Alabama Bonsai enthusiasts have been very active so far this month. Of course we’re all busy with finishing repotting deciduous trees and starting to repot conifers. With all of us busy working on our own trees, we’re also looking toward our big Spring Show in May. That means we’ve started April with a lot of activity.

Cherry Blossom Festival

The Japan-America Society of Alabama was back in full swing this year, after canceling its public activities during the pandemic and lockdown. Alabama Bonsai Society was a full participant on April 1 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, as we greeted people, showed off some trees, demonstrated bonsai techniques, and passed out information about our spring show and about bonsai in general. Anika, the chair of our show, was on hand to answer questions, and she reported inviting around a 1,000 visitors to our event!

April Workshop

As we do every month, we met with the Aldridge Gardens bonsai group in the Naphcare Education building on April 1 for our joint workshop. John Walker was on hand to assist everyone, and he also brought with him bonsai containers and supplies for sale from Walking Tree Bonsai.

 

 

Meeting at the BBG

Our monthly meeting at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens was held April 10, and we had a really good turnout that evening. We spent a lot of time going over the plans for the Show in May. Here are a few highlights of that discussion.

• This year we will have an online form for members to submit information about their trees for the show. If anh member wants a head start, click here to get started.
• Members will not have to bring lunch items this year. We’ll have sandwiches and other items available for everyone both Saturday and Sunday.
• Our supplies for the show (table cloths, felt, screens, etc.) are no longer scattered around the city, but are all in a storage unit on Montclair Road. Two members have been disignated to get thos supplies and have them at the BBG on Friday morning.
• All members are asked to be on hand Friday morning May 19 for setting up the show. Fun will begin at 9:00.

Our show discussion was followed by a presentation by Bill Fowler on his method for obtaining moss from local sources and using it to prepare his trees for the Show. As an added feature, Bill brought several trays of samples he had collected; he ended his presentation by offering them to peope who were present. Be sure to check out the photos below.

The meeting ended with our member show.