Nature’s Way Nursery
The word “bonsai” is Japanese, although the art form originated in China. By the year 700 A.D., the Chinese had begun using special techniques to grow dwarf trees in containers.
“Well done grasshopper” could have been a line from the 1972 television series, “Kung Fu.” It aired for three seasons just about the same time master Bonsai artist, Jim Doyle, opened Nature’s Way Nursery, the ultimate garden center dedicated to the eternal tree in all its forms. David Carradine played the protagonist Caine (Grasshopper), learning at the side of a blind Shaolin monk who travels through the American old west employing deft martial arts skills while dispensing Eastern wisdom along the way. “Grasshopper” was the name of endearment given to him by the monk who oversaw his tutelage and training.
The analogy of a young student growing into manhood and adopting a different culture’s ideologies can be viewed through the lens of the Nature’s Way founder, as they now eclipse 50 years of success. Half-a-century ago, he fervently believed that the time, 1973, was right and the area ripe for opening a revolutionary new educational garden center in the Harrisburg area. By 1980, Jim had traveled to Japan to learn about the bonsai tree and its cultivation. Studying under Chase Rosade, a learned practitioner of the art, the nursery’s appeal and reputation grew with each passing year. Today, classes are held on a monthly basis with Jim and Chase and Seth Behner sharing technique with a never-ending stream of “grasshoppers” eager to learn. The selection of the Yamadori species affords a wide variety of trees ranging from 20 to 500 years old. The hundreds of classes that Nature’s Way has dedicated to the art and the thousands of miles Jim has logged lecturing is a true testament to the qualities that have made him and his nursery a world of wonder and a leading expert in the field.
An example of bonsai
Jim had just graduated from Delaware Valley College with his degree in horticultural science, armed with knowledge and a true passion for the beauty found in nature. He recently revealed the name derived from Spirit’s 1970 hit song, “Nature’s Way,” a lament on the mortality of man and for the fate of the Earth in the forthcoming decades. The nursery was dedicated to preserving the beauty in the natural world through his vision for landscape, interior scape and the bonsai tree. Our son, Beau, as a teenager, took bonsai classes from Jim and, as an offshoot of that experience, has become a master at creating land art at Wildwood Park for “Art in the Wild” since its inception. I like to think that Jim planted that seed in Beau, and it germinated into the artist he is today–no longer a grasshopper but a young father who in turn will hand down his love for nature to his baby girl.
Among his accomplishments, Jim founded the Susquehanna Bonsai Club and has traveled to Canada and Europe lecturing and teaching. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Nature’s Way Nursery is throwing an anniversary bash with an all-day open house on Saturday, May 13 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with guest artist, Tony Tickle from England, speaking to the hearts of all nature lovers. Music from the band, Rivers, plays from 5 to 8 p.m., with great food and an all-day sale at the nursery.
Lastly, Jim and I graduated together from a local high school over 50 years ago, and I would like to share, “well done grasshopper” too. It is a rare thing indeed for a “student” to find his calling early in life and follow that path through to its natural end. But for Jim and Nature’s Way, not only does the journey keep getting better, he will be leaving a legacy of beauty with every bonsai tree he helps to cultivate.
Nature’s Way Nursery is located at 1451 Pleasant Hill Rd., Harrisburg (Lower Paxton Township). For more information, visit their website.
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