Barrie passed away peacefully at home at the wonderful old age of 91. Some of you might be of a certain age to have had the pleasure to have known Barrie.
My wife and I have been close friends with Barrie for a combined 90 years. Our friendship started mostly around plants but soon become much more important than just trees.
Sticking to bonsai content, he was one of two founding members of Midori Bonsai in San Jose CA. I recall seeing his impressive collection years ago, but the winter of 97 (I have been told) caused many of the old pines and junipers to die.
Some of his stories about plant collecting up "highway 40" back in the day were so fun to hear about, as well as how to properly collect Quercus agrifolia trees from the wild.
He recently gifted me his bonsai collection, a few of which I have posted on BN. The oldest tree is a wonderful old ginkgo that started its bonsai life in 2000. Ever the optimist, he was training JM seedlings this past summer.
For those of you that encountered him professionally and or personally, there is a nice remembrance in the recent Western Hort newsletter. To gain appreciation of his priority in life is the quote at the end of the article.
My wife and I have been close friends with Barrie for a combined 90 years. Our friendship started mostly around plants but soon become much more important than just trees.
Sticking to bonsai content, he was one of two founding members of Midori Bonsai in San Jose CA. I recall seeing his impressive collection years ago, but the winter of 97 (I have been told) caused many of the old pines and junipers to die.
Some of his stories about plant collecting up "highway 40" back in the day were so fun to hear about, as well as how to properly collect Quercus agrifolia trees from the wild.
He recently gifted me his bonsai collection, a few of which I have posted on BN. The oldest tree is a wonderful old ginkgo that started its bonsai life in 2000. Ever the optimist, he was training JM seedlings this past summer.
For those of you that encountered him professionally and or personally, there is a nice remembrance in the recent Western Hort newsletter. To gain appreciation of his priority in life is the quote at the end of the article.
