Shinji Suzuki couldn’t possible maintain so many beautiful bonsai without help from several skilled apprentices. Gardens like this require a lot of effort. Suzuki’s garden Today Matt, Yusuke, and Tyler work at the Obuse garden, watering, wiring, and tirelessly carrying trees in and out of the workshop. Yusuke watering Fortunately not all of the trees […]
Japan
Suzuki’s bonsai workshop
It’s always fun to see other people’s workshops. Shinji Suzuki’s was well organized when I visited in 2009 – and that was when it was still under construction. Now fully completed, the place is one of the tidiest I’ve seen. Here are some more of Boon Manakitivipart’s photos from his visit to Suzuki’s garden in […]
Shinji Suzuki’s bonsai garden
Late summer is not the most exciting time of year in bonsai. Most conifers slow down a bit, decandled pines are busy producing new shoots, and deciduous trees aren’t looking as fresh as they did in Spring. Winter, on the other hand, is a great time to view bonsai, and Japan is a great place […]
Bonsai apprentices online
Like many bonsai enthusiasts, I’ve long dreamed about studying bonsai in Japan in a formal apprenticeship. After hearing tales from Kathy Shaner, Boon Manakitivipart, and Michael Hagedorn, I’m both excited by, and somewhat afraid of, all that the experience entails. Recently three more bonsai students began apprenticeships in Japan: Tim Gardner, Peter Tea, and Tyler […]
The future behind us
Post-Dated: The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk, by Michael Hagedorn. Crataegus Books, 216 pp., $14.95. Available from Crataegus Books and Amazon. Before Michael Hagedorn completed his apprenticeship – before, even, he left for Japan, I was excited for his return. Hagedorn came to bonsai as a talented artist. I believed, upon hearing that he […]