My recent trip to Portland included a stop at Ryan Neil’s garden. I’d last visited a year ago (see “Pines” and “Junipers” for details). This year I was struck by how different the trees looked before I’d finished making my way through the gate. In a word, they were full – really full. Twelve months ago, many of the bonsai in the garden were being prepped for the Artisan’s Cup. This year the trees were getting a well deserved break to restore their vigor.

Seeing how fast everything was developing, I felt compelled to look closely – as if I’d miss out on the progress before my next visit. Such progress is encouraging and a is testament to the fantastic job Mirai is doing.

One fun indicator of bonsai quality is when trees look good from different angles. Take the super Rocky Mountain juniper below – one of my favorites – as an example.

Rocky Mountain juniper

That’s the back of the tree. It looks great, but the other side offers more drama and better deadwood.

Rock Mountain juniper – front

The pot, for those looking, is a Ron Lang special.

Pot by Ron Lang

Here’s another great Rocky Mountain juniper.

Rocky Mountain juniper

This tree too is seen from the back. Yes, it’s interesting, but do give the other side a chance.

Rocky Mountain juniper with spectacular deadwood

It’s perfectly acceptable when trees look better from some angles than others.

Rocky Mountain juniper

Rocky Mountain juniper

Rocky Mountain juniper

One of the more fun compositions in the garden was a group of spruce planted on a piece of deadwood.

Spruce planting

And here are a few of my favorite pines in the garden.

Limber pine

Lodge pole pine

Limber pine