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Bonsai Akira at Lake Oswego Flowers!

Bonsai Akira at Lake Oswego Flowers!

Thank you, Gary, for including my selection of bonsai for your soft opening of the new shop! The trees are very happy under the lights indoors out of the wet, doing their color changes and strutting their stuff for all the walk-in customers. A new floral design studio...
Landscape Pruning Available

Landscape Pruning Available

I’ve mentioned before that I’m launching a new business— “For Love of Maples…”. Taking new clients for landscape pruning of your precious specimen Japanese maples, conifers and shrubs. This is my eighth year and having a new apprentice enables me to expand my...

Bonsai Classes Resume in 2024

I’ve added the first class for the upcoming season to the events tab— please call or email to reserve your spot. Looking forward to introducing our participants to the elements of bonsai— come and join us for this hands on session and go home with a bonsai to love and...
My Bonsai Poem

My Bonsai Poem

BONSAI (for Ryan Neil— creator of The Artisan Cup) The way they dance, even while standing still This is what moves me. The way they dance and move. The way they sing, even without words, Even with their silence. They sing their praises. They know who they are— the...
Landscape Pruning— Year Eight

Landscape Pruning— Year Eight

When I began bonsai styling I little imagined it would become a career— rather it was a series of experiments I felt compelled to undertake with the trees themselves  as my guides. After a few years I began to see the pruning of landscape garden trees as a natural...
The Blessings of Autumn

The Blessings of Autumn

There are whole seasons where keeping a bonsai garden is simply work with little reward. The uncertainties of weather, stresses on the trees that were unforeseen, waiting for maturity and full development— many times we are tempted to say it’s not worth the time and...
Bonsai as Icon

Bonsai as Icon

I’ve been thinking for a long time about why bonsai are so compelling to the viewer—both as art form and living object needing care. This month the term I’m playing with is “icon.” As you may know, an icon is a window— or better, a doorway— into the Divine Presence....
Japanese Larch— A Case of Less is More

Japanese Larch— A Case of Less is More

A lesson learned is worth repeating. Once upon a time I could not resolve a design issue, and moved into new territory by choosing a pot that seemed entirely too small for the tree. Voila! The tree was suddenly in perfect balance, and began to dance— by which I mean...
Happy Springtime Memories…

Happy Springtime Memories…

This lovely Azalea is reminding us that Spring will come again! We are on the threshold of a severe weather event— this is how we describe snow in the Pacific Northwest, bringing as it does rainy sleet and icy conditions making travel seriously difficult. It almost...