BSA Notes Nov/Dec. 2012

BSA Notes November/December 2012

By Jane Hebert, BSA Editor

The Bonsai Society of Acadiana (BSA) will meet on Wednesday January 2nd at 7:00pm. BSA meets on the First Wednesday of each month at the Ira Nelson Horticulture Bldg, 2206 Johnston Street, Lafayette, LA.

NEW BUSINESS - We encourage members to attend our first meeting of 2013!

RECENT NEWS –

BSA Members welcomed Bonsai artist Dana Quattlebaum to our winter workshop on November 4, 2012 at the home of BSA Members Vic and Jane Hebert. Mild weather and friendship made for a nice day as we worked on a variety of trees.  We appreciate the BSA members that were able to participate and for those unable to participate, we hope to share what we learned including new techniques, styling ideas, and tips on wiring and pruning at our next meeting.  Below are some of the photos taken during the workshop :

 Johnny Hardcastle’s Black Pine

 Dana Quattlebaum explaining wiring & pruning  on Vic Hebert’s ficus

 BSA President Boyd Snellgrove working on Blue Alps Juniper

 From left to right (first row sitting) Vic Hebert, Dana Quattlebaum, Johnny Hardcastle, (standing) Jane Hebert, and Boyd Snellgrove.

FOR ALL OF OUR MEMBERS –Annual Dues are collected in June.  Dues are $20.00 per person, $30.00 per couple.

BLOG/USEFUL INFORMATION:    Check http://www.acadianabonsai.blogspot.com for any updates on upcoming events, current information on BSA, and a list of vendors/companies that sell quality materials.  This is your best source for information you might have missed if you are unable to attend meetings each month.

UPCOMING EVENTS:                     

January 2nd, 2012                                            BSA Monthly Meeting  

BSA October 2012 Meeting

BSA Notes October 2012

By Jane Hebert, BSA Editor

The Bonsai Society of Acadiana (BSA) will meet on Wednesday October 3rd, 2012 at 7:00pm. BSA meets on the First Wednesday of each month at the Ira Nelson Horticulture Bldg, 2206 Johnston Street, Lafayette, LA.

NEW BUSINESS  

1. A reminder to all BSA Members, LABS is Saturday October 6^th, 2012 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  See newsletter for more details
2. BSA Annual Auction is on hold at this time. We have discussed the possibility of a Swap Meet later this fall. If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to contact a BSA Board Member.
3. BSA is planning to have Dana Quattlebaum for a workshop in November 2012. If you would like to be there and are unable to make our monthly meeting – check your email for updates from BSA President Boyd Snellgrove.

RECENT NEWS –

On our last monthly meeting on September 5th, 2012, BSA Director Johnny Hardcastle presented “Mixed Forest”.  Here is a photo of the Mixed Forest he brought from his collection.

This forest includes Saunders boxwood, azaleas, Hinoki cypress, and Korean hornbeam.

Johnny began this Mixed Forest while working with Dana Quattlebaum 2 years ago.  He started with a large, shallow oval pot and used a naturalistic approach to placement. Unlike traditional forest plantings where all the trees are of specific variety, i.e. Elm; this planting utilizes larger trees like boxwood as the main tree and smaller trees like azalea as understory trees.

“Mixed Forest” plantings are sometimes referred to as “Tiny Landscapes” as they follow similar approaches in tree placement. Johnny provided several excellent tips to keep in mind when planting a Mixed Forest including (1). Choosing trees that have similar requirements like sunlight, soil, water and drainage, and disease resistance and, (2). Keeping in mind the “scale” of items included, like rocks, water features and paths, to make sure they appear as they would in nature.

We would like to thank BSA for providing the snacks and drinks at this meeting.

FOR ALL OF OUR MEMBERS –Annual Dues are collected in June.  Dues are $20.00 per person, $30.00 per couple.

BLOG/USEFUL INFORMATION:    Check http://www.acadianabonsai.blogspot.com for any updates on upcoming events, current information on BSA, and a list of vendors/companies that sell quality materials.  This is your best source for information you might have missed if you are unable to attend meetings each month.

UPCOMING EVENTS:                     

October 3rd, 2012                            BSA Monthly Meeting                   Snacks will be provided

October 6, 2012                                LABS in Lake Charles, LA – see newsletter for details

November 7^th, 2012        BSA Monthly Meeting – may change depending on workshop date with Dana Quattlebaum if both are on the same week – check your email for details.    

Bonsai Society of Acadiana September 2012 Meeting

BSA Notes September 2012

By Jane Hebert, BSA Editor

The Bonsai Society of Acadiana (BSA) will meet on Wednesday September 5th, 2012 at 7:00pm. BSA meets on the First Wednesday of each month at the Ira Nelson Horticulture Bldg, 2206 Johnston Street, Lafayette, LA.

NEW BUSINESS  

BSA members are encouraged to provide your input into what date or month works best for you for our Annual Club Auction. We look forward to all members’ participation and attendance.

RECENT NEWS –

On our last monthly meeting on August 1^st, 2012, BSA had an open workshop.  Several members brought trees from their collections for discussion and advice on style, pruning, wiring, and repotting.  Among the trees were Bruce’s root over rock Ficus Nerifolia, Debbie’s Chickasaw crepe myrtle and dwarf Azalea, Johnny’s Surinam cherry and bougainvillea, Boyd’s Nea buxifolia, Vic’s Ficus nerifolia, Dario’s Boxwood, and Jane’s Cypress.

FOR ALL OF OUR MEMBERS –Annual Dues are collected in June.  Dues are $20.00 per person, $30.00 per couple.

BLOG/USEFUL INFORMATION:    Check http://www.acadianabonsai.blogspot.com for any updates on upcoming events, current information on BSA, and a list of vendors/companies that sell quality materials.  This is your best source for information you might have missed if you are unable to attend meetings each month.

UPCOMING EVENTS:                     

September 5th, 2012                      BSA Monthly Meeting                   Snacks will be provided

October 3rd, 2012                            BSA Monthly Meeting                   Snacks will be provided

October 6, 2012                                LABS in Lake Charles, LA – see newsletter for details

BSA July Meeting Date

The Bonsai Society of Acadiana will meet on
WEDNESDAY  July 11th, 2012, since the July Fourth Holiday falls on the first Wednesday of the month.

Hope to see you all there!

BSA June 2012 Meeting

NEW BUSINESS  

The Bonsai Society of Acadiana had an exhibit at the Annual Daylily Festival in Abbeville, Louisiana on Saturday June 2^nd.  We had great weather, beautiful trees from our club members and many festival goers stopped by the exhibit.  Thanks all the BSA members that were able to participate and provide trees for exhibit.  

RECENT NEWS –

On our last monthly meeting on June 6^th, BSA President Boyd Snellgrove gave a talk on “Growing” Bonsai.  The talk stressed the importance of growing out trees to their desired trunk size before considering putting them into bonsai pots. This included keeping them in a “grow mix”, rather than bonsai soil; as well as being more aggressive with fertilizing, not worrying about rapid growth and internodes at this point. Additionally, Boyd talked about dealing with  the methods of trunk chops for growing a trunk with taper and movement. Finally, he talked about the use of sacrifice branches for increasing trunk and branch size and healing wounds.

We would like to thank BSA Member Boyd Snellgrove for providing snacks and drinks at the meeting.

BSA Exhibit at Festival des Fleurs Saturday April 14, 2012

BSA Members (from left to right) Dottie Burleigh, Vic & Jane Hebert, Boyd Snellgrove, Johnny Hardcastle, Dario Billiot, Alex Kibodeaux, Debbie & Bruce Broussard

Workshop with Guy Guidry March 18, 2012

We had a blast at Guy Guidry's in Covington, LA for a workshop on Sunday March 18, 2012.