A few weeks ago, Andrew Robson and I hosted the first Shohin School seminar at the Milwaukie Center in Milwaukie, Oregon. The two-day event focused on shohin display (Saturday) and development (Sunday). Our special guest for the weekend was shohin professional Daisaku Nomoto from Miyazaki, Japan. (All photos are courtesy Aki Yamakawa – thanks, Aki!) […]
Excursions
Excursion posts feature visits to bonsai gardens in the U.S. and in Japan, visits to the Kyoto's Most Renown Gardens, and trips into the mountains to see junipers and pines in their natural setting.
Introducing Shohin School!
Over the past year, Andrew Robson and I spent a lot of time talking about small trees. The result is Shohin School, an effort to promote the understanding and appreciation of shohin bonsai. Andrew setting up an all-deciduous display Our first offering is Winter Shohin School, a two-day seminar held in Portland, Oregon, on January […]
Visit to Rakuyo, the bonsai garden of Andrew Robson
During my recent visit to Portland, Oregon, I spent the bulk of my free time at Rakuyo-en, the bonsai garden of Andrew Robson. Andrew started Rakuyo to focus on deciduous bonsai. Although I’d seen photos of the garden before visiting, nothing prepared me for the scale and scope of the collection. For starters, many of […]
Highlights from the Bonsai Society of Portland’s Farm to Table seminar
Last weekend the Bonsai Society of Portland held “Farm to Table,” an event that focused on techniques for developing field-grown material. About 100 participants from Oregon, Washington, and California enjoyed two days of education at the Milwaukie Community Center from bonsai teachers John Eads, Michael Hagedorn, Matt Reel, Andrew Robson, and me. Andrew Robson critiques […]
A visit to John Thompson’s garden
If you’re a fan of oak bonsai, you’ve likely heard of John “JT” Thompson. For those who don’t know JT, he’s one of the most generous bonsai teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’d seen JT’s trees in exhibits for years but I hadn’t seen his collection until last week when I visited to […]