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!

Great Close Ups, the Tallest Tree in the World, the Artisans Cup and other Bonsai Wonders

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). 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 closer. Like you are there … Continue reading Great Close Ups, the Tallest Tree in the World, the Artisans Cup and other Bonsai Wonders

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)

Grafting Bonsai – You Might Want to Wait Until the Fall

A few stills captured from Capital Bonsai’s video on grafting that features Ryan Neil owner of Mirai American Bonsai and major player in this fall’s Artisans Cup bonsai exhibition in Portland, Oregon. I’m out of town visiting friends for the weekend, so to spare me putting together a new post, we’ll jump into our time machine this morning. All the way back to November, 2012. We could just forgo a post today and no one would complain, but I wanted to remind you that our Stone Lantern FREE bonsai wire offering ends tonight at 11:59pm EDT (Just write FREE in … Continue reading Grafting Bonsai – You Might Want to Wait Until the Fall

“That tree has been here for 1,000 years. Do you have the right to not respect that? I don’t think so.”

A little piece of Ryan Neil’s Mirai, lifted from American Shokunin. “Shokunin (Sho-koo-neen) is a Japanese word used to describe an individual that aspires to become a master in their particular craft or art form.” This quote is from the introduction to Ryan Bush’s American Shokunin, an engrossing, almost reverent video that features Ryan Neil and his reflections on trees, humans, life and death, mastery, and perhaps most of all, respect. The video is part of the build up to this fall’s Artisans Cup at the Portland Oregon Art Museum. I hope to see you there. The quote that is … Continue reading “That tree has been here for 1,000 years. Do you have the right to not respect that? I don’t think so.”

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

Artisans Cup – Two Years Late & Right on Time

Good news! The Cup is coming. Those of us who kept the faith when the Artisans Cup was postponed are officially vindicated. You may remember that the Artisans Cup was originally scheduled for October 2013. Until events conspired to cause it to be postponed until 2015. Now that 2015 is preparing its arrival, the excitement that we all experienced two years ago is coming back. Time to start making plans. Michael Hagedorn, an indispensable half of the Artisans Cup original brain trust and major American bonsai artist, teacher and author, just posted this on Crateagus Bonsai.“One of the major events … Continue reading Artisans Cup – Two Years Late & Right on Time

Dwarf Kingsvilles & Other Worthy Boxwood Bonsai

You can tell this is a genuine Dwarf Kingsville boxwood by the tight tiny leaves. This planting by Boon Manakitivipart was the winner of the Certre Award at the 2010 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. This post was inspired by an article on boxwoods in Bonsai Mary. I’ve been thinking of featuring some of Mary’s timely articles for a long time, but the photos are small for this format and don’t enlarge very well. Finally a solution dawned; include some full sized photos from previous Bark posts and mix in some of Mary’s smaller photos. BTW: Mary’s article sheds some light … Continue reading Dwarf Kingsvilles & Other Worthy Boxwood Bonsai

The Future of American Bonsai

This photo and the other photos in this post are from Ryan Neil’s Mirai, American Bonsai. Ryan Neil’s International Bonsai Mirai has transformed itself into Mirai, American Bonsai. As you can see, it’s mostly Mirai, with American Bonsai as a small tag line. This transformation is accompanied by a new website. What’s distinctive about this new website is that it’s flat out luscious. Luscious and also highly professional with an abundance of great photos and informative, easy to read text. I won’t say much more (better if you just go and see for yourself), except that Mirai means ‘future’ in … Continue reading The Future of American Bonsai

Grafting Lesson & A Totally Unrelated Wall of Ice

A few stills captured from Capital Bonsai’s video on grafting that features Ryan Neil. I just got home from a short vacation only to be greeted by a three foot wall of ice blocking my front porch (photo below). Weather and a serious roof design flaw conspiring in an effort to ruin my homecoming. Fortunately, Corey and Ric kept the office and warehouse doors clear, so here I am, jet lagged, cold, happy to be home (strange I know) and ready to go to work. But only ready enough to take the easy archival way out. This post originally appeared … Continue reading Grafting Lesson & A Totally Unrelated Wall of Ice