Baikoen
Bonsai Kenkyukai
A Los Angeles Based Educational Non-Profit Dedicated to the Art of Bonsai
Mary Morrissey
Hometown: Monrovia, California
How long have you been interested in bonsai?
Since 1998 when I walked through a courtyard at the Chicago Botanic Garden on my way to the Rose Garden and saw about 20 Bonsai... the 2 foot tall dawn redwood really got my attention!
When I got back to Los Angeles and went to my volunteer Rose Garden Job at Rancho Los Alamitos in Long Beach and was telling everyone about it, the Chief Horticulturist there happened to be one of John Naka's students and he took me to the California Bonsai Society show at the Huntington Library and introduced me to my first teacher, Leila Kusumi. Several years later she introduced me to my current teacher, Kenji Miyata a Bonsai Master from Japan who now lives in California.
Do you have a specialty, resource or method that you would like to share?
I put together the "Introduction to Bonsai" that the club shares with new members.
I recommend that people new to Bonsai go to every local club show that they can go see trees up close and personal and to a get good deals on pots and find plants that are a little further along than most beginners have.
I have been using a method of making moss look more natural on my show trees (that I read somewhere) that I am happy with, and that may be of interest to others.
What other hobbies do you have?
Roses, suiseki, coin collecting, antiques, and the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs!
What are your favorite type(s) of trees?
Cork Bark Pine
Elms
Maples
What are your favorite bonsai style?
Bunjin
Shohin - all styles