Alabama Bonsai Society

We will NOT be having a meeting this month. We hope you enjoy the holidays with your friends and family (and trees!) and we will see you back after the New Year!

Bonsai Guys Tuscaloosa is going to be in Hoover tonight at Brocks Gap Brewing! Great opportunity to buy a nice tree if someone you love has one on their Christmas list 😁

Come see us at the Brocks Gap Market tonight at the brewery! We are here 4-8!

Our November is Zoom only since the gardens is closed for Veterans Day on that date.

This month we'll present and ask for membership confirmation of the board members for next year.

We'll discuss winter preparation for our trees. What lessons learned did we get from last year's traumatic weather?

For the night show, please share fall colors if you have some. Of course feel free to share any tree you would like.

The board will meet at 6:30. New nominated board members for next year are also invited to join.

Below is the Zoom info.

Our monthly Bonsai Workshop with John Walker will be Saturday, November 4th, beginning at 8 a.m. in the NaphCare Education Building. Please note that we will not have a workshop for December or January, but will resume in February of 2024.

If you are on our email list, sign up through the link in the email if you would like to attend. This will be a combined event with members of both the Aldridge Gardens Bonsai Society and the Alabama Bonsai Society. If you would like to just come by and watch and chat, you are always welcome!

UPCOMING FREEZE WARNING: move any tropicals inside tonight, and make sure your deciduous or evergreen trees are either prepped for the colder temps (off benches, mulched or pots buried, out of the wind) or moved into an unheated garage by tomorrow when it drops into the 30s! We've had a pretty mild fall so far so the sudden deep temperature drop may shock and negatively affect your trees.

We had an excellent meeting on Monday to celebrate 50 years of the Alabama Bonsai Society. We had some of our long time members share stories of the club over the years and how we've grown and changed over the last 5 decades!

Did you know there used to be mall exhibitionists amongst us?

How about that a former curator for the National Bonsai Museum in Washington, D.C. started his bonsai journey by joining the Alabama Bonsai Society.

At this month's meeting we'll have some of our longstanding members share some history of our club, which is actually older than 50 years.

For the night show please bring in trees that you have been working on the longest to share with us.

Of course we meet from 7:00 - 8:00 in the main auditorium of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Guests are always welcome.

The board will meet at 6:30.

In the comments is a Zoom link if you would like to participate remotely.

Looking forward to seeing everyone and hearing stories.

Our monthly Bonsai Workshop with John Walker will be Saturday, October 7th, beginning at 8 a.m. in the NaphCare Education Building of Aldridge Gardens. If you are on our email list you should receive a link to reserve your spot if you would like to attend. This will be a combined event with members of both the Aldridge Gardens Bonsai Society and the Alabama Bonsai Society. If you'd like to just stop by and see what everyone else is working on and ask questions you are welcome to!!

Be sure to take a look at this article about the Japanese Gardens with a shout out about our club and Bonsai!

https://www.facebook.com/100064505452023/posts/683584743801701/?sfnsn=mo&mibextid=6aamW6

Read the newest issue of our quarterly magazine, The Garden Dirt! Discover passion and purpose through the Japanese Garden, as a new horticulturist guides renovations and continues to preserve this garden’s beauty. Then, learn how we are celebrating the change of the seasons with new fall classes and returning events–including the 2023 Antiques at the Gardens. Explore more through the link in our comments!

Some pictures from our meeting on Monday! We had a great discussion on yamadori (trees collected in the wild) as well as field grown trees; many bonsai spend a period of years in the ground to accelerate their growth before being placed into bonsai pots for refining.

Don't forget our meeting tonight! 7pm in the Auditorium of the BBG. Bring a tree if you want and we'll see you there!

Our September meeting will be this next Monday the 11th at 7:00 in the main auditorium of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

For Monday's discussion topic, I'd like to suggest we bring in trees that have been developed or are in development that have history such as:
1. collected from the wild
2. collected from a landscape
3. field grown
4. container grown trunk development

Share what are your lessons learned and recommendations.

Let's put these on tables on the right of the room as you enter from the hallway, and we'll pull chairs around to observe, listen, and discuss.

This will be in addition to the night show trees.
Please bring lots of trees for the night show and share with us the progress you have made this summer.

Board will meet at 6:30.

Below is a Zoom link for you to use if you are not able to attend in person.

Looking forward to seeing everyone and their trees!

This upcoming Saturday we are having our club workshop at Aldridge Gardens from 8am-11am. If you are on our email list, be sure to register to save yourself a spot. If you'd like to just stop by and see what everyone is working on, feel free!

Hope to see you there!

Hope everyone's trees are hanging in there in this heat! Be very diligent with your watering schedule and consider moving more delicate trees to shadier areas if you haven't already.

A few snapshots from our annual members BBQ last night! The weather cleared up just in time for us to enjoy some good food, good company, and a stellar private tree collection.

Happy August! Hope everyone's trees are staying well watered and shaded as needed in this heat.

This upcoming Saturday we are having our club workshop at Aldridge Gardens from 8am-11am. If you are on our email list, be sure to register to save yourself a spot. If you'd like to just stop by and see what everyone is working on, feel free!

Hope to see you there!

Be sure to check out Aldridge Gardens bonsai display! The trees are rotated seasonally so its a great way to be able to view some really incredible trees throughout the year!

Did you know that we have a Bonsai Terrace here at Aldridge Gardens? Be sure to check it out the next time you visit!

Don't forget our Swap N Shop tonight! We will be in the auditorium of the BBG at 7.

Come see our display at the Tanabata Festival in the Japanese Gardens of the BBG!

SWAP N' SHOP THIS MONDAY!

The Alabama Bonsai Society will have its July meeting from 7-8:00 this next Monday July 10 in the main auditorium of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This meeting is open to members and non-members.

For this month's gathering we will do our annual "Swap and Shop". Bring in any extra trees, pots, or supplies you have that you would like to pass along to someone else and put a price tag on them, and they can end up with a new happy owner. You may want to come a little early for this one.

We will also have a night show, so please bring trees you have worked on and share your techniques and progress.

Hope to see you all there!

Great turnout at our workshop! Come on by, we are here at Aldridge Gardens until 11!

We are having a workshop this Saturday morning (July 1st) at Aldridge Gardens from 8-11am. Due to size constraints, Aldridge is asking participants to pre-register (no cost) for a slot. If you are on our email list, you should have received an email with the link to register, however if you would just like to come check it out and see what it's about, you are welcome to stop by! We'd love to meet you, chat about bonsai, and get you on the email list for our upcoming meetings and next months workshop.

Don't forget our meeting tonight at 7pm! All are welcome to attend.

Our June meeting is this coming Monday in the main auditorium of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Non-member guests are welcome to join us.

What a great show weekend we had in May. Thank you to Anika for coordinating this event and to everyone who supported it. I'm looking forward to hearing Anika's recap.

Marge had a very interesting raft elm tree in the show, and she will be sharing with us her technique for creating this interesting style of bonsai.

For the night show of trees I will encourage you to bring trees reflecting two stages of training.

1. You have a tree that you are refining to be ready for next year's show. What are you doing now, and what will you do next Spring to get it exhibition ready?

2. We have been having some very active monthly workshops with fantastic support from John Walker. What are some of the things you have been doing now and learning that will progress your trees to a future public display ready tree?

There is a Zoom link below for those who aren't able to make the meeting in person.

Looking forward to seeing all of you and your trees.

Board will meet at 6:30.

Come on out, we are here until 11!

Enjoy this great video one of our members made of our show!!

Alabama Bonsai Society Show 2023 May 20th and 21st was the Alabama Bonsai Society Annual Show. They did a wonderful job and want to thank the Birmingham Botanical Gardens for hosting. Love...

We are having a workshop tomorrow morning at Aldridge Gardens from 8-11am. Due to size constraints, Aldridge is asking participants to pre-register (no cost) for a slot. If you are on our email list, you should have received an email with the link to register, however if you would just like to come check it out and see what it's about, you are welcome to stop by! We'd love to meet you, chat about bonsai, and get you on the email list for our upcoming meetings and next months workshop.

Thank you AL.com for this great writeup about our show this weekend!

https://www.al.com/life/2023/05/bonsai-master-finds-the-soul-of-the-tree-at-birmingham-botanical-gardens.html

Bonsai master finds the soul of the tree at Birmingham Botanical Gardens The Alabama Bonsai Society will display 78 miniaturized trees May 20-21 at Birmingham Botanical Gardens auditorium.

Some of our members out collecting moss to place on the surface of their pots for our show this upcoming weekend!

Members, don't forget our ZOOM ONLY meeting tonight at 7pm! We will be covering the logistics of our show (11 days away!!) so be sure to tune in so you know what the plan for next weekend is!

We had a fun time at our workshop this month! Due to space constraints we are asking people to pre-register for available slots. Feel free to email [email protected] if you are interested in getting added to our email list!

It's Show Month!

This month's meeting will focus on preparation for our upcoming show May 20 & 21 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

This meeting will be a virtual meeting on Zoom only. See link info below.
We will not be meeting at the gardens this Monday night.

Board will meet at 6:30.

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Check out the beautiful trees at the Tennessee Valley Bonsai Society show this weekend! Our own show in Birmingham will be here before we know it!

Our April club meeting will be this coming Monday at 7:00 in the main auditorium of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

This month we will focus on planning for the May show. There will also be discussion about preparing trees to exhibit, and Bill Fowler will share his techniques in the use of moss.

Please everyone have trees to share for the night show. No need for a sneak peak at a tree you are planning for this year's show; that can be a surprise in May; so bring a tree you are working on for a future show and share your next steps to get it there.

The board will convene at 6:30.

Below is a Zoom link for those who are unable to attend in person.

Come see us next Saturday! We'd love to show you some of our trees and talk to you about bonsai.

Join the Japan-America Society of Alabama and the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens in celebrating the Sakura Cherry Blossom Festival! This family-friendly event will feature cultural exhibits and activities for all ages.

Saturday, April 1 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Japanese Garden

Free and open to the public