Bonsai

Thursday, June 6, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Bonsai for All

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The New England Wild Flower Society will present Dan Jaffe in a program entitled Bonsai for All on Thursday, June 6, from 10 – 1 at Garden in the Woods in Framingham. Create a living work of art using native plants and easy bonsai techniques. Join Dan Jaffe for a beginner’s bonsai workshop to create low maintenance, beautiful bonsai with methods that anybody can approach, regardless of past bonsai experience. While traditional bonsai gardening with high-maintenance non-native species can be very intensive, we focus on techniques that allow this practice to be available to everyone. Plants and pots are available at the Garden Shop at a discount; all other materials are included. Bring your favorite hand pruners if you have them. $46 for NEWFS members, $56 for nonmembers. Sign up at www.newfs.org. Image from www.thegiftofgivinglife.blogspot.com.

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Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Bonsai Exhibit

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Talented Bonsai Artists from New England will display their best Bonsai for the weekend at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston. Have you bought or received a bonsai and it died? Did you miss The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s Bonsai program in March?  Come to this informative show and find out why, with bonsai experts to answer your questions. If you can raise a houseplant, you can grow bonsai.

– Featuring beautiful bonsai from all over New England.
– Clubs and individuals compete in this judged show.
– Vendors will sell plant material, pots, and accessories.
– Ongoing lectures and educational opportunities.

Bonsai (Japanese for “tray gardening”) is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees and plants grown in containers. The tree and the pot form a single harmonious unit where the shape, texture and color of one, compliments the other. In Western culture, the word “bonsai” is used as an umbrella term for both Japanese bonsai and Chinese penjing. The Japanese form, “bonsai” is both derived from, and a form of Chinese penjing.  For more information visit www.towerhillbg.org.

Monday, March 19, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Bonsai: History, Facts and Myths

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The March meeting of the Garden Club of the Back Bay will take place at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden on Monday, March 19 beginning with tea at 2 pm, followed by another of our “Japan Year” programs, Bonsai: History, Facts and Myths. Learn how bonsai are created and tips for keeping them alive as long as possible. Pauline F. Muth will present a program on the history, art and horticulture of bonsai. She will illustrate her talk with both a photographic and live collection of various types of bonsai. Pauline has been involved with bonsai for almost 40 years. She maintains a teaching studio in West Charlton, NY exclusively dedicated to the art of bonsai. Her gardens are open to the public by appointment. She sits on the executive boards of Mohawk Hudson Bonsai Society, The Mid-Atlantic Bonsai Societies, The American Bonsai Society and Bonsai Clubs International. Her studioʼs web site is www.pfmbonsai.com. The program is co-sponsored by The Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive written notice of this meeting, along with car pool information.  Others may register on line (Arnold Arboretum and Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture members $10, non-members $15) at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

Tuesday, October 18, 10:00 am – Tour of the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection at the Arnold Arboretum

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A ninety minute docent-led guided tour of the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection at the Arnold Arboretum will kick off the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s “Japan Year” programs on Tuesday, October 18 at 10 am. We will view the historic bonsai collection in the lathe house, then see their full grown counterparts in the landscape. The Collection is one of the premier collections of bonsai in the United States and includes a Hinoki cypress over 250 years old.  The Bonsai Pavilion where the trees are housed are part of a complex of buildings known as the Dana Greenhouses.  The Collection is on display from mid-April to the end of October, when they are moved and  held in cold storage at temperatures slightly above freezing throughout the winter. Comfortable shoes are a requirement.  Written notices with car pool information will be mailed to club members.  The tour is limited to twenty participants, so will accept reservations on a first come, first serve basis.  Non-club members may email info@gardenclubbackbay.org to be put on a wait list (non-member charge $15).

Saturday, September 10 – Sunday, September 11, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Bonsai Show and Sale

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Talented bonsai artists from New England will display their best bonsai on Saturday and Sunday, September 10 – 11, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, Massachusetts. Have you bought or received a bonsai and it died? Come to this informative show and find out why, with bonsai experts to answer your questions. If you can raise a houseplant, you can grow bonsai. Hours are 10 – 5, club and individuals will compete in this judged show, vendors will sell plant material, pots, and accessories, and there will be ongoing lectures and educational opportunities. Bonsai (Japanese for “tray gardening”) is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees and plants grown in containers. The tree and the pot form a single harmonious unit where the shape, texture and color of one, compliments the other. In Western culture, the word “bonsai” is used as an umbrella term for both Japanese bonsai and Chinese penjing. The Japanese form, “bonsai” is both derived from, and a form of Chinese penjing. Free with admission to Tower Hill. For more information, visit www.towerhillbg.org.

Thursday, July 7, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – The Art of Bonsai

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What makes bonsai, those little trees in pots, so appealing? Perhaps it is how bonsai design mimics our big world on a miniature scale. Don Sibley, co-founder of the Martha’s Vineyard Bonsai Club, will disclose many secrets in this revealing workshop, to be held at the Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury on Thursday, July 7 from 10 – 11:30 am. Discover what makes big, old trees look the way they do and how these characteristics inform successful bonsai design. Students will observe trees both large and small. Sibley has taught painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts for 35 years and has recently retired from his position as gardener at Chappaquiddick’s Mytoi Garden. He has had a lifelong interest in Japanese gardening practices and bonsai. $20/$10 for PHA members.  For more information visit www.pollyhillarboretum.org.

Saturday, August 14, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Bonsai West Tour

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The Bonsai West collection is one of the oldest historic collections of bonsai in the country.  Michael Levin, owner and founder of Bonsai West, will talk about these trees – several over one hundred years old – and the original artists who created them.  The stories of Mr. Levin’s 28 years of growing bonsai and creating this beautiful nursery, and his experiences with the original artists and the history and culture of this ancient art coalesce during this fascinating tour, sponsored by Tower Hill Botanic Garden.  Levin also discusses basic bonsai care techniques and growing your own bonsai.  $15 for Tower Hill members, $20 for nonmembers.  You may register at www.towerhillbg.org.

Saturday and Sunday, May 22 and May 23, 10 – 5 – Bonsai Weekend

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Come to Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts on Saturday or Sunday, May 22 and 23, from 10 – 5, and enjoy Bonsai Weekend, The Art of the Potted Plant.  The exhibit will be in the Stoddard Education and Visitors Center, and is sponsored by The New England Bonsai Society.  Gorgeous displays of specimen bonsai plants, with guided tours, lectures, and programs on bonsai culture will be part of the celebration.  Discover the world of bonsai – the art of growing trees in miniature.  Have you bought or received a bonsai and it died? Come out and learn how to keep your bonsai alive and thriving.  If you can raise a houseplant, you can grow a bonsai. Vendors will sell plant material, pots, and accessories.   For more information, log on to www.towerhillbg.org, email thgb@towerhillbg.org, or call 508-869-6111, ext 146.

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Wednesday, October 14, 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon – Bonsai Matching

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What would happen if a bonsai tree were planted in the ground? Most of the species seen as bonsai in the Arnold Arboretum’s world-renowned Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection can also be seen in the Arboretum landscape, but they look very different! Explore the history and culture of bonsai and the Arboretum’s long relationship with these fascinating plants. Compare and contrast bonsai with their “unrestricted” counterparts in the landscape. Meet instructor Robbie Apfel, Docent, at the Bonsai House, adjacent to the Dana Greenhouse at 1050 Centre Street.  Free. Advance registration requested.  Log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu to sign up  and for directions.

Ficus Bonsai, Washington, DC by Grufnik.

Saturday and Sunday, September 12 – 13, 10 – 5 – Bonsai Weekend

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Come to Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts on Saturday or Sunday, September 12 or 13, from 10 – 5, and enjoy Bonsai Weekend, The Art of the Potted Plant.  The exhibit will be in the Stoddard Education and Visitors Center, and is sponsored by The New England Bonsai Society.  Gorgeous displays of specimen bonsai plants, with guided tours, lectures, and programs on bonsai culture will be part of the celebration.  Discover the world of bonsai – the art of growing trees in miniature.  Free admission on Saturday, Regular admission on Sunday.  For more information, log on to www.towerhillbg.org, email thgb@towerhillbg.org, or call 508-869-6111, ext 146.

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