VANCOUVER ISLAND BONSAI CLUB

Transcription

1 VANCOUVER ISLAND BONSAI CLUB April 18, 2011 April Newsletter Newsletter Highlight Meeting Programs 1 Sooke Potholes 1 Upcoming Activities 1 Suiseki of the Pacific Northwest 2 Art Gallery of Victoria 2 VIRAGS Show 3 VIBC Annual Mall Show 3 Annual Club Field Day 4 Bleaching Deadwood 4 Tilting Bonsai Turntable 5 Membership Form 5 Bonsai Soil Mixes 6 Monday April 18, 2011 Show & Tell - Mall show exhibit trees. Topic - Discussion on preparation for the mall show. Tips on exhibiting and selling trees. Raffle Table - We will hold the usual raffle, please brings your donations. Coming In May- Show & Tell - Mall show finds and companion plantings Topic - Discussion and demonstration of companion plantings, pots to use, Sooke Potholes There is an open house at Bob s at the Sooke Potholes every Sunday afternoon. Go to the 2nd parking lot and ask attendant. Bring the kids, snacks, come swimming, and talk bonsai. Look for the white mailbox. Art in Bloom 6 Advertisers 7 Our Next Two Meetings: Monday Apr 18, 7:30 pm Monday May 16, 7:30 pm Garth Homer Society Auditorium 813 Darwin Avenue Victoria, BC President 2010 VIBC Officers Bob Taylor Upcoming Activities Sunday April 10th - Annual Club Field Day. Friday April 15th and Saturday April 16th - Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society Spring Show and Sale Friday May 13th to Sunday May 15th - Annual Club Mall show on at Hillside Mall. Saturday June 4th - Noon to 4:30 pm Puget Sound Bonsai Assoc. auction and demonstration at Weyerhauser Bonsai Collection, Federal Way, Wa. Past-Pres Treasurer MallShow Coordinator Randy Kowalchuk Judy Horsland Vacant Saturday Sept. 3rd to Monday Sept 5th - Pacific Northwest Clubs Association Convention XXII Elegance In The Emerald City in Seattle, Wa. Page 1

2 Call For Participants Suiseki Of The Pacific Northwest The 2011 PNBCA Convention in Seattle will showcase a display of fine Northwest suiseki. The committee organizing the display is now soliciting stones for the display from members of all PNBCA club members. To be eligible all stones must have been collected in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, or British Columbia. Stones must be displayed in a traditional manner in a daiza, suiban, doban, or suitable bonsai pot. Stones for the display will be selected by a panel of members from the Suiseki Interest Group of the Puget Sound Bonsai Association. If you are not a member of Puget Sound Bonsai Association and want to have a stone considered for the show, please send a colour image of the stone by to Joel Scharwz at joels@u.washington.edu and Rick Stiles at stiles.re@comcast.net along with the following information by May 2, 2011: English classification name (mountain stone, plateau stone, etc.) Japanese classification name (I.e. yamagata ishi, doha ishi, etc.) Dimensions (length, width, height) Origin of stone (I.e. Snoqualmie River) Year collected Owner of stone Stones for the show will be judged in mid May. All suiseki selected for exhibit must be mailed/ shipped to Rick Stiles at NW Montreux, Issaquah, WA, by June 18 so they canj be photographed for a show catalogue. Stones will be returned to their owners by mid September. We welcome you participation. If you have any questions please Joel or Rick at addresses listed above. Don t Miss It That means a visit to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria to see their new exhibit: Serenity: The Asian garden. Why? If for no other reason than to see Port Hardy s most famous Viewing Stone beautifully displayed. Nearly three feet high and 140 pounds, Hal Seybold dug this beautiful piece of natural limestone from his north island mineral claim in 2004 giving it then the name, In This Stone The Spirits Sing. Some may have seen this stone before as it was shown two years ago when we hosted the Pacific Northwest Bonsai convention. Being shown now on an eye-level stand against a snappy reddish wall finish gives us a whole new understanding of this wondrous art form. (Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Moss St, Victoria, BC. Until July 2, 2011) In a word, if you are doing it right God will let you know. If not, he will kill your tree.. Randy Clark, bonsai authority Page2

3 Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society Spring Show Friday April 15th and Saturday April 16th Come and see a dazzling display of rock and alpine plants at the Vancouver Rock and Alpine Garden Society Show. These make great accent plants. There are also Bonsai trees and Landscape troughs at the show - and rocks. Place: Cadboro Bay United Church, 2625 Arbutus Rd. Time: Friday April 15th, 1 pm to 8 pm and Saturday April 16th, 9 am to 3:30 pm Admission: By donation The show welcomes non-member exhibitors, so consider entering you best bonsai in the competition and you may win Best Bonsai in Show and have your name engraved on the silver trophy! There are 5 classes in the Bonsai section of the Show: Evergreen bonsai, Deciduous bonsai, Bonsai in Flower, Shohin bonsai, and Novice. Exhibits are set up on Thursday afternoon between 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm. If you are interested in exhibiting, pleas see the website < or contact Jane P. at Annual Mall Show Friday May 13 - Sunday May 15, 2011 Hillside Shopping Centre Volunteers Needed - We would like to remind all members that this is the main fund raising even that your club organizes, all funds raised are used for sponsoring world-class visiting artists, field trips, trees, and books for the library. In order for this to happen we need volunteers to give time to help setup the show, work at the sales tables, act as security during the show, and take the exhibit down after the show is over. Please volunteer and sign up for at least one shift. Sign-up sheets will be available at the April meeting. It is not work.it is fun!!!! Exhibit Trees Needed - Bring the trees that you are planning to display to the April meeting for an expert critique. Please ensure that the tree and pot are clean, free of debris, weeds, snow, and bugs. Some wiring is acceptable, but if there is a lot of wiring, your bonsai will be displayed as a bonsai-intraining. Very important, place your name and phone number under the pot and also under the display stands you bring; any trees left behind with no names will end up on the May meeting raffle table! Bonsai For Sale Needed - Stock control sheets will be available at the April meeting for those members who would like to sell some of their trees. If you have trees or bonsai-related items for sale, you must volunteer at lease one shift, see above for Sign-up sheets. Please ensure your trees are free from bugs or debris; we have had people in the past, refusing to buy a tree because some bug or worm crawled out of the pot while they were viewing it. The nicest trees, fairly priced, sell first! Please make sure the tag number and description is ledgeable, and matches the Stock Control Sheet. Set-up for the show will be Thursday evening after 8 pm. Trees can be delivered Friday morning by 9 am. Page3

4 Annual Club Field Day Sunday April 10th Our annual Club Field Day this year will once again be held at Highcroft Farm. Come between Noon and 3 pm being prepared to plant, pot, to give and seek advice on your own trees as wells as others. There will be coffee, soft drinks, and perhaps, something even more nourishing to make for a pleasurable afternoon of bonsai fellowship. Can someone guarantee sunshine and no rain? Highcroft Farm is located at 6081 Old West Saanich Rd. The easiest route to get there is: Follow the Pat Bay Highway towards the ferries, turn off to the left on Keating Rd. Stay on Keating until you reach West Saanich Rd. then turn left. After about 1 km., turn left again onto Old West Saanich Rd., then, for the last time, left up the hill at 6081 Old West Saanich Rd. See you there come rain or shine!!! Bleaching and Preserving Deadwood Preserved deadwood on your bonsai may add a special artistic touch to your design. Deadwood can be a branch or part of a branch, a dried up section of the trunk or, perhaps, a naked part of an exposed root. First you must remove any remaining bark or soft crumbly wood down to the firm wood below. Avoiding live tissue, exposed deadwood can be both preserved and appear naturally whitening by the application of a liquid containing mainly lime-sulphur. The bleaching achieved by applying this formula is said to have originated with Roy Nagatoshi a number of years ago. Mix together 2 oz. (1/4 cup ) of lime-sulphur, 2 inches of white acrylic paint squeezed from the tube and 3 drops of black India ink. Shake well on each occasion before applying to the deadwood with a small paint brush. At first the wood will show a greenish tinge but overnight the treated wood will have become dead white. Our club Field ay is scheduled for Sunday April 10th. If you want to give this procedure a try, bring a suitable candidate - a tree from your own collection. Brushes and a quantity of the lime-sulphur solution will be available to members and our visitors at no charge. Page4

5 A Tilting Bonsai Turntable The design for this convenient turntable was adapted from one seen at a California Convention several years ago. Thanks to the tilt and spin features is especially useful while working on a tree. The materials for building are easily available at most any lumber-hardware store. Here is the list: 3 pieces 12 x 18 x 3/4 plywood GIS 1 piece 3/4 x 12 piano hinge 1 9 lazy susan turntable 1 set Four rubber bumper feet & small screws as required. Your choice of paint or varnish. The Vancouver Island Lodgepole pine in the picture had been recently bleached along the trunk with the limesulphur mixture. py of Movie Vancouver Island Bonsai Club Membership Renewal /Application Form for 2011 I wish to renew my membership or I wish to apply for membership (New member) Attached is $20.00 for single membership or Attached is $25.00 for family membership Name(s) Address City, Province Postal Code Phone Home: Phone Work: Please indicate whether you would like to receive the Club Newsletter by Regular mail or by notification of posting to the club website If you are mailing this form, please mail to: Vancouver Island Bonsai Club PO Box 8674 Victoria, BC. V8W 3S2 Page5

6 Current Speculations on Bonsai Soil Mixes Version This is a hazardous subject as all growers have personal, sometimes secret, opinions on the subject of soil mixes. Here on Vancouver Island we are challenged not only by the opinions of respected friends, but what we use is often determined by just what is available from the commercial delaer. Most growers will commonly use no less than 3 or 4 different ingredients. Most will agree that Fir bark that has been composted with fish offal will usually make up about 25% of the mix. Locally this bagged product is called Sea Soil. Another 25% is normally a gritty substance. Here we find that No. 2 poultry grit is about right. Red volcanic rock has in the past been represented in the mix but the grit size has enlarged to the extent that it may require tiresome screening to be truly useful in the average bonsai mix. A good half of what we can buy today will float on top of a 1/4 screen! From this point there are widely voiced opinions. Instead, pumice is now available here, it may require screening but this is easier to do thanks to the light weight of the material. Commercial products like Turface are favoured by some, and imported Japanese Akadama or Kiryu is often favoured by others. Bonsai In Bloom at the Art Gallery Our Club display at the Art Gallery on Moss Street picked up the spirit of Art in Bloom. Many thanks to our faithful Art Gallery volunteers including George, Maurice, Steven, Ray, Barny, and Jane P. Art In Bloom The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria March 28 - April 2, 2011 Schedule of events can be found at the following website: Page6

7 SALMOND ASHURST LAWYERS NOTARIES PUBLIC We Look after Seniors Needs with Compassion and Integrity We Assist in Preparation of Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Health Care Agreements We assist Executors in Obtaining Probate of Estates from Beginning to End We Accept Appointments As Executors Where Appropriate and as Well Will Act As Attorneys Under Powers of Attorney Please call us at for a consultation Robert J. Salmond Derek E. Ashurst Victoria Pitt Jill McCarthy Page7