Santa Cruz: Events

MAY 1

32nd annual Bonsai Exhibition. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, May 1 at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple, 423 Bridge St., Watsonville. Demonstration at 2 p.m. by Tom Ogura of the Satsuma Bonsai Club in Monterey. Plant and pot sales, door prizes, raffles, refreshments served. Donations accepted. 724-9283

 

 

BV Businesses Cater To Do-it-yourselfers

Bonsai Gardens is a small shop specializing in a small and special niche of home gardening: Bonsai trees.
Bonsai trees are small trees that amateur arborists can turn into works of art by pruning and trimming the delicate, shrubby branches just right. A favorite pastime in Japan for centuries, Bonsai Gardens looks to popularize the calming hobby right here in Bella Vista.
Bonsai trees can be tricky to grow, but Bonsai Gardens owner/operator Bob Zamastil has years of experience growing the little trees and is ready, willing and able to help the neophyte with any difficulties that might arise. He also stocks decorative Bonsai pots and everything one needs to get their new garden Zen up and meditating.
Bonsai Gardens is located at 3210 Bella Vista Way. The phone number is 855-2767.
Bella Vista has lots to offer aspiring horticulturists, so whether you're wanting to do it yourself, let someone else get you started, or just engage in a new indoor gardening hobby, be sure and check out your local village plant merchants.

 

 

Former Engineer's Love Of Art Satisfied By Bonsai

Dick Miller is in charge of the
bonsai exhibit at the Morikami
Museum and Japanese
Gardens. He's shown here
with a bonsai bougainvillea.

Someone like Dick Miller is a bonsai garden's best friend.
At the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Miller can tell in a glance what each miniature tree needs. He repots them and trims their stray branches with an artist's eye.
Walking through the bonsai exhibit, he points out the unusual, like the jaboticaba tree with tiny fruit that grows on the trunk, and a buttonwood that is more than 400 years old.
"I enjoy doing the bonsai," said Miller, curator of the bonsai exhibit and a museum board member. "It's very satisfying."
Miller, a retired engineer and management consultant, has been with the museum since 1997 and is a past president of the Bonsai Society of the Palm Beaches. He is a board of trustees member of the Bonsai Societies of Florida and editor of the organization's magazine. He also is on the board of the American Bonsai Society.
His first bonsai tree was a Christmas gift about 10 years ago from his daughter, Susan. "I immediately killed it," he said. "I replaced it, and I killed that one too."
Soon afterward, however, he read books, joined a club and "started raising bonsai that didn't die," he said.
Bonsai appeals to both the scientist and the art lover in Miller. There's the science involved in helping them thrive, and bonsai itself is a living art, he said.
Miller's artistic endeavors also include making pottery, and he uses some of it to display his bonsai.
Miller and his wife, Lois, have lived in Palm Beach County since 1967, and they have lived in Atlantis the past eight years. In addition to their daughter, they have a son, Michael, and three grandchildren.
Miller worked for the engineering firm Gee & Jenson until he retired as president in 1990. He spent the next six years doing independent consulting.
A strong work ethic, even in retirement, was something Miller learned while growing up in the mountains near Williamsport, Pa. He was born in Emmaus, near Allentown, and is the oldest of four children.
He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from Emmaus High School in 1952, during the Korean War. He spent the next four years in the service, and he later earned a degree in civil engineering from Lehigh University.
Miller then went to work for a consulting firm in Allentown. After a trip to South Florida to visit his brother, he moved his family here for good.
Now he teaches classes and makes presentations about bonsai. Recently, he and his wife took a bonsai cruise, organized by the museum, where he gave a demonstration.
"We're looking forward to doing it again," he said.
For information about future cruises or about the museum, call the Morikami at (561) 495-0233.

What are your hobbies?

Traveling abroad, making pottery.

What is your most memorable moment?

"The birth of my daughter."

What is your favorite movie?

The Passion of the Christ.

For what would you like to be remembered?

"I would be happy if I inspired people to give back and be kind to other people."

 

 

Natural Art At Its Best

What exactly is the concept of bonsai?

Bonsai is growing a tree in miniature form. The plant is grown in shallow pots and regularly pruned. The leaves and roots have to be trimmed every year and new soil has to be added to ensure the plant's survival and good health.

What are the special requirements for a bonsai plant?

Bonsai plants require special soil, ideally a mix of manure, soil and brick particles. This mixture, being porous, does not allow water-logging and keeps the plant healthy, increasing its chances of survival. The plant must be kept in shade for the first few days. Bonsai needs fresh air and should ideally be placed in a garden or near a window.

Which plants are ideal for bonsai?

All tropical flowering plants can be chosen for bonsai. Flowering plants with small leaves, flowers and fruits, look beautiful when worked upon aesthetically. The idea is to retain the natural look of plants while giving them a beautiful finish. Plants have to be placed either in shade or mild sunshine.

What is the scope for bonsai in Jamshedpur?

The city is well-suited to encourage bonsai enthusiasts. The Horticulture Society of Jamshedpur organises regular demonstrations. One can also get information at the flower shows held in the city. Residents of the steel city are showing interest in bonsai and the response has been encouraging so far. Though the readymade plants are expensive, the ones prepared at home are affordable.

What are your suggestions for bonsai enthusiasts?

These plants’ requirements are like those of bigger trees, the only difference being in the quantity. One should first test his gardening skills by growing small plants and only then dabble with bonsai as it calls for patience and time. People must get themselves equipped with the knowledge of bonsai plants through books.

 

 

Bonsai Exhibit & Sale

The Pearl City Bonsai Club will hold a free exhibit and plant sale 9 a.m.-2 p.m. April 30 at the 'Aiea Elementary School cafeteria. Bonsai plants, nursery stock and bonsai-related items will be on sale. Call Keith Schultz at 262-5873.

 

 

A Potpourri Of Neighborly Advice, Seasonal Reminders, Gardening Events...

Bonsai demonstrations -- Members of the Wichita Area Bonsai Club will be at Hong's Landscaping & Nursery every Saturday in April to do a bonsai potting demonstration, answer questions and help anybody who wants to pot up a plant do so. The potting demonstration will begin at 10 a.m. and last about an hour, and there will be time for questions and hands-on help. Hong's is at 8825 E. 31st St. South.

 

 

Blooms Of The World Featured At Garden

The Spring Festival of Flowers will be held at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens throughout the month of April. Millions of blooms will welcome spring in a breathtaking explosion of color.Visitors to the garden can enjoy music and special activities, such as garden chats, the photography contest, and spring sleuths.Scheduled events include the Spring Gardening School, Connoisseur Plant Auction, Photography Workshop, Plant Sale, Bonsai Show and Festival of Fashion.This year, the garden is taking the "world" theme a step further. Huntsville's community has been enriched by an influx of foreign cultures, so this year the garden is focusing on those that have had the largest impact by planting their flags in flowers throughout the garden and setting a giant globe at the entrance. To further enhance the international flavor, the Living Art Bonsai Society presents a Bonsai Show, April 23-24, and new for this year, "International Happy Hours"' featuring the culture, music and food of Germany, Japan and Mexico, will be held on April 5, 19 and 26.

 

 

Social Clubs And Events

SANTA CRUZ BONSAI KAI: Learn to create and maintain bonsai trees in this local bonsai club which meets the third Saturday of the month at 9 a.m. Offering lectures and workshops. Visitors welcome, $35 to join for the first year, $25 after. Call Robert at 429-5205.

 

 

Home And Garden Happenings

Bonsai course available

Bonsai for beginners is a hands-on workshop scheduled for 10 a.m. April 16 at For-Mar Nature Preserve & Arboretum, 2142 N. Genesee Road, Burton. Students receive a hand-made clay pot and the materials and guidance to start a dwarf conifer bonsai. Pre-registration is required. Cost is $27. For more information, call (810) 789-8568.

Container gardening will be taught from 7-9 p.m. May 11 at For-Mar Nature Preserve & Arboretum, 2142 N. Genesee Road, Burton. Class will scale miniature-scale gardening using dwarf conifers or bonsai starter trees, dwarf hostas and companion plants. Design techniques will be taught. Cost is $15. For more information, call (810) 789-8567.

Bonsai for beginners will be taught from 7-9 p.m. June 29 at For-Mar Nature Preserve & Arboretum, 2142 N. Genesee Road, Burton. Students receive a handmade clay pot and the materials and guidance to start a dwarf conifers bonsai. Cost is $27. For more information and to register, call (810) 789-8567.

 

 

SF Garden Show Ends Sunday

Where Gardens Meet Art closes Sunday. The world-famous garden show features 23 full-size gardens, this year focusing on ecological concepts such as water-wise gardening, permaculture, sustainability and gardening with native plants.
Exhibitors offer the latest garden tools, books, accessories and garden art. There are seminars and demonstrations, thousands of plants for sale and special exhibits such as a Container Show, Bonsai Show and a display from the California Garden Clubs.
Full-day tickets $17-$20; $7 children 4 to 11; $13 half-day tickets. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today; 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Ave., Daly City. (800) 829-9751.

 

 

Garden Calendar

SAT Bonsai Northwest: 5021 S. 144th St., Tukwila; 206-242-8244.

1:30-3:30 p.m. -- Root Prune Your Bonsai: Bonsai masters walk you through the basics of root pruning and potting. Bring your bonsai (smaller than 36 inches tall). $20; soil, instruction and tools provided.

 

 

You Know It's Spring When The S.F. Flower & Garden Show Hits Town

Bonsai exhibit, seminars

The Bonsai Society of San Francisco will have an exhibit at the show and will present two seminars, "Bonsai Styles: How to Make a Tree Look Older" at 4: 30 p.m. Friday and "Bonsai: Pruning Demonstration" at 12:15 p.m. Saturday, both in the Monrovia Garden Shed. The presenters will be John Boyce, John Edwards, Tim Kong and Steve Jeng.

Edwards, vice president of the bonsai club, has been with the club for 11 years. A professional photographer, he became fascinated by bonsai as a teenager when he saw the collection at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in New York.

Bonsai literally means tree in a tray. It originated in China centuries ago when people found old, dwarfed trees high in the mountains. Traders then took some of the trees to Japan, where the art was refined, Edwards said.

Some of the principles involved in bonsai include wabi/sabi, a Japanese concept of aesthetics defined by irregularity, asymmetry and the appearance of age, "something that has been affected by time," he said. It involves "reverence for things that are old... something that's not quite balanced."

Bonsai can be developed from seed or nursery plants. The dwarf effect is achieved through pruning and cultivating container plants, "the most pampered plants on the planet," Edwards said.

Some popular varieties for bonsai include poplars, black pines, junipers and maples.

The Golden State Bonsai Federation North has a collection at Lake Merritt in Oakland with bonsai that are more than 1,000 years old and an oak tree that was given to President Abraham Lincoln's ambassador to Japan, Edwards said.

 

 

Nature Lovers Throng Jaipur Bonsai Show

Dozens of nature lovers in the "Pink City" of Jaipur thronged the ongoing bonsai show for a rare treat of dwarfed, ornamentally shaped trees in small shallow pots.
With booming population and urbanisation environment lovers have been forced to look for alternate means to be close to nature.
Bonsai, the art of growing dwarfed, ornamentally shaped trees or shrubs in small shallow pots or trays, is gaining popularity, as it needs only a little space.
"The way the population has boomed and we are doing away with concrete jungles in urban life, we are running away from nature but still man has a tendency to come back to it. We want to keep big trees in our drawing rooms and so this is a good away to keep plants in your house for we know that space is shrinking day by day," said Anjana Tandon, organiser of the show.
Bonsai lovers flocked the show to observe the minute details of growing the plants inside their living rooms.
Sushma Gupta, a bonsai lover, said that caring for miniature trees satisfied her creative urge like other art forms.
"Bonsai is like a baby. We plant it and see it growing every day. It's nice to admire it every day. Moreover, we can give it any shape as per our liking. It is a creative thing and it's nice to do it," said Gupta.
Experts say a good quality bonsai can be developed within five years and could last for more than 100 years if properly cared for. According to their climatic conditions, miniatures of banyan, fig, guava, pomegranate, mango, lemon, jasmine etc. are mostly grown in India.
Potted plants culture in India traces it's root to ancient times where it was used for the treatment of sick people. In India, bonsai art began in the early 1960s but gained popularity only in1970s.
But the credit for being the pioneer in the art goes to China, where it was known as "pun-chung" or "penjing". The art gained it's foothold in Japan in the 14th century, where it got more refined and came to be known as "bonsai".

 

 

A FLOORING Company’s Environmental Policy Has Been Officially Recognised

Bonsai Wood Flooring has been given chain-of-custody certification by Independent Forestry for products it sources from woodlands with responsible policies.
A visit last year by the organisation’s inspector coincided with a move to new premises at South Side, St Sampson’s.
‘We think that in the future people will look at these issues,’ said director Mat Rolfe.
‘More and more customers are asking where the wood comes from and lots of us in the industry feel duty-bound to do something about it.’
To gain IF recognition Bonsai had to be recommended by a supplier which knew the company’s background and where it sourced wood.
Chain-of-custody members represent businesses from woodland owners and pulp mills to boatbuilders and firewood sellers.
Expansion into the new showroom has enabled Bonsai to display bigger samples so that customers can get a good idea of what a new floor would like and it will soon include a range of ready-to-hang wooden doors.
‘We have had a huge amount of feedback about the premises,’ said co-director Lee Stillwell.
‘It’s a better environment to bring clients into.’
Mr Rolfe joined the company last year as finance director. There are four other staff and more are needed.
He believes that people are increasingly seeing wooden floors as an investment because they do not need to be replaced as often as carpet and are seen as a selling point if a house is on the market.
‘Wooden floors, if fitted properly, can last a lifetime,’ said Mr Stillwell. ‘Laminate has its place in the market but we start where they finish.’
Bonsai also has a small showroom in Jersey, but until it can appoint a full-time member of staff they are reliant on contracting fitters to carry out the work. The company was set up more than three years ago from a home office in the Forest.

 

 

Happy In His Miniature World

Prasanjit Dey in his garden in Ranchi. A Telegraph picture

Prasanjit Dey is a doctor by profession, but his passion for bonsai plants could give any horticulturist a run for his money.

It all started 10 years ago when a chance meeting with friend Shankar Chanda changed the way he looked at plants. “I consider Shankar my guru as it is he who taught me everything about bonsai. Prior to that I had no interest in plants. Now most of my leisure hours are spent looking after the plants, which have grown old with me. These plants need a lot of attention. I feel depressed when I don’t get to spend time with my plants. They are like my babies,” says Dey.

“Bonsai is an art and has a grammar of its own. It is about balance, geometry, rhythm and beauty. Trees with small leaves and those that require less time to mature are ideal for bonsai. These trees need nutritious fertiliser, which comprise of cowdung, oilcake powder, hoof and horn meal, blood and bone meal. Sunlight is also an essential ingredient for the healthy growth of trees,” added Dey.

Dey gets the seeds from riverbanks, forests and abroad. “Although you are not allowed to get trees from abroad, I have brought certified seeds from London, Las Vegas and Singapore. Whenever I visit a new place I keep my eyes and ears open for different types of trees. If I find anything interesting then I take a sample home in the form of cuttings, seeds or sometimes the entire plant,” said Dey.

Dey has an exhaustive stock of funny stories about his plant-hunting expeditions. “Once when I was returning from Jamshedpur in my car I saw a beautiful tree...it had an unusual shape. I got off my car to take a closer look at the tree. Soon, a crowd of curious onlookers gathered around me and I had people asking why I was staring at the tree. I’m am sure they thought I was mad. Embarrassed I drove away, but only to return on my scooter. I got a cutting and went back home. Thankfully, no one saw me cutting a stem of the tree,” laughed Dey.

Today, Dey has a collection of more than 1,000 bonsai and has no plan of selling them. Even the terrace of his clinic has more than 100 bonsai, which he personally waters every day.

A frequent traveller, Dey has a fleet of gardeners who looks after the plants in his absence. “My daughter lives abroad, so my wife and I frequently visit her. So, I have gardeners who look after the trees. I do miss my plants during these holidays. But my heart and soul remains in Ranchi with my plants. There have been times when my trees have died due to the negligence of the gardeners. But instead of throwing away the plants, I try to revive them. Sometimes I have failed and at times I have given them a fresh lease of life,” added Dey.

Dey has many favourites. His Baobab from Africa, Cedar from the Gangotri region, Fukien Tea trees are like his children. Maybe that’s the reason why Dey never thought about minting money selling the plants. Dey’s friends say he could have become a millionaire by selling his rare bonsai. But Dey feels that his passion for bonsai was an art, which cannot be sold at any price. Today, Dey has one wish — to generate awareness about the art of making bonsai. “In Japan, the art of making bonsais is looked upon with respect. But here very few people are aware of the art. I wish to popularise this art form. That’s my only goal now,” signed off Dey.

 

 

Garden Resource

Classes

Bonsai Classes: 10 a.m. Saturdays; Exotic Bonsai Gardens, 1214 N. Mills Ave., Orlando; free; 407-897-3352.

Bonsai Workshop, includes a plant for learning the proper techniques of root pruning and repotting: 10 a.m. Saturday; Merritt Island Ace Hardware and Garden Center, 1005 N. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island; free; reserve a spot to get a free plant, 321-452-3484.

 

 

Nursery Stands Tall Among Bonsai Suppliers

Dana Quattlebaum of the Brussel's Bonsai company trims a tree in the greenhouse in Olive Branch, Miss. The acidity of the water and the climate in Olive Branch are ideal for growing bonsai trees.

Click on Amazon.com, Proflowers.com or Hallmark.com and order a bonsai tree, and more than likely, employees at a specialty nursery in northwest Mississippi will process and ship your order.
"Chances are good the bonsai is from here," said McNeal McDonnell, 38, of Germantown, Tenn., one of the owners of Brussel's Bonsai, which specializes in the miniature trees.
Brussel Martin, 54, of Memphis, established the nursery in Olive Branch, Miss., in 1978 after years of growing bonsai in his parents' backyard.
"When I was 5 years old, I can remember being instantly captivated by several bonsai my father brought back from a California business trip," he said. "As a teenager, I began to seriously study the art of bonsai. What started out as an artistic endeavor in my parents' back yard quickly grew into a business."
Martin began selling bonsai through the mail and traveled to shows across the country in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, he made annual buying trips to Asia. About 60 percent of the stock is imported.
The nursery moved last May into a $2.5 million complex with a pagoda-influenced roofline and an entrance flanked by Chinese foo dogs, symbols of good luck.
The greenhouses are rows and rows of small wonders planted in small containers, each filled with a special soil-less mix composed of clay aggregate and finely ground pine bark. Ficus, maple, jade, cypress, pine, juniper, holly, ginkgo — and even redwood forests — fit in containers often small enough to decorate coffee tables or fireplace mantels.
Employees use golf carts to move plants from greenhouses to the packing area where hoppers filled with Styrofoam peanuts hang overhead.
A 4-year-old, 6-inch-tall ficus sells for $23 — and that's a starting point for a hobby that can grow into a serious addiction. "Orchids have the same type of collector," McDonnell said.
Trees known as specimen plants cost $500 or more and occupy their own greenhouse. Some of them sport "sold" tags — although the owners must wait two years to take them home. The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires plants to be quarantined for two years after they're imported.
Martin specializes in pruning, wiring and shaping the trees. McDonnell handles the technology. "Our contributions to the business are very much equal," McDonnell said.
About 60 percent of the nursery's business comes from catalogs and online sites for 10 to 12 companies, such as FTD, ProFlowers and Hallmark; 30 percent comes from its own catalog and Web site and 10 percent from wholesale customers such as garden centers, McDonnell said.
"Seven years ago our largest customer was Home Depot," McDonnell said. "Home Depot relied on us to merchandise and order and fill its stores. That became a big headache, and we pulled back from that."
The nursery owners turned to technology to expand the customer base to Internet shoppers who wanted to send bonsai trees as gifts.
"We realized we could import and grow bonsai very well and we were good at shipping," McDonnell said. "The Internet allows us to focus on those two things without having personnel maintain displays and go to garden centers."
This month, the company will expand its reach to QVC TV, the home shopping channel. Martin is scheduled to appear March 21 and sell ficus bonsai and azalea bonsai.
"We expect to sell 1,700 trees in eight minutes," McDonnell said. "If we do well, they'll invite us back."
Brussel's Bonsai mails out its catalog at the end of each March, and business typically picks up in April due to catalog customers placing orders.
"Seven years ago, we sent out 15,000 catalogs," he said. "We'll send out 130,000 this year."

 

 

Seminars Enhance Spring Garden Festival

Next weekend is the annual Spring Garden Festival at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens.
This annual event is much anticipated by the North Central Florida gardening community. More than 200 vendors and displays of just about anything garden-related are spread out over the gardens and tucked into tree-shaded nooks. Some exhibitors set up elaborate displays of colorful plants, deck furniture, whimsical windsocks or waterfalls. Artists show off their paintings and photographs, and there is food galore.
The two days are packed with live and silent auctions, a children's activity area, arts and crafts and educational exhibits. Special this year is an exhibition of the work of regional bonsai masters in Summer House.

1:30 p.m. Saturday: Barbara Chapman and Doug Morin are active in local bonsai societies.
Chapman is vice president of the Gainesville club (her husband, Steve, is president of the Ocala club) and Morin is in the Gainesville Bonsai Society.
Their presentation will be the demonstration of the repotting and styling of a tree. They will also have handouts.
The bonsai society meets on the third Saturday of every month at 9:30 a.m. at Kanapaha. There are more than 20 members, and there will be more than 40 bonsai specimens at the festival.

 

 

Free Berridge Nurseries Spring Gardening Seminars

March 26, 10 a.m. Bonsai care and cultivation presented by the Phoenix Bonsai Society. Find out what varieties do well here and how to be a successful bonsai master.

 

 

Two Bonsai Clubs Join For Seminars

Workshops and demonstrations will be on the schedule during two days of seminars when the Chico and Redding bonsai clubs meet at Pleasant Valley Recreation Center March 19-20.
A beginners workshop will start things off 10 a.m. to noon March 19, followed by a series of mini workshops from 1 to 4 p.m. on various bonsai topics.
Bonsai expert Doug Phillips will give a demonstration 1-4 p.m. Sunday on creating bonsai using olive trees.
This will be the first time the two north state clubs have put on a joint event. The center is at 2320 North Ave. in Chico.

 

 

Garden Calendar

AHEAD Bonsai Northwest: 5021 S. 144th St., Tukwila; 206-242-8244.

March 19, 1:30-3:30 p.m. -- Root Prune Your Bonsai: Bonsai masters walk you through the basics of root pruning and potting. Bring your bonsai (smaller than 36 inches tall). $20; soil, instruction and tools provided.

 

 

'Making Bonsais Like Giving Life'

Bhise particularly cherishes this orange bonsai

Jyoti Bhise is a bonsai enthusiast who makes it clear right at the outset that the bonsais she has created are her pets, living creatures that are not up for sale.
The 59-year-old resident of Sushan building, Ghantali Marg, says that she has been practising the art of making bonsais for 25 years now.
“I first read about bonsai in a horticulture magazine. I was very fascinated about this traditional Japanese art form. Since then learning the art of making bonsai was always at the back of my mind until one day I finally found somebody in Kolkata who could teach me the art in the late 70s,” says Jyoti, who makes the conversation lighter by giving us interesting bonsai trivia.
“In Japan, it’s a ritual to hand over bonsais to daughters at the time of marriage,” she says.

Another bonsai speciality — a flowering bonsai

Jyoti believes that bonsai is an art that should be practised only by those blessed with patience.
“A bonsai practitioner should have a lot of patience. One has to wait patiently for the plant to grow and once the plant grows it has to be trimmed again. Making bonsais is a matter of giving life,” she says.
Jyoti shatters another myth when she says that making bonsais is not an expensive hobby.
“The only major expenditure involved in making a bonsai is the pot. If you buy a simple clay pot, you will save money. Similarly, if you buy an expensive pot, the cost of the bonsai will shoot up,” she says, adding, “When you buy readymade bonsais from nurseries you are charged a huge sum because the bonsais are very old and, therefore, expensive.”

This slanting bonsai is another of Bhise’s favourites

For a person who has made more than 30 bonsais, Bhise is in no mood to sell them.
“I know my bonsais will fetch good money but I have never tried to sell them because I can’t part with my plants. Bonsais are like pets. They need all the love, care and attention. I have trained a servant who takes care of them in my absence but I have to do the finer things myself,” she says.

 

 

Spring's Around The Corner: Imagine It's Already Here With A Visit To The Annual New England Flower Show

The New England Flower Show opens Saturday in Boston.

The calendar says March, but the clouds keep saying snow.
The clothing racks are full of bathing suits, but you're trying to find snowboots to replace the ones your son just outgrew.
Rumor has it that spring is just around the corner, but the first robin of spring called -- he's going to be staying a few extra weeks down in Florida, thank you.
What can you do when you just can't take another snow day?
Among the local exhibits is "Variations on an Ancient Form," created by the Bonsai Study Group of Natick. If your entire experience with the tiny trees has been at a mall kiosk, expect a few surprises.
"We've been exhibiting at the Flower Show for years," said Sharon Hoffman, spokeswoman for the group. "If people have blooming bonsai we, of course, want them to be in bloom for the show. There's a beauty in bonsai -- they're so graceful."
The Natick group will be filling two plant pavilions with their bonsai.

 

 

More Information

Background: The art of bonsai, or styling and dwarfing trees and plants, traces its roots to Asia. The Chinese created the miniature landscapes known as bonsai (pronounced "bone-sigh") many centuries ago.
Dozens of plant or tree species - including red maple, cedar elms and spruce trees that would tower overhead if allowed to grow unfettered - can be pruned from saplings and used to create bonsai works.
Bonsai plants can live to be hundreds of years old and are passed from generation to generation within families.
Well-crafted and aged bonsai trees can sell for thousands of dollars; beginners can buy young trees for as little as $20.

 

 

Importing Little Plants Creates Big Problems

Hambden Township-- Caution guided Frank Mihalic's plans to restock his family's Geauga County bonsai nursery with foreign plants. He had heard about changes in federal import regulations. He wasn't sure what he could -- or could not -- do under his existing permit.
So Mihalic checked and double-checked with state regulators before moving ahead. He booked a trip to the Far East only after getting a letter from the Ohio Department of Agriculture giving him the go-ahead to import bonsai specimens onto American soil.
Mihalic spent $20,000 buying 229 bonsai plants on that trip in March 2004. He arranged shipment to Wildwood Gardens in Hambden Township and flew home to await the arrival of the small, artistically styled trees.
His investment, however, went up in smoke.
The permit issues that Mihalic fretted about before traveling overseas turned out to be valid. U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors impounded the bonsai trees as they entered the nation from Japan and Taiwan. Weeks later, the USDA torched the plants.
"We tried to do things the right way," laments Mihalic, 48, who operates Wildwood Gardens with his father, Tony. "We tried . . . we really did."
A lawsuit over the "bad advice" that Mihalic says he received from the state is pending in Ohio's Court of Claims in Columbus. Wildwood Gardens is seeking $29,872 in damages from the state, enough to cover the bonsai plants, shipping costs and travel expenses on the trip to Asia.
The state is not liable for Mihalic's loss and will fight the claim, says LeeAnne Mizer, a spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture.
She said it was Mihalic's responsibility -- not the state's -- to know the federal import regulations.
"We are not the USDA," Mizer said. "If he had questions, he should have asked them."
Mihalic said he contacted the state inspector who usually works with Wildwood Gardens to get importation answers. Mary J. Smallsreed, a plant pest control specialist, replied with a pair of memos on state Department of Agriculture letterhead.
She wrote both times that Wildwood was following requirements. Smallsreed could not be reached for comment.
In the second memo, dated March 2, 2004, Smallsreed wrote that Mihalic could continue following "regulations which have been used in the past....This will allow Wildwood Gardens to import plants needed for their business" and meet inspection standards.
But federal rules regarding bonsai imports changed twice between September 2002 and October 2003, resulting in morerestrictive regulations, according to Dore Mobley, a spokeswoman with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Worries about wood-boring beetles arriving with the foreign plants pushed the policies, which mandated that artificially dwarfed plants be quarantined and monitored for two years to guard against hitchhiking foreign bugs.
State departments of agriculture receive notices about new guidelines, Mobley said.
Meanwhile, Wildwood Gardens fights to survive after 58 years in business. Sales under the quarantine restrictions are down more than half, dropping from about $100,000 annually to about $40,000.
Some good news came this week, however. Federal and state officials inspected and gave a preliminary OK for a quarantine facility, which will allow the nursery to take in foreign plants. Wildwood would become the 11th site in the nation entered into the program.
Still, Wildwood may not be able to stay open, says Tony Mihalic, 82. The nearly $30,000 loss on the ill-fated Asian trip may force the nursery to close.
"We're struggling ...struggling like hell," the elder Mihalic said. "The state doesn’t want to take blame for what happened, and neither does the federal government. I’m the only one paying here, and I can’t afford it."

 

 

Collectors Of Valuable Bonsai Pose A Threat To Forests, Tree Varieties

Some households in Nghi Yen Commune,
Nghe An Province specialise in transporting
big, old bonsai from central provinces to
re-sell to customers.

QUANG NAM — Many bonsai connoisseurs search every hidden corner and crevice of Viet Nam’s central jungles to find big, old ornamental trees. The increasingly popular trend is threatening the existence of certain tree varieties, as well as causing significant damage to the environment.
Truong, an ornamental tree farm owner in Binh Nguyen Commune in Quang Nam Province’s Thang Binh District, explained that big, old ornamental trees were mainly sold to ‘bosses’ in HCM City, and to wealthy buyers from Ha Noi, who are often willing to pay high prices.
Truong owns hundreds of valuable trees and his collection includes many different varieties, such as banyan, cajeput, and willow. Many trees are as tall as five metres with roots measuring one metre in diameter.
"It is a pleasure to see young buds sprouting on an old tree. It is something that collectors love about their hobby," Truong said.
He continued that he and some other owners used to sell many of their trees to an ocean ecological tourist centre in Thang Binh District because "they plant them in a jungle there."
Prices for ornamental trees vary. Truong once told a customer half in jest and half in earnest "If you like us, you buy a small tree for about VND3 million, if you want to give a nice gift to your boss or buy a tree for your office you should buy an expensive one."
Dong, another owner, revealed that he once met some buyers transporting ornamental trees worth about VND40 million (US$2,666) from the nearby Binh Thuan Province through Quang Nam.
Part of the task of buyers and sellers is the painstaking process of excavating a big ornamental tree with well established roots. Sometimes seven people have to use a bulldozer and a pulley to dig out a deep, tangled root system that can spread out for ten metres. Diggers often have to kill many other small trees at the same time.
When asked why people could dig up so many precious trees, most owners in Binh Nguyen Commune replied: "There is no where else to go, the forest is the only option." And unfortunately, it’s true.
Recently, the forest ranger agency in Quang Nam Province’s Bac Tra My District discovered a lorry transporting big, old ornamental trees that had been illegally taken from the nearby forest. Ten huge trees were confiscated.
Explaining about the loose management, Diep Thanh Phong, head of Quang Nam forest ranger agency, said the policies created to protect the forests are too new and not specific enough to handle the problem properly.
The agency has already asked the Forest Ranger Department to allow it to settle the illegal exploitation of bonsai as strictly as it deals with other forest products.
In response, the forest ranger department has requested forest ranger agencies in provinces nation-wide to implement measures to stop people from digging up trees and removing them from the forest for bonsai collection.
Big, old ornamental trees taken from gardens for sale must have a certificate from local agencies.

 

 

Garden Calendar

SAT/SUN Sky Nursery: 18528 Aurora Ave. N., Shoreline. 206-546-4851

Sunday, 11 a.m. -- Hands-on Outdoor Bonsai Workshop: Learn how to trim, prune, wire, pot and care for. $36; includes plant, pot, supplies, tool loan and instruction by John Muth of Bonsai Northwest. Prepayment required.

SAT Bonsai Northwest: 5021 S. 144th St., Tukwila; 206-242-8244.

Saturday, 1:30-3:30 p.m. -- Root Over Rock: Learn this advanced technique that adds interest; $48; all items needed are included.

March 19, 1:30-3:30 p.m. -- Root Prune Your Bonsai: Bonsai masters walk you through the basics of root pruning and potting. Bring your bonsai (smaller than 36 inches tall). $20; soil, instruction and tools provided.

 

 

Green Stuff West Bay

Bonsai and Suiseki Display Garden Fifty bonsai trees and suiseki viewing stones on permanent display. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Today-Fri., 10 a.m.-3:45 p.m. Sat., noon-3:45 p.m. Sun. Bellevue Ave., Lakeside Park, Oakland. (510) 763-8409.