July 18, 2020

Farewell, My Beloved Puget Sound Bonsai Community

Dear Puget Sound Bonsai Community,

          Many of you know me as the guy who nags you to put a tree in our annual Spring Show, others may know me from working together at Elandan Gardens, and few of you even took me on my first yamadori collecting trips before I even had a car. My deep gratitude to the friendly and knowledgeable bonsai community here in Seattle makes my leaving all the more difficult, but unfortunately, my next step has arrived. I am excited to share that month I'll be starting a microbiology Ph.D. at The Ohio State University!

The Gnarly Bonsai Crew from Elandan Gardens at the 2017 NW Flower and Garden Show. From left to right: Kyle, myself, Dan Robinson, and Hansy.

          Words cannot fully express how lucky I feel to have found this community. When I first joined the Puget Sound Bonsai Association (PSBA) some 4 years ago, I was a total beginner. I only ever grown a handful of indoor trees and had never done any serious training beyond the occasional prune and repot. When I heard about Elandan Gardens, I dove in headfirst and dedicated many weekends to absorbing Dan's trees - I highly recommend working with him if you have the chance, few things will improve your bonsai knowledge faster. Learning from Dan not only expanded my comfort and stylistic awareness of bonsai, but it also expanded my bonsai network. I owe my involvement in the PSBA Spring Show and eventually the PSBA Board to the prodding from another of Dan's students (thanks Kyle!). From my position on the board, I've been able to get to know many more dedicated souls in the local bonsai scene. It's been inspiring to see how much energy there is around finding improvements that can be made to better serve our members!

         As I leave Seattle, I am left with many hopes. I hope to continue to see innovative exhibits from the Pacific Bonsai Museum. I hope Dan and Diane stay in good health and preserve the gem that is Elandan Gardens for many more years. I hope to see each of you continue to learn and improve your bonsai. And lastly, I hope that I can pass on many of my trees to people in the Seattle bonsai community!  If anyone in the club is in need of more trees, especially around the beginner-intermediate level, I have many trees I need to sell to make my move easier (click here to preview them)I will rest easy in Ohio knowing that my trees are now appreciated by new bonsai artists. You can make an appointment to visit my garden through this contact form (with a mask please, I am studying microbiology after all!).

         Thanks again for everything! The Ph.D. program will keep me busy, but I'll be back to visit any chance I get (who can resist these mountains?!). If any of you ever make it out to the U.S. National Exhibit, let me know! I'd love to meet up there. Please stay in touch as you continue on your bonsai journey - you're always welcome to contact me through the contact form on this website or through social media.

Sincerely,
Ryan Huston
Ry2Tree2 Bonsai



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P.S. 
Dear Columbus Bonsai Society,

I'm coming for you next!

Sincerely,
Ryan

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P.P.S.
Dear returning readers,

I know I have a few loose ends of different projects to finish up. Before summer ends, I aim to finish the last 2 parts of my blog-version of my Bonsai-From-Seed Bonsaiclopedia chapter, finish uploading the tree critique portion of the Bonsai Buds interview with Julian Tsai and Andy Bello, and finish uploading additional artist archives to the PSBA YouTube channel. Keep your eyes peeled! Just a quick 40 hour drive first though...

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