I’m always surprised at how lush and green spring is around Portland when the dogwood, rhododendron and hawthorns are in full bloom. Driving between bonsai gardens in the area provided ample opportunity to enjoy the season. Even more striking is the amount of collected material in the area. Visiting bonsai gardens in Oregon means seeing […]
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Judging bonsai at Bay Island Bonsai meeting
This month’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting featured some of my favorite activities – evaluating bonsai and bonsai display. Boon regularly gives members opportunities to hone their understanding of judging by bringing trees for us to evaluate and having us score them. Scoring trees forces the viewer to look closely and think about a tree’s characteristics in […]
A visit to brendenstudio
In 2002, I visited the Bonsai Society of Dallas convention featuring Masahiko Kimura. The event’s exhibit included a composition that got a lot more attention than the others. Thirteen years later, I spotted the same composition in its creator’s garden. Shimpaku planted on shovel supported by cinder block The artist is Greg Brenden. You may know of Greg […]
A visit to Michael Hagedorn’s garden
On a recent tour to Oregon, Eric Schrader and I had the opportunity to visit Michael Hagedorn’s garden. It was quite a treat. The garden is filled with trees on the fast path to becoming awesome bonsai. Collected material – many from the Pacific Northwest – and deciduous varieties like chojubai fill many of the benches. Long-term […]
Michael Hagedorn AMA
Last week, Portland bonsai professional Michael Hagedorn participated in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) at Ask Bonsai Tonight. His responses shed light on topics ranging from fertilizer to pots to cuttings to his favorite food (not natto). Some questions touched on Michael’s involvement with the Portland Bonsai Village. Two years ago, Michael formed the Village […]