments) I now know that Ryan Neil did style this tree. It was a demo for Bonsai Focus. We almost never do one tree posts, but circumstances insist that … Continue reading Mystery Bonsai with Looping Deadwood

The Artisans Cup – Bonsai Past Present & Future

Look familiar? As an encouragement for you to visit the Artisans Cup website and see for yourself, we’ll break with our tradition and not identify the trees or their owners in this post. We just received a press release from Ryan Neil. It’s about the Artisans Cup, one of the most exciting and innovative bonsai events yet. Anywhere. But Ryan’s press release is not just about what has already happened, it’s also about the future of the Cup and of bonsai. But rather than me telling you about it, we’ll let Ryan speak for himself… “The Artisans Cup, the premier showcase of American bonsai that took place at … Continue reading The Artisans Cup – Bonsai Past Present & Future

Lava Flow Bonsai

This simple and graceful old tree belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). Here’s what Ryan’s caption says about it: “Lodgepole Pine. Pinus contorta latifolia. Collected in 2009 from a lava flow in the Cascade Mountains. Rapidly becoming one of Mirai’s favorites!” Interesting how the trunk looks kinda like a lava flow. I have no idea why Lodgepole pine bonsai are so rare, but they are. In the entire history of Bonsai Bark (almost seven years and several thousand bonsai) we have shown only three. Counting the three shown here (we’ve shown the one at the bottom before). Which is to … Continue reading Lava Flow Bonsai

Great Trees & Vivid Closeups

It’s not that often that you’ll find a tall tree like this with great lower branching. When you do, and in the right hands, the result can be striking and quite unique. It’s a Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) that belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). We don’t normally repost from just four months ago, but I’m on my way to the Artisans Cup (with a little stopover in San Francisco), so why not? Don’t worry, I won’t bug you about going if you haven’t made plans. It’s getting late and the case has already been made. Repeatedly, including yesterday’s post. … Continue reading Great Trees & Vivid Closeups

Artisans Cup – an Inspirational Bonsai Event that You Will Remember for the Rest of Your Life

Announcing the exhibitors. From the Artisans Cup blog. Stick: Awhile ago we posted “What if you woke up on September 25th and realized that you’re not at the Artisans Cup?” An unabashed scare tactic. Problem is, some of you don’t scare all that easily, so we’ll switch from stick to carrot. Carrot: If this post convinces you to go, you will be eternally grateful. Even if you’ve already made up your mind (or better yet, already registered) you will be delighted you decided to go to the Artisans Cup. It’s the first of its kind and promises to be an … Continue reading Artisans Cup – an Inspirational Bonsai Event that You Will Remember for the Rest of Your Life

Rich in Bonsai Wisdom & Advanced How-to Articles

Eric Schrader’s caption for this photo reads: “At Ryan Neil’s place the Ponderosa were all about the twists and deadwood.” Ryan Neil is the artist behind the wonders of Bonsai Mirai and Eric Schrader is a five star bonsai blogger. I just discovered a phenomenal bonsai blog. It’s called phutu and it belongs to Eric Schrader (Eric lives in San Francisco and is involved in the Bonsai Society of San Francisco as a volunteer and teacher). I don’t understand how I missed phutu for so long, especially considering Eric has been posting regularly since 2003. I encourage you to pay … Continue reading Rich in Bonsai Wisdom & Advanced How-to Articles

Bonsai News Flash!

We featured this dramatic Sierra juniper here on Bark back in January. This time though, after a long journey from the wilds of the Sierra Nevadas to Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai, it’s made the national bonsai news. We just got an email announcement from The Pacific Bonsai Museum: Here it is, almost word for word: “The Pacific Bonsai Museum proudly announces its first acquisition, a Sierra Juniper by rising bonsai artist Ryan Neil of St. Helens, Oregon. The acquisition was made possible by a generous gift from The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. Here’s a link to the press release for … Continue reading Bonsai News Flash!

Backcountry’s Cork Bark Ponderosa Pine (with a Little Help from Bonsai Mirai)

Backcountry Bonsai doesn’t show any Ponderosa bonsai, so we borrowed this yamadori Ponderosa pine from Ryan Neil’s Mirai, American Bonsai. There are signs of what some people might call corking (see the close up at the bottom of the post), but I don’t think Back Country Bonsai would qualify it as a cork bark Ponderosa. I just stumbled across a new Backcountry Bonsai post and, in addition to getting all excited about rediscovering Steve and Dan’s excellent blog (here’s the original discovery), I learned something new. Namely that there is such a thing as a Cork bark Ponderosa pine. Here’s … Continue reading Backcountry’s Cork Bark Ponderosa Pine (with a Little Help from Bonsai Mirai)

Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September

Only Mother Nature. There is no way anyone will ever grow a tree quite like this magnificently wild Rocky Mountain juniper. Taking this a step further, there is almost no way anyone will ever be able to collect and style a tree like this, though there are a handful of people who have the requisite skills and knowledge. In this case, it’s a combination of two who share the skills and knowledge: Randy Knight* found it, collected it and made sure it survived the trauma, and Ryan Neil styled it, potted it and currently keeps it alive and well at … Continue reading Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September