Japan Disaster: Relief Fund For Isao Omachi, Bonsai Artist

All...I am sure you all know of the crisis in Japan.

There is a wonderful bonsai artist living there who has been sadly affected by the disaster: Isao Omachi, and his family.
Isao Omachi is the rising star of Bonsai in Japan. He used to live and work in Yamada-cho in the Iwate prefecture with his wife, 2 daughters and his parents.
The recent tsunami didn't take their lives but EVERYTHING ELSE they own is gone.
They lost EVERYTHING including one of the most amazing bonsai collections in Japan.
They need our help. They need it now.
The best we can all do is to donate money.
Marco Invernizzi and Doug Paul (of the USA Kennett Collection) have set up a relief fund to help Omachi-san and his family.

Here in the USA, donations can be made payable to Omachi Relief Fund, and mailed to:

Omachi Relief Fund
P.O. Box 22
Yorklyn, DE 19736 USA

For those of you who are into Paypal, donations can be made:

http://www.paypal.com/
Omachifund@aol.com

I'm sure that the Omachi family will share whatever we will be able to collect.
Help us to help them.

Flex

Walter Pall at His Best...Again!

Walter has a wonderful large Hornbeam forest he has cared for over the years.
A friend constructed a new pot for him, into which the forest was moved. Both construction of the new artificial pot, and moving the forest were mammoth jobs, but in the end, the result is certainly worth it.
Have a look at what a world-class artist does....

http://walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/

...and click on the Monday March 14 entry of "Huge Hornbeam Forest Gets New Pot".
Flex

BSSJ Bonsai Progressions: "Ugly Betty" Chinese Elm

This small Chinese Elm was purchased about 6 years ago, and studied for a year before work began.
My teacher and I both made sketches of what the tree could look like in 5 years. Teacher made a more feminine fuller image, while I chose the dark side, and went for the Sleepy Hollow look.
Over the years the plan was followed. The tree was repotted several times, and the yearly haircut back to 1st pair of buds out from last years branch division yielded nice ramification, as can be seen in these shots from March of 2010.

Miss Elm was taken to several BSSJ lectures, and was nicknamed Ugly Betty. She has few of the distinguishing characteristics which make nice material really suitable for bonsai, but the things she has, she has in abundance: class, and lots of love from her owner!

So I dressed her up this year in a new Erin pot, and off to the Philly Flower Show we went. Betty loved the attention, and all of her companions in the Pennsylvania Bonsai exhibit booth.
Here she is, just after leaving the Show...you can see the tiny leaves just starting to pop. What a Lovely Lady!

Betty has "a few" more years with me. Will work more with the ramification, so that in another 5 years, Betty should have about 30 times as many small branches as she does today.

Given that the root mass that feeds the tree, and the leaves that handle photosynthesis must balance each other, it will be interesting to see how small the leaves on all those tiny branches actually become in 5 years!

Hope you enjoyed...
Flex

BSSJ March 2K11 Repotting Workshop

BSSJ Had our first workshop of 2011. Had about 12-15 folks there, at various times. The workshop was held at the Clover Gardens Nursery on Church Road in Marlton, N.J.

Some members wore their new embroidered clothing with the club logo...these turned out very nice!

Our host Paula was happy to see the group, as it meant Spring is actually here, and her business would start back from Winter slumber.

Karen brought several small trees...a Serissa in bloom, and a small Maple.
Doc had a nice little starter Maple...
Rob had his vine and the pine he has been working for several years...

JW Burton was helping with a nice tropical...
Tom & Connie brought a shohin pine which has been worked for several years now, and a new find, a garden Juniper...

Everyone helped...and all benefitted from the help. Several trees which have been in the works for a few years are showing nice progress. This helps to bolster ones' confidence that what they are doing actually works...what a concept! It also allows us to take the next harder steps in starting to think out of the box about our trees, as the Europeans have been doing this last decade. This sort of thinking will help all of us in making our trees the best they can be.
Flex

Japanese Earthquake in the Land of Bonsai

It is with great sadness that we witnessed the destruction of many square miles of this fine country.
My heart goes out to those people who have struggled so valiantly to build their wonderful culture, which was partly destroyed today.

Considered by many to be the major heart of bonsai ideals, Japan has never had an easy go of it, and today was no exception.
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake which shook the island nation was the strongest recorded in the past 300 years.

May the Japanese people find some rest.

For me, watching this suffering I concluded that my own personal issues are nothing compared to losing everything in 10 seconds, including family members. One's life can never be the same.
Flex

Bonsai in the 2K11 Philadelphia Flower Show

So...Bonsai March Madness is here, and what better way to start it all off than attending the Philly Flower Show.

Pennsylvania Bonsai set up it's booth on Friday, at the 2K11 Philly Flower Show. The booth is located in the middle of the floor, directly between the entrance and Dock B, and just behind the Rosade Bonsai Studio.
Here are a few shots from the setup. The Show looks to be even better this year than in the past...highly recommend attending!
Flex