10 Saturday Feb 2018
While I have told many friends, and no doubt posted the news to social media long ago, I realize I have never made a notable, bonsai-related announcement here on Bonsai Iterate. I am now the president of the Northern Virginia Bonsai Society!
12 Tuesday Dec 2017
21 Saturday Oct 2017
Posted in Bonsai
I love meeting people who are as tree and bonsai obsessed as myself, and today I got to spend a little time with a very new bonsai enthusiast.
Victor came to the October 14 meeting of the NVBS and managed to win some plants in our raffle. These two young Ficus were sharing the same tiny little pot and I was happy to help get them separated and into larger pots where they have room to grow and develop into future bonsai material.
We talked a little about wiring and Victor gave it a go to put some movement and character into what were a couple of long arced stems.
It was a pleasure, sir. Welcome to the club!
16 Monday Oct 2017
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Sunday, October 15, 2017 marked the opening of a very unique and special, permanent bonsai exhibit space. The Northern Virginia Bonsai Society and Meadowlark Botanical Gardens have partnered over the past months to plan and construct a bonsai pavilion on the Meadowlark grounds.
This public-private partnership was celebrated at a grand opening event attended by the public, members of NVBS, Meadowlark staff, and even a representative from the Japanese embassy.
Many thanks to Garden Manager, Keith Tomlinson, and NVBS President Gary Reese for sharing the story of how this all came about. And thanks to the NVBS members who loaned their trees to the pavilion display. I look forward to watching this partnership develop and grow.
14 Saturday Oct 2017
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Larry Jackel is a favorite expert among the members of the Northern Virginia Bonsai Society. He manages the bonsai collection at the Denver Botanic Gardens and collects fantastic bonsai material from the Colorado mountains.
Larry provided a short program about horticultural mastery, design concepts, and management of new growth especially related to Picea pungens, Colorado Blue Spruce.
He also provided a wonderful selection of CBS for the workshop participants to purchase. There wasn’t a bad tree in the bunch!
Just another great NVBS meeting and workshop!
07 Saturday Oct 2017
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Bill Valvanis, Bonsai, Japan, national arboretum, NBF, NVBS, reopening
It was a unique honor and a priveledge to be able to attend a very special event at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington D.C. yesterday.
Over forty years have passed since 53 Bonsai trees were gifted to the United States from Japan. The original Japanese Bonsai Pavilion — the first part of what has become the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum — was dedicated in 1976 to hold this collection, and good fortune brought me the opportunity to be there for the reopening ceremonies that revealed the gorgeous and much needed renovation of the Japanese Pavilion.
Outside the Japanese Pavilion
Bill Valvanis after receiving the Bonsai Hall of Fame Award
The ribbon cutting
Beautiful garden paths lead from the entrance to the Bonsai displays
The bonsai were displayed on these beautiful stone and mahogany stands
In fact, there is one image I won’t share for this very reason. You will have to go see it for yourself…
A famous Japanese White Pine greets you as the first Bonsai inside the Pavilion. This is the tree that was cared for by the Yamaki Family since 1625 and survived the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. If you have been to the museum over the last couple of years while the Japanese Pavilion was being renovated, you have seen this tree out in the main courtyard. Seeing it on its new display stand, at the perfect height for this tree, is a picture worth seeing for yourself!
I hope you get there to see it soon.
03 Sunday Sep 2017
Posted in Bonsai
The fall show for my bonsai club is coming up in a couple of weeks. Our fall show is open to any member who would like to bring trees to show, and it is not judged. It’s just a great opportunity to share bonsai with the public.
I know several of our most experienced members will have trees unavailable for the show because of another exhibition, so I really would like to show at least two bonsai. Looking over my trees though, I felt like there was only one in “showable” condition. Maybe I could get this San Jose Juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘San Jose’) cleaned up and ready to show.
It’s a bit sloppy at the moment. Let’s see what I can do. First, I need to get the moss off the trunk. I want to get as much moss off the bark as possible without damaging the bark texture, so it’s careful tweezers work.
I’ve had a couple of branches held with guy wires for several months. New wire will go on today, so I am going to remove these first. If they are still needed, I can put them back on later.
Then it’s really all about wiring the branches so I can position them and clean up the shape of the tree. I’d like to do this while removing as little foliage as possible. The tree is doing well, but I don’t want it to lose any strength for this.
I wire the lowest branch first.
And gradually work my way up developing horizontal pads of foliage.
I find wiring and positioning the branches of the apex particularly difficult, but I was happy with the compact form I was able to achieve.
Since my goal is to show this, I also want to moss the surface of the soil. Not all in my club think this is important, but I like the way it looks.
For this Juniper, I went with a pale, bluish lichen and moss mix. I think it looks nice.
Ready for the money shot? First, here’s before…
…and after:
If you’d like to see it in person, come out to the Northern Virginia Bonsai Society (NVBS) fall show at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, September 16-17.
26 Saturday Aug 2017
Posted in Bonsai
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Adam Lavigne, adamaskwhy, Bonsai, ficus, NVBS, styling, workshop
What kind of trees do you bring to a workshop? I struggle with this frequently and usually opt not to stay for the “BYOT” (bring your own tree) portions of the local bonsai club meetings.
My trees fall into three broad categories.
When I got a last minute opportunity to attend a workshop with Adam Lavigne this week, I was very excited to realize I had a few trees in that last category.
This Ficus Microcarpa (above) had lost any hint of a tree structure, and I wasn’t sure how to get it there.
I was in a similar quandary for this Elaeagnus Umbellata (above), as well as a twisty, multitrunk azalea. Apparently I had never photographed this one, so here is the azalea (below) after its styling.
When I first found this tree — quite literally in someone’s trash pile — it had maybe nine trunks. To finally have an idea of where it is going is a great feeling.
The ficus has a new future in a banyan style with a new front, and the Elaeagnus has a new angle and a structure I can finally work with.
Adam, thanks for all your help! It was a pleasure to spend the day with you and a small group of others from Northern Virginia Bonsai Society.
Jack, thanks so much for hosting!
Readers, if you haven’t read Adam’s blog, I recommend it. Check him out at adamaskwhy as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
05 Friday May 2017
Posted in Bonsai
16 Sunday Apr 2017
The Northern Virginia Bonsai Society has the spring show on display this weekend at the Fairfax location of Merrifield Garden Center.
I love that members of the society can show any tree. It’s a great opportunity to see what friends are working on, including works in progress. The chance to see trees in training is also a great way to share the process and art form with the visiting public.
I entered two trees — for all their flaws — the ficus and boxwood below.
There were many other (more) fine examples. I couldn’t get great shots of them all, but please enjoy the images below. And if you can stop by to see it in person, so much the better.
Bonsai Iterate 