Our monthly meetings, typically at 7 p.m. on the 4th Monday of each month, are usually held in the Community room or activity room of St. Mary’s Woods, 1257 Marywood Ln., Richmond, VA, 23229. Please check the individual event listings on the calendar for changes,updates and details.
We are happy to announce that the RBS web page now has the ability to accept online payments for paid workshops, activities, and MEMBERSHIP. You can use any credit or dept card or a Paypal account now via the Membership, Event Registration, and Purchases Page.
RBS Picnic and Auction, May 19, 3 PM, BYRD PARK
This event is a great way to find bonsai plants, pots, tools, and other supplies for a great price. RBS will supply the main dish (fried chicken), ice, drinks, paper goods, and utensils. Members should bring a side dish or dessert to share. The picnic and auction will be held at the BYRD PARK Carillon Shelter. Please note, this event will serve as our regular meeting for the month of May. There will be no meeting on May 27.
You must be a current RBS or PBA member to sell or bid on items at the auction (but you can join that day). Auction items should arrive from 2-3 pm, we’ll eat at 3 pm, and the auction will begin about 3:30. A minimum 20% from each sale is donated automatically to the club, but you keep the rest of the sales. Typically, members bring 3-5 items each to sell. If you have more than that, consider grouping them into lots.
The Carillon Shelter is near Barker Field and the Toll Booth. The closest searchable address is for the Carillon, (1300 Blanton Ave, Richmond, VA 23221) which is nearby. Enter teh Carrilon Parking from Park Dr. and go south through the entire Carrilon Parking area to the end. There is a Carillon Shelter sign at the edge of the parking to mark the “road” to the shelter. There is parking near the shelter. There is another shelter closer to Maymont’s Nature Center, so do not get them confused. Watch for “RBS” signs marking the path to the shelter.
Summer Bonsai Basics Class
RBS is offering a Bonsai Basics class to members using Serissa (snow rose) in Summer 2019 for those that want to expand their bonsai skills. The class will be taught by Dave Barker and will be comprised of three monthly sessions covering the basics of styling a tree, cleaning a tree, use of bonsai tools, pruning, wiring, soil, pots, repotting, and bonsai horticulture.
The class will run 55 minutes, from 6:00 to 6:55, composed of 20 minutes of lecture/discussion and 35 minutes of practical application – working on your tree. The June session will expose the nebari, find the front of the tree, do basic cleaning of the tree, and pruning the tree to shape and style. The July session will be wiring the trunk and main branches in place. In the August session, the tree will be root pruned, wired securely in a pot and finished. In addition, basic care to keep the bonsai healthy and growing will be discussed.
The cost of the basics class is for materials: $35 for a tree, pot, and scissors; $10 for scissors only; and free to members supplying their own tropical plant and scissors. Wire, pot, and bonsai soil will be provided. The class is limited to 12 members.
Also, we learned in the first class this spring that we need assistance from experienced members in the last 30 minutes. So let Dave know if you are willing to help give class members some individual attention with their trees for 15-20 minutes before the club meeting begins.
Sign-up for the class will begin at the April 29th meeting, continue through the May picnic/auction, and until the class is full.
This month’s meeting is a BYOT workshop. It’s a great time of year to work on azaleas, tropicals, and do mid-summer pruning and wiring before the next flush of leaves come one. Bring your tree, tools, and wire and we will be there to offer advice!
TBD
Summer Bonsai Basics Class Part 2
RBS is offering a Bonsai Basics class to members using Serissa (snow rose) in Summer 2019 for those that want to expand their bonsai skills. The class will be taught by Dave Barker and will be comprised of three monthly sessions covering the basics of styling a tree, cleaning a tree, use of bonsai tools, pruning, wiring, soil, pots, repotting, and bonsai horticulture.
The class will run 55 minutes, from 6:00 to 6:55, composed of 20 minutes of lecture/discussion and 35 minutes of practical application – working on your tree. The June session will expose the nebari, find the front of the tree, do basic cleaning of the tree, and pruning the tree to shape and style. The July session will be wiring the trunk and main branches in place. In the August session, the tree will be root pruned, wired securely in a pot and finished. In addition, basic care to keep the bonsai healthy and growing will be discussed.
The cost of the basics class is for materials: $35 for a tree, pot, and scissors; $10 for scissors only; and free to members supplying their own tropical plant and scissors. Wire, pot, and bonsai soil will be provided. The class is limited to 12 members.
Also, we learned in the first class this spring that we need assistance from experienced members in the last 30 minutes. So let Dave know if you are willing to help give class members some individual attention with their trees for 15-20 minutes before the club meeting begins.
Sign-up for the class will begin at the April 29th meeting, continue through the May picnic/auction, and until the class is full.
Summer Bonsai Basics Class Part 3
RBS is offering a Bonsai Basics class to members using Serissa (snow rose) in Summer 2019 for those that want to expand their bonsai skills. The class will be taught by Dave Barker and will be comprised of three monthly sessions covering the basics of styling a tree, cleaning a tree, use of bonsai tools, pruning, wiring, soil, pots, repotting, and bonsai horticulture.
The class will run 55 minutes, from 6:00 to 6:55, composed of 20 minutes of lecture/discussion and 35 minutes of practical application – working on your tree. The June session will expose the nebari, find the front of the tree, do basic cleaning of the tree, and pruning the tree to shape and style. The July session will be wiring the trunk and main branches in place. In the August session, the tree will be root pruned, wired securely in a pot and finished. In addition, basic care to keep the bonsai healthy and growing will be discussed.
The cost of the basics class is for materials: $35 for a tree, pot, and scissors; $10 for scissors only; and free to members supplying their own tropical plant and scissors. Wire, pot, and bonsai soil will be provided. The class is limited to 12 members.
Also, we learned in the first class this spring that we need assistance from experienced members in the last 30 minutes. So let Dave know if you are willing to help give class members some individual attention with their trees for 15-20 minutes before the club meeting begins.
Sign-up for the class will begin at the April 29th meeting, continue through the May picnic/auction, and until the class is full.
TBD
September Meeting with guest Young Choe, Monday, September 23, 7pm
We are delighted to host international Kusamono artist, Young Choe, as our guest artist and speaker in September. Young will deliver a presentation on Kusamono and its importance in bonsai display. She will also demonstrate the art of Kusamono by creating two Kusamono that will be auctioned after her demonstration. Kusamono are long lived and become more beautiful as they grow, mature and multiply. Young travels the globe to share the art of Kusamono and it’s role both independently as an art and as an accent plant when displaying bonsai. I’m excited have her in Richmond to share her amazing talent.
Young studied traditional art-ink painting and calligraphy-in her native Korea before she moved to the United States. She obtained her BS in Horticulture from the University of Maryland. While volunteering at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, she was able to bring her artistic talent together with her knowledge of horticulture to create Kusamono. She traveled to Japan to study this unique art form with the master Kusamono artist, Keiko Yamane, a former student of Saburo Kato. In the world outside the Museum, she worked with native plants at the USDA, NRCS, National Plant Materials Center in Beltsville, Maryland. Also, she was a propagation horticulturist at the US National Arboretum. Young currently works at the US National Arboretum.
This meeting will take place at our normal time and place, 7-9 pm, the Community Room at St. Mary’s Woods.
Bonsai Help
At the September meeting, there will be a table at the side of the room with an experienced member available to answer any of your bonsai-related questions before the meeting, between 6:15 and 7 pm. You can bring in your tree to get advice on styling or maintenance, or to have someone look over your shoulder as you clean the tree, or prune it, or wire it. (If you have a pest problem with a tree, please bring a picture of the problem or a small cutting of the infected area in a sealed bag.) If you potted a juniper at the March workshop, now would be an excellent time to wire it to improve the image. If you were in a bonsai basics class, you may need to cut off old wire if it is cutting into the bark.
RBS Nursery Crawl, Saturday, October 12, Colesville Nursery
As a follow up to our September meeting, RBS be visiting a Colesville Nursey in Ashland on Saturday, October 12, at 10 am. Join us as we scour the nursery for potential bonsai material. Experienced members will be on hand to advise as needed. THEN, we ask you to bring those purchases to discuss at the October meeting.
Did you go to a nursery and buy a new tree or do you already have a tree you’re not sure of the next step? How about a tree that needs a little tweak? A project tree that you know has potential but are just not sure what to do first? What about a tree that lost its apex and needs a make over? The October meeting will give you an opportunity to resolve your questions and or concerns. Please bring your tree to the meeting and participate in a discussion about your tree. You will leave with a plan for your tree’s development and your questions answered. Don’t have a current project? We’ll furnish pen and paper to take notes so you’ll have a reference for issues you encounter on your next project. We’ll have an excellent educational for everyone. We will have a brief business meeting and then begin the discussions. Looking forward to seeing you on Monday, October 28th, 7 pm, in the ACTIVITY Room of St. Mary’s Woods. Please note the ACTIVITY ROOM, is not our regular room, but on the other side of the building next to the chapel.