Upcoming Mentorship Activities

Our April program on Styling, Design and Wiring was well attended, with nine individuals bringing in trees to get help with.  Thanks to our own “Professor” Lee Cheatle, we were given an excellent discussion, lecture and demonstration on wiring and proper technique.  With his usual humor and personal approach, “Professor” Cheatle reduced the basic skills and techniques for successful wiring to a college like course syllabus of Wiring 101, 102 and 103 covering basic and advanced techniques accompanied by demonstrations of each aspect.  Following the lecture and demonstrations, attendees were provided assistance addressed to their own trees and hands on application of wire.

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Oh for the love of Spring!

It's sunny and warm as I write this for you just now...our 'March' into spring was more like a soggy slog, punctuated by a couple of rounds of wet snow thrown in for fun. I've got a love/hate relationship with spring. I just love the awakening of our trees and flowers yet hate that everything decides to go all at once.

It would be some trick if we could graft an on/off switch to our trees wouldn't it?

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Annual Spring Bonsai Exhibit at the Portland Japanese Garden

Plan to view the best bonsai exhibit of the year at the Portland Japanese Garden. Continuous demonstrations on shaping and pruning bonsai on the Pavilion deck. Docent tours of the exhibit at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00 each day. Approximately forty-five bonsai of varying size and shapes, conifer, deciduous, and flowering trees.

Portland Japanese Garden
Saturday and Sunday, May 19-20
10AM - 6PM

The Bonsai Society of Portland will host 2012 Convention

Plan to attend the 2012 Pacific Northwest Bonsai Clubs Association Conference September 14-16, 2012 at the Hilton in Vancouver, Washington

"Imagine & Create" is the the theme. It is an invitation to expand your vision and dexterity. Whether a beginner or seasoned bonsai artist, you’ll find many activities to engage your imagination and hone your skills. Learn to see a tree’s possibilities from internationally recognized bonsai masters, improve your techniques and turn your vision into reality. Join us for the most important bonsai event in the Pacific Northwest!

Featured artists include: Marco Invernizzi from Italy and Peter Warren from the UK. We also went to California for the renowned Ted Matson, and are introducing our own Scott Elser, two-time winner of the Most Outstanding Conifer at the US National Bonsai Show. Additional artists include Dave DeGroot, Jim Gremel, Michael Hadedorn and Joe Harris III. Read more.

Heritage Group assures future for bonsai

Bonsai can live far longer than their owners, sometimes for hundreds of years. The goal of the Heritage Group is to assure that bonsai are passed along to others when their owners are no longer able to care for them.

Bob Laws, HG chairman, has announced an ambitious goal for 2011 to secure agreements with at least 40% of the Bonsai Society of Portland membership. The agreement helps bonsai owners determine how their tees will be transferred to other collectors.

“We started this group just this year and so far have had four requests for our services; with an auction of eighty four bonsai items coming up at our next meeting.” said Laws. “This is a service that provides peace of mind in case of illness or worse. And, it transfers quality bonsai into the capable hands of another generation who will maintain them as long as they can.”

This service is available to non-members as well. See the Heritage Group Guidelines and Agreement listed under Services for details.