Garden Tour: Andrew Robson

This is the second in a series of posts about the gardens of my former apprentices. This time, Andrew Robson, who was with me from 2016-2019.

Like myself and Bobby Curttright, Andrew has chosen the modest-space professional bonsai garden, much like the Japanese do. The garden of Rakuyo Bonsai is only a mile from my studio near Portland, Oregon.

Enjoy the photo essay!

The view from the studio of Andrew Robson’s Rakuyo Bonsai.

On the property was a huge red oak, which was cut down for light. The massive trunk became boards for Andrew’s benches. Not often you see benches with live edges.

A Katsura in full glow.

Though mostly deciduous, Rakuyo does sport some sweet conifers—an Itoigawa on the left and a big Ponderosa on the right.

The two seasons of bonsai dogs.

Bench upon bench of deciduous trees are at Rakuyo, making this quite a show in fall-

An old Winter Hazel in late fall-

Japanese Bloodgrass to the right-

Andrew spent some time creating a large tokonoma in the studio, and there’s always a tree or stone on display in it.

Andrew says “The goal for Rakuyo is to share the wonderful diversity of deciduous plants and their applications within bonsai art. At Rakuyo you’ll see diversity of size, a thriving shohin collection amongst a sea of enormous deciduous bonsai. You’ll see a confluence of styles in bonsai, both in traditional idealized forms coming from generations of Japanese design principles, to more natural iterations of the deciduous environment stemming from the western world’s recent design input to the bonsai narrative. At Rakuyo, you’ll also see diversity of species, many types of trees, shrubs, and vines that represent the wide scope of plant material we can choose to express our art within the confines of deciduous bonsai. You’ll even see a few conifers at Rakuyo, giving us the much needed greenery to get us through the winter. Diversity is a beautiful thing, and at Rakuyo you won’t be overwhelmed with one size, style or species, but a beautiful mix of what deciduous bonsai has to offer to the greater bonsai community.”

Andrew’s website is: https://www.rakuyobonsai.com/