This weekend (Jan 16-17, 2010) marks the 11th Annual Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit at the Hall of Commerce, Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend this year, but I'm looking forward to seeing reports from the show:

Bay Island Bonsai
Bonsai Tonight
Bonsai Sashi-no-eda
Peter Tea Bonsai
Scott's Bonsai and Peppers

And I'm sure there will be plenty of discussion at:

Bonsai Study Group

I attended the 10 Anniversary Exhibit last year, and I have a feeling this year will be even bigger and better. I can't wait to read all of the reports. Maybe I can make it out in 2011 for the next Exhibit.

On Saturday, July 25th I took a trip down to the Nashville Bonsai Society hosted the Southeastern Regional Bonsai Show at Cheekwood Gardens.  Part of the Maxwell House family, Leslie Cheek and Mabel Wood built their house on a 100 acre property just west of Nashville.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit I highly recommend it.  The house has been converted to an art museum and the grounds a botanical garden.  And, if you happen to be there in July you just might get the chance to see the Southeastern Regional Bonsai Show, hosted by the Nashville Bonsai Society.

Pictures from the Bay Island Bonsai 10th Anniversary Show

An Exhibit of Fine Bonsai

Some people unfamiliar with fine bonsai exhibits may be wondering why anyone would want to hold a bonsai exhibit in the middle of winter.  Well, with proper planning and a lot of care, this is the perfect time to display bonsai.  The pines are at their best this time of year.  It took a full year of planning and proper timing of candle removal.  The junipers are full and healthy and have perfectly arranged branches with "show wire". 

The maples and other deciduous trees show off their fine branch structure.  With a full set of leaves the twigging and shape is often lost.  But, the real show stoppers are the fruiting and flowering trees.

At the Bay Island Bonsai 10th Anniversary Show there were several fruiting and flowering trees showing their true beauty.  The Ilex was full of red fruit.  It had been carefully taken indoors at night to keep it from getting to cold.  When temperatures were higher in the morning it was brought back outdoors, but kept in the shade to keep the fruit from falling off the tree.  The plum had similar treatment, only it was kept in the bathroom, a warm and humid part of the house.  This forced the tree into an early bloom, perfectly timed for the show.

An exhibit of this caliber doesn't just happen.  It takes a lot of work and planning to make it successful.  There is no other time of year when these trees could be shown in such beauty.

A lot of work goes into setting up a world class exhibit like the Bay Island Bonsai (BIB) Exhibit of Fine Bonsai.  Every member of the club and all of the attending Intensive students were on site to lend a hand.  Trees were loaded up in 2 large moving vans.  Backdrops and table skirting was loaded, unloaded, and laid across all the tables.  Skirting was ironed to remove any wrinkles.  Show trees, sale items, and everything for the auction was staged behind the curtains that seperated the show area from the rest of the hall.

October 3-5 was the Fall Show and Sale for the Greater Louisville Bonsai Society.  This happened to be the same weekend as the famous St. James Art Show, right down the street from our gracious hosts at the Crane House.  This event was quite a success for our club.  We were able to sell quite a bit of bonsai stock, talk to the public about bonsai, sign beginners up for a workshop, and add a member or two.

Here are a few pictures from the show:

On Saturday, October 4th, I attended the Bonsai Society of Greater Cincinnati Fall Show at the Krohn Conservatory.  The display was much larger than previous years.  Tables lined the entry hall, the green house, and the tropical display room.  It was obvious quite a lot of work was put into making this a great show.

Part of my obligation to the Advanced Bonsai Study Group is to contribute to the club.  I had agreed to conduct a tree/display critique for those enrolled in the Continuing Bonsai Education participants.  It was a great thrill to discuss trees with a large and energetic group.

Here are a few pictures from the show:

The Greater Louisville Bonsai Society Spring Show at Yew Dell Gardens has come and gone.  This year's show was a complete success, thanks to the hard work of Show Chairman Earl Ekman and the rest of the club members.  I spent both Saturday and Sunday at Yew Dell answering questions and working on trees.  There was quite a bit of traffic that came through.  Some expressed that they came specifically for our display.  One person even said that our display was better than the Asheville show.  Having never been there I can't confirm, and having heard nothing but great things I find this hard to believe, but I appreciate the sentiment.

Michael Tigue spent a few hours taking photos of the show.  Once he's done processing the images you will be able to see the full display on the GLBS website in the bonsai gallery.  He was kind enough to send this photo of my buttonwood on display at the show.