Boon's start in bonsai was the result of a birthday gift: a small juniper bonsai. Before long, he joined the Bonsai Society of San Francisco, the club through which he took his first beginner class in the spring of 1989. Anxious to learn as much as possible about bonsai, Boon studied with as many teachers as he could find in California.

Serious study began when he hosted Akio Kondo, Kihachiro Kamiya's first apprentice. Mr. Kondo arrived as what the Japanese call a first-year professional, and stayed at Boon's home for one year.

In 1993, the Golden State Bonsai Federation awarded Boon a Teacher Development Scholarship; two years later, he received the Ben Oki International Design Award for styling a Sierra juniper. In 1995, Boon received several informal offers to study bonsai in Japan. Several months later he traveled to Japan where he studied bonsai for one year as an apprentice with Yasuo Mitsuya. Following his apprenticeship, Boon returned to Japan twice a year to continue his study with Kihachiro Kamiya until his passing in January, 2004.

In 1998, Boon founded and became the teacher of Bay Island Bonsai, and started his business, Bonsai Boon. Website