An Actual Bonsai Show

Tags

Bonsai, boxwood, buxus, ficus, shohin, show

I wasn’t sure that it was going to happen, but Northern Virginia Bonsai Society decided to hold an actual, physical (not virtual) bonsai show in September of 2020. So many events have been cancelled, but this was a small show setup in the visitor center of a park that was already open and enforcing masks and social distancing inside the building. All we did is add a few trees.

Prepping for the fall show

Tags

Bonsai, juniper, Meadowlark, NVBS, san jose, show, styling, wire, wiring

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. 

Bonsai Show #1

Tags

Bonsai, botanical gardens, event, exhibition, Meadowlark, show

I have never shown one of my trees before… Have I mentioned, yet, that I’ve been doing this bonsai thing for twenty years? It’s about time I put one out there!

This show, along with my own 20 year anniversary, are the springboards for starting this blog. I should have better trees to show by now, but the past two decades have been spent keeping trees alive in pots, which I am slowly learning is quite different from being a bonsai practitioner.

So let that be a lesson to you young rascals out there. Don’t squander the years. Years are precious in bonsai. Learn everything you can as soon as you can so when you are twenty years in you have more to show than I.

I’ve stalled long enough. If the point is to show a tree, then I shall show a tree.

Boxwood (Buxux), approximately 20 years old and (keeping in mind all the caveats provided above) in training for 10 years. Northern Virginia Bonsai Society Fall Show, 2016, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. Come on out and see it, and a bunch of other great trees. The show will be there all weekend.