February 2005 Newsletter | Volume 25 Issue 2 | |
 | Officers: President: Dan Bonnett Vice President: Justin Lovelace Secretary: Lisa Martin Treasurer: Mike Blake | Board Members: Bill Watkins (3 years) C. K. Carlson (2 years) George Gray (1 year) Norm Summers(1 year) Steve Sanders (Affiliate 1 year) |
| Next Meeting: Monday, March 7, 2005 7:00pm at the Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria Ave. Program: Bonsai by committee Dan Bonnett called the meeting to order, and started the meeting with introductions of several guests. They were: Phyl Wilton, Dana Stroud, Michael and Lunetta Knowlton. Michael and Lunetta became members that night. Welcome! Membership dues are now due if you have not already paid. Individual membership is still $20 and family memberships are $30. A sign-up sheet for the upcoming workshop on March 5th, and one to order trees from Brussel's Bonsai to use in the upcoming workshop were circulated. Due to low attendance, the Sunday sessions were cancelled. There are still two slots available in both the Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon sessions. If you have not already signed up you may still attend by contacting Mike Blake at 832-0616. Volunteers are needed foran upcoming event, The 2005 Flower and Plant Landscaping Show. If you can volunteer for this event Please contact Dan Bonnett. Charles Sitter is looking for someone to share an entry fee to Brussels Rendezvous. If interested please contact him at sittech@tulsaschools.org or 918-446-0712. As promised Chuck Cockman brought a catalogue from Bonsai Monk and took orders for club members. If you did not get a chance to look at the catalogue check it out on Bonsai Monk. Show and tell: George Gray brought a collected winged elm. Marcus Bush brought his bonsai that Roy Nagatoshi helped him style. Several items and plants were donated for the raffle that evening. Finally, as this was the soil mixing meeting we mixed soil in the parking lot and distributed same to those who purchased it. Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Frank Kohn made a presentation at the Brown Bag Lunch Lecture at the Tulsa Garden Center on the 19th of January to a small group of interested people. His presentation covered the major points of consideration in bonsai culture. He defined bonsai, corrected the native accent for pronunciation, outlined desirable qualities in plant materials, and described propagation and collection techniques. His description of aesthetic objectives was informative even for me. I never fail to pick up something from the basics, or perhaps I never learn them in the first place, at any rate there were enough specifics on style, technique, and science to garner interest and perhaps new devotees. |
Garden Fare 2005 Tom Howard, the multifarious Mike Blake and I manned the booth at the Tulsa Garden Center's Garden Fare. I say multifarious about Mike because he, between television interviews, was heading the exhibit for the Master Gardeners while working with the Iris society and looking in and making suggestions for our booth. His best suggestion was a demonstration which Tom expertly executed with a rosemary plant. I have long been interested in herbal bonsai, and this piqued my interest. The public on the other hand seemed attracted, but not motivated to work with a tree. Common excuses were: too long to see results, too difficult or precarious, and no time to care for them. None of them hit on the real reason for trepidation, which is the expense. Tom and I were there from 10:00 to 4:00 and only two people who visited with us had a serious interest in cultivating bonsai, but everyone that passed appreciated the beauty of Tom's trees. I know these are the same people who think nothing about bringing a new plant home from the nursery. I also know that we live in the state that ranks third in botanical diversity in the US, second only to CA and HI. That fact allows us to cultivate a diverse range of horticultural endeavors. I have found sage more difficult to grow in my garden-due to a fatal fungus-than ever I had with a tree in a pot. Heat is a problem, but ingenuity wins out over the weather most of the time. We as a club need to develop more powerful forms of persuasion. Should our booth at events like this and our upcoming show display more of the elements that we take for granted? If the soil components, wire, pots and some sort of plant material were out to be handled, might that make bonsai more accessible? Think about this and let's discuss new strategies to promote bonsai at the next meeting. Upcoming Events: March 5th, 2005--Spring Workshop-Dana Quattlebaum, Brussells Bonsai March 7, 2005--Regular MeetingTulsa Garden Center April 23rd & April 24th, 2005--Spring Show - Tulsa Garden Center |