President’s Corner

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March 2007

It is time for our first meeting this year, on March 27th at 7:00 at Fort Collins Nursery. There will be a discussion on where are we headed as a club. Then we will share of ideas on bringing trees out and some new books that are out now.

There will not be a Spring Show this year, which was decided at the October meeting. We need people to be involved to keep the club going. We need to make up a new meeting schedule.

October 2006

This year our Fall show was held during an Art Show at Fort Collins Nursery. We had many people walk through our show. Not many members showed trees, it was a 4 person show, but it was one of our best. I wish to thank Jan Defore, Carol Ripka and especially Kent Hixson for all their hard work on set up and the number of trees that they provided. It was a good time, and many questions from those who stopped by.

We will be doing the Fall Show in 2007 during the Art show. The date will be announced later, but it should be around the end of September.

Our October Meeting is a Potluck dinner and time to work on our calendar for 2007. Let me know if you have any special request. You can reach me by email or phone as listed on our contacts page.

September 2006

We had a nice tour of Fort Collins Nursery. It was nice to get together.

The September meeting is a group tree and discussion on our Fall Show. The dates for the Fall show were changed and I forgot to put that in the newsletter. The show is October 14th and 15th; this was done to have a workshop during the show.

October will be our last meeting this year, we will have a pot luck dinner and set up a calendar for 2007.

August 2006

It was a very hot Arts Picnic. I wish to thank the dedicated club members who worked both days in the heat; Carol Ripka, Bob Dorsey, Gerry and Iris Miyoshi. Also, I wish to thank all the members that showed up to work a day or a few hours. It was not a success for the club. The heat and the cost of gas cut down the number of people shopping in the park.

Our August meeting is Kent Hixon��s walking tour through the Fort Collins Nursery. We were rained out when it was scheduled in July. I am not complaining. We just need more rain. Hope to see you at the meeting. We will be discussing if and when we want to do an indoor show in Greeley.

June 2006

It is time for the annual fund raiser. The Arts Picnic is July 29th and 30th. We will need people to work on setting up, both days and taking down the display. Setting up has an advantage that you get first pick of the trees, members get them at cost. If you are interested you call call me for directions, or show up. We will begin setting up at up at 7:00 am, and on Sunday we take it down starting at 4:30 pm.

The July meeting is one of my favorites—it is the walk through Fort Collins Nursery with Kent. We always find new and different plant material for our bonsais.

April 2006

For those of you that missed our March meeting, it was a great group tree. We started with a Dwarf Mugho pine bush and finished with an upright pine tree. Paul Wehr was the lucky member to take the tree home.

This month Steve Trumbauer will be our speaker. The topic is ficus trees and how easy and beautiful they are. He has a great collection of ficus. He will bringing some trees to sell.

In May, Paul Gilbert will be speaking on how to get your trees ready for a show. It will be great getting an officer of the Rocky Mountain Bonsai Society to share what is needed to show your trees.

March 2006

I wish to thank the people who attended the February meeting. The sharing of ideas on bringing trees out and the sharing of pictures was great. This month we will be doing a group tree. So, bring your tools and creative ideas and let us work on a tree together. This is always a great opportunity to look at the potentials of a natural tree or bush and share our perceptions and skills to turn it into a bonsai specimen.

Steve Trumbauer held a workshop on ficus earlier this month. He has a great collection of ficus, I am looking forward to his presentation at our April meeting. I will see if I can convince him to bring some trees to sell. Let me know if you are interested in purchasing a ficus.

February 2006

What a great workshop with Craig Coussins we had! I did learn one major thing, the next time we have a workshop on tree Styling we will have a pre-workshop meeting so that all our trees are ready. Most of us spent the meeting wiring our trees to prepare for styling. Wiring completed, we watched, listened, and learned many new techniques as Craig moved to each participant. I did ask Craig to keep in touch and let me know when he will be back in the States, so we can get him back.

If you know of anyone that we could contact for a workshop please let me know. I am open to schedule more workshops.

The February meeting will be on bringing out our trees from cold storage. There will be a discussion on the workshop.

January 2006

Time is going by so fast; we missed writing newsletters for November and December. I am sorry about that.

I have been working out the details of our visit from Craig Coussins. He will be doing workshops on Wednesday Feb. 8th at 9:00, 1:00 and 6:30. Please sign up the cost will be around $60 and you can bring a problem tree you have or buy one to bring. We have put Mr. Coussins' curriculum vitae on a bonus page of the newsletter. Please make copies and distribute freely.

We had another great Potluck Dinner in October, and everyone helped planning the schedule for 2006.

We will be having a pot exchange at our January 24th meeting. You may bring any pots you have that you are not going to use. You can sell them or trade with other members. You can bring books or anything about or for Bonsai.

The schedule for next four months is included with the newsletter. When there is more space in the newsletter, we will add subseqeunt months. See the website for the full schedule.

October 2005

We had a great show Oct. 8th and 9th. The trees were just awesome, and the variety was outstanding. I got really motivated to add to my collection. Jan DeFore won the group tree at the September meeting, and she worked on it during the show.

The October meeting is a pot luck dinner and planning meeting for 2006. So bring something to share and your own place setting. Bring questions about wintering plants and your calendars. If you want to elect new officers will have an election too. There will be no meetings in November and December, but there will be workshops on the 2nd Saturday of every month.

Craig Coussins will be in Colorado February 7th and 8th, a Tuesday and Wednesday. Tentative plans are that on Tuesday evening Craig will be speaking or possibly demonstrating in Denver. On Wednesday there will be workshops at Fort Collins Nursery. There will be an evening one and you can sign up for any of the workshops at the October meeting.

September 2005

Most of you missed our August meeting. It was a small turnout but very good meeting. The variety of trees was very interesting and the stories about why these trees are so special were very heartwarming. I have included a picture of a very special one and the story. There were some lost trees still in their pots.

September meeting is a group tree, while we discuss preparing for the Fall Show Oct. 8th and 9th. Bring your tools and your calendars.

Craig Coussins will be in Colorado February 7th and 8th, this is a Tuesday and Wednesday. Tentative plans are on Tuesday evening Craig will be speaking or possible demonstration in Denver. On Wednesday there will be workshops at Fort Collins Nursery. There will be an evening one and you can sign up for any of the workshops at the September meeting and during the Fall Show.

The weekend of our Fall Show is a very busy weekend for Bonsai. The Denver Club has Walter Paul speaking at the Botanical Gardens on Friday October 7th Then there is a demonstration on Saturday morning and a workshop in the afternoon. I will have flyers at the meeting on September 27th. I encourage all members to support the Denver Club.

August 2005

It was a very hot Arts Picnic. Those that did not make it to Greeley missed out on some beautiful trees, members who were there were getting some great trees to add to their collections. I wish to thank the dedicated club members who worked both days in the heat; Carol Ripka, Bob Dorsey, Gerry and Iris Miyoshi. Also a thank you for all the members that showed up to work a day or a few hours with out you this would not be a successful fund raiser.

Our August meeting is a new type of meeting. I want you to bring in your favorite tree from your collection. If you are like me, my favorite seems to change depending on what time of year it is. So, bring a tree to show to the club and tell us why it is so important to you. You can also bring a tree that you lost but just can’t empty the pot.

I am working on setting up a demo and a workshop with Craig Coussins in February. He will be in Colorado February 7th and 8th, this is a Tuesday and Wednesday. This is the only time I could get; the bigger clubs across the United States have the weekends set up with 3 day conventions. I will keep you informed on we get set up to do.

July 2005

Don��t forget our one fundraiser. The Arts Picnic will be in Greeley on July 30th and 31st. If you want to help set up, be at Lincoln Park in Greeley at 7:00 am. You can drop in and help with sales any time. If you like crafts, this is the best show in Colorado. Everyone who shows up can have first pick from the trees and members get them at the wholesale price. If you want to help pick up the trees call me at 970-663-3046 or use the e-mail address on the Contacts page. I will have maps at the July meeting.

Our July meeting is one of my favorite meetings, Kent Hixson with take us on a walk of Fort Collins Nursery looking for potential bonsai. He will have a cash register open for those of us that always find something we can not live without.

I now have a green house for my trees. I have a good friend who has two green houses in her back yard and was not using them. I have one filled and my plants are doing much better. I am trying new things and it is going great.

June 2005

Our spring show was one of our best. We had fewer trees and less space, but it was a great collection of trees. The variety of trees members have still amazes me. It was a good time with lots a people asking questions.

The Denver Show was very good this year. The number of visitors was down due to the heat. Our Club will be working with the Denver, Pikes Peak and Grand Junction clubs to bring in speakers and set up workshops. I will have more information on a speaker in October in Denver at the meeting.

Our program this month is going to be fun, Steve Trumbauer will be speaking on Kusamono. This is a living art form using grasses and small plants. Steve has shown some of his Kusamono at our shows.

Our program in July is one of our most popular, walking the Fort Collins Nursery with Kent Hixson. He always seems to find different and unusual plant material for bonsai.

Don��t forget our one annual fundraiser, the Arts Picnic will be in Greeley on July 30th and 31st. Come join us for a great time. It��s an opportunity to pick up a tree or two and share a bit of information about bonsai.

May 2005

It is time for our Spring show! Please bring your best tree or trees to Fort Collins Nursery Friday after 3:00 or Saturday morning. The show will be from 9:00 �� 5:00 on Saturday and 10:00 to 4:00 on Sunday. Kent will begin setting up for the show at 3:00 on Friday. All members who can help please be there, it takes many people to get the show set up. I hope to see you there.

This has been a strange spring for my trees, I was worried that my trees would not be all leaved out in time. We asked all members to show at least one tree. You can also stay around the show to answer questions about trees and the club. It always is an enjoyable day to spend it in a nursery with other Bonsai Enthusiasts.

Our program for May will be a group tree, so bring your tools. Some, member may be going home with a new tree.

The Denver Bonsai Show is Father’s day weekend at the Botanical Gardens. Let me know if you want me to take a bonsai to Denver for you.

Don’t forget our one fundraiser will be in Greeley on July 30th and 31st.

April 2005

In March we a great demonstration by Rich Williams on how to develop a bonsai tree with roots over a rock. He shared his techniques and explained what to look for in a tree that you want to display with the roots over a rock. We want to thank you Rich for taking time to speak to the Club. If anyone else wishes to speak to the club on a topic please let me know.

For the April 26th meeting we will be having a group workshop. Bring trees you want to get ready for the Spring Show on May 21st and 22nd. You can bring as many trees to work on as you feel you can do in a couple of hours. If you are unsure on which pot to plant some tree in, bring the pots and tree, advice will be given by club members. We do ask that everyone show at least one tree at the show, we all know it is tough the first time you show your tree. Be assured we have all been there and we have never had a bad tree in any of our shows.

Don’t forget our one fundraiser will be in Greeley on July 30th and 31st.

March 2005

Our February meeting was very informative on life in Japan. Paul Wehr’s photos from when he and his wife were living in Japan gave a great perspective on what everyday life is like in Japan. He is a very good photographer which explains why his pictures are so good on the web site.

After Paul’s presentation there was a discussion on Bonsai Basics and what books may be good references in your Bonsai library. I will have a list available at the next meeting of my favorite books. The meeting was completed by members eating a home made cheesecake with cherry topping, it was fabulous!

In March we will have a demonstration by Rich Williams on how to develop a bonsai tree with roots over a rock. This is something I have tried and have not been successful at. I am really looking forward to this meeting.

February 2005

What happened to February! It just rushed by for me. That is why the newsletter is a little late this month. I did repot some of my trees at the Saturday workshop. People were amazed at the extent of the root damage my mice did. I was checking out the trees the mice did not attack and the ones I have recently added to my collection and I found leaves opening. I could not believe it, there are some flower buds too. This is very early for my trees. Hope you have checked your trees lately.

Our January meeting was very productive; we got some great ideas for meetings. Our February meeting will be a show on Japan and then an open discussion on Bonsai Basics. I will bring some books that I find very informative and with great pictures If you have any books you really like to use, bring them to the February 22nd meeting.

January 2005

We found out something very interesting about our club members, they are also great cooks. The pot luck dinner was great, so much so that we will have another pot luck dinner in January. At the January meeting we will work together to plan our club meetings for the year. After the meeting we will have a calendar put together and post it on the club web site.

The pot exchange was also a success.

I had a major loss to my collection of maples and fruit trees. I lost over 35 trees to mice in my garage. This is a lesson I will share with all, prepare your cold storage area well so that mice to do not have a main course of your tree collection.

The good side to this is I am collecting a few larger trees so that I will have something to show this year.

October 2004

What a great Fall Show we had, it was the first time we had too many trees! I wish to thank all the members who brought in trees and spent so much time at Ft. Collins Nursery answering questions, doing demonstrations, potting up trees, helping potential members picking out trees to begin their collections.

The October meeting will be our first pot luck dinner, so bring a dish to share and place setting. There will be lemonade to drink. There will be a pot and plant exchange too, so bring pots to trade with, and any plants you may want to sell or trade. If you have questions call me at 970-663-3046.

See some of the snapshots under "Shows."

September 2004

We had a good turn out for the group tree trimming. Bob Dorsey was the lucky one who got to take the tree home.

This month we will be having a workshop to get trees ready for the Fall Show. Bring a tree or trees to work on and have people around to help you select a pot, trim and wire. So bring your tools and let��s get ready for a fabulous Fall Show.

July 2004

Have you gotten your spruce tree yet? Darrel Whitley gave a great presentation on spruce trees, I am sure I am not the only member looking closer at Alberta Spruce trees for bonsai. Thanks Darrel for all the information and motivating us to think spruce.

This weekend is the Arts Picnic in Greeley, please come and help the club with our once a year fund raiser. We will need your help both days. Saturday we start setting at 7:00 am, and on Sunday we take down at 5:00 pm. This Arts Picnic is the best in the State; you will have time to do a little shopping and eating while you work at the Club��s booth.

Previous Meeting

What a great slide show on collecting trees. Scott was so informative, we are very lucky to get him as a speaker. His passion is propagating trees and it shows.

The Clubs Spring show is coming up; I hope you are preparing trees to show and thinking about what you may have to show at the Botanical Gardens in June.

The meeting this month is a discussion on how to show a tree. So if you have information, books or stands that you want to show to the new members please bring them to the meeting. We want the Spring Show to be the best, and presenting a bonsai on a stand or mat can make it a great show.

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The President’s Corner