Readers, today marks the release of the second episode of the @bonsaitimepodcast hosted by myself and a fellow Columbus-based bonsai friend, Kevin Faris. In this shorter episode, Kevin and I discussed our backgrounds and goals in bonsai as well as our goals for this podcast going forwards. We are only getting started so I hope you enjoy the ride!
Like the rest of the world, I was shocked and saddened to watch the invasion of Ukraine unfold in the last 11 days. Although exact numbers are hard to pin down in such a rapidly-evolving situation, early reports indicate that at least 10,000 soldiers on both sides and untold hundreds of civilians have already fallen in this war; meanwhile, over one million people have fled the country in this brief time (Miami Herald, Axios). Putin's self-interest cannot be placed above the rights of the Ukrainians to their lives, their democracy, and their freedoms. While the Ukrainian people are doing the most to maintain their freedom and stop Putin's aggression, many people around the world already understand the importance of this crisis and have taken to the streets in protest, opened their homes to refugees, traveled to Ukraine to volunteer, and donated to charities in support of the Ukrainian people. Although I am an ocean away from Ukraine, I hope these bonsai displays below will cause you to reflect on what you can do to help. For my part, I will be donating 10% of my bonsai seed sales to charities in Ukraine. At the links below you can also contribute directly to the National Bank of Ukraine in support of humanitarian aid or in support of their defense forces.
Hello readers! Some years ago I started this blog with the intent to share my journey and pass on wisdom from one of the biggest public bonsai gardens in the US. I especially hoped to share more stories from my teacher, Dan Robinson, as I had not heard of him in my online-only experience with the bonsai community. Today, Dan remains focused on his mission of maintaining his garden and his trees without distractions from the online world (he really does still use a flip phone), but luckily Dan now has a multitude of technology-minded volunteers at the garden who are carrying on sharing his bonsai with the online audience such as through the @elandangardensbonsai Instagram page and other upcoming projects. That said, today marks the release of the first episode of the @bonsaitimepodcast hosted by myself and a fellow Columbus-based bonsai friend, Kevin Faris. With time, Kevin and I envision this podcast serving as a source of edutainment to assist bonsai-growers with a variety of topics and tell the stories of more bonsai artists and trees. The focus of the first episode however circles back to the original purpose of this blog. Dan recently hosted Kevin and me at his garden for a few days of work and collaboration styling trees. During that time, Dan was kind enough to sit down with us for a lengthy retrospective interview on his life in the bonsai. If you are familiar with Dan's evocative style and want to know more about the man behind a uniquely ancient & naturalistic style of bonsai, see the links below.
