Bonsai Societies of Florida will hold “Bonsai by Design”, their 42nd Annual Convention on May 21-25, 2015 at the Florida Hotel & Conference Center at the Florida Mall, 8001 S Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando FL 32809. It is Orlando’s largest retail shopping mall and close to Orlando International Airport. Registration begins Thursday evening from 7 until 9 pm.

Bonsai by Design features well known artists David DeGroot & Guy Guidry. It will be an exciting weekend of Demonstrations, Workshops, Vendors, Specimen Exhibit Trees, Raffles, Scholarship Competition, Club Night, Auctions and Camaraderie. For a complete itinerary and more, go to www.bonsai-bsf.com.

Orlando Bonsai will be a vendor there selling tools, pots, accessories, display stands, trees and more. Come meet Sandy, Orlando Bonsai’s owner, in person if you haven’t already. Ask for your special SHOW discount. Former owner, Paul Pikel will also be there teaching a Bonsai Photography workshop. Maybe you can stop by and ask him what the subject of his next Bonsai video will be.

Enjoy Bonsai and Life.

Sandy

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Faster is better when it comes to internet speed but TIME is flying by too and since we cannot capture it in a bottle yet, we should manage our use of time if we want to accomplish anything. And since resolutions can fade away quickly, instead I am setting goals in hopes of reaping more results in 2013. Here are 13 Bonsai Goals for 2013 that any Bonsai enthusiast can adapt to meet their needs. Do them by month, mix them up, modify them to suit your needs, create your own, add sub-tasks, or jump to # 13.  Just have fun with it!

1. Prepare (plan/organize): mind, garden area, display stands/benches, soil, pots, tools etc.  Use the winter idle time to plan for the busy, beautiful springtime.

2.Try something new or different (step out of your box or comfort zone): Examples: really big tree, really small tree, penjing, suiseki, daiza, graft a branch, carve jin or shari, start from seed, air layer, create a forest, make your own bonsai pot, new style (windswept?), go collecting, take a class, create companion plants.

3. Photograph your trees/collection (or video): to record progress, before, after, styling changes, for insurance, in case of loss or theft, bugs or disaster, educational or personal reasons (i.e. bragging rights).

4. Journal the journey (record/document): in your own creative way, record the progress via journal, logs, calendar, blog, facebook, twitter, audio, drawings, whatever…  Use beloved, old-fashioned media or new and trendy social media but just don’t dodge it, journal it!

5. Focus on your best trees (exhibit): help them be all they can be. Take a new look at them. Ask yourself questions about them. Pretend someone else owns them; what advice would you give? Treat them as if you plan to display or exhibit them. Be ready.

6. Expand or reduce your trees/collection: What is your preference? Ready to try new species? Focus on higher quality? Have lots of space or not much? Count your trees and pre-bonsai; it may surprise you. Pay it forward or ask a friend for cuttings. Trade species with your friends or club members.

7. Increase Knowledge (strain your brain): read a good bonsai book, search the internet, learn horticulture, take a workshop or intensive training, join a club, forum or attend a bonsai conference, experiment, learn from others, learn Japanese bonsai terms or scientific plant names of all of your trees.

8. Visit bonsai (travel): visit a friend with a backyard collection, a local or national bonsai exhibit, garden or arboretum, find a forest near you for natural examples, travel to Japan or China (for real or on the world wide web), find resources wherever you are or wherever you are going.

9. Exhibit your prize tree(s) (see #5):  ask someone’s opinion, learn the art of display including companion plants, time the trimming, fertilizing and blooming to coincide with the display.

10. Focus on pots (composition): take a new look at your tree/pot combinations. Is it the right pot for the tree – quality/finish/color/shape/gender/size including depth? Is the tree located correctly within the pot? Would a slab or rock work better? What could or should be different? What do you like? Does it have enough negative space (like white space on a printed page)? What story does it tell?

11. Share your accomplishments (communicate) your goals, rewards and newfound knowledge with others. Hold yourself accountable. Find a mentor or be a mentor. Talk about bonsai.

12. Take a break (refresh/renew/rejuvenate): take a hike, find a quiet spot, relax, think about your bonsai, accomplishments of 2013 and goals for 2014! Yes, I said it — 2014 will be here before we know it. Time just will not stand still.

13. As always, ENJOY BONSAI every day, every year.

Think Bonsai, Think OrlandoBonsai.com

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If you are in Florida in November, come take a safari with Orlando Bonsai to the Melbourne Zoo. We are one of the vendors mentioned in the announcement the Brevard Zoo posted on their web site :

November 17 – 18 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bonsai Weekend, hosted by the Bonsai Society of Brevard, will be held November 17 – 18 in the Nyami Nyami River Lodge. Bonsai is the artistic miniaturization of trees, woody, or semi-woody plants shaped as trees, by growing them in small containers. The art of bonsai became a part of the Japanese culture when China invaded Japan in the 14^th century and its popularity spread to the United States after World War II. The exhibit features more than 60 trees, demonstrations on how to care for bonsai, and vendors will also be on-site selling bonsai trees and related materials. This exhibit is free with Zoo admission and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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We will be there in person selling our wares, admiring the bonsai displayed in the permanent exhibit and enjoying the special bonsai events and, of course, the animals and the zoo. Come join us!

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The weather has been beautiful here for bonsai gardeners.  Well, if you ignore the winds and rain from Hurricane Sandy.  I hope the storm is not too harsh as it goes up the eastern seaboard.  It’s knocked a few bonsai over here but no damage, thankfully.  The temperature was actually cool this evening.  The bonsai seem to be enjoying it too!  Buds and pink flowers abound on my camellia, the Chinese hat plant is in bloom and some of the bougainvillea are still sporting flowers. All of the bonsai know that fall is here and winter is around the corner!

As always, be sure to look for updates on our Facebook page.

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As TS/Hurricane/TS Isaac is still hammering the Mississippi Delta and our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected, it makes us think of the ravaging effect nature can have on people and their environment including trees.  When Hurricane Charley hit our neighborhood in our city in Central Florida, over 400 oak trees were down. It was a strange time having no water or electricity for days and having to chop and move fallen trees to get to the main road. For months and years later, the remaining trees were affected.  Most had their leaves blown right off and at their rebirth the leaves were so close to the huge branches – just like after we do a hard chop on a bonsai. A trip to Georgia and seeing the lush, green leafy trees reminded me of how much our landscape had changed.  But ultimately, secondary and tertiary branching happened and the trees’ leaves filled out and normalized.  Then new trees were planted and we compared their upright branches to the downward, heavier, gnarly branches of the older trees that seemed much more aged after the storm. Bonsai!  That’s the look I had been trying to achieve.  All we have to do is look around and emulate what we see.  Easy, right?

I started paying more attention and was encouraged in a Peter Warren Chinese Elm workshop in May to wire correctly all the time. Then in July at Tropical Bonsai School, I noticed that some of the best-looking trees were older trees that had been gifted or inherited from older club members.  They had substantially more movement in the branches - natural aging.  Wiring, care & time had combined to create trees worthy of exhibit display.  The significance of wiring became very clear, proper wiring, that is.  Also key is to remove the wire at the right time – not too soon, not too long.  Like a clay sculptor, with passion we sculpt our trees with wiring and carving to create our ‘masterpiece’.  Also, like a painter or sculptor, practice, practice, practice paves the way to the finest works of art.  I’m still a fan of ‘clip and grow’ for some tropicals that aren’t conducive to wiring, but when there is opportunity wire will improve the trees faster and better.  Take a look at the Wiring Techniques video on Orlando Bonsai and tomorrow when you’re in the bonsai garden or at the next bonsai exhibit, take a new look at the trees with only wire and branch movement in mind.  Then, as always, take action when the time is right!

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