Welcome
The Blue Ridge Bonsai Society supports and promotes the art of bonsai in the region around Asheville, NC. We meet together monthly, providing companionship, education, and workshops from beginner to advanced level and we exhibit in various shows during the year.
A Goal: To help each member gain in knowledge of how to develop a show-quality bonsai.
We can be contacted at blueridgebonsaisociety@gmail.com.
2023 Meetings and Events
In general, when the meeting place availability and meeting content allows, the time from 1:00-2:00 pm will be available for informal conversation, tree advice, and sharing. The formal meeting will be from 2:00 - 4:00 pm.
2023 Upcoming Meetings
Apr. Field Trip to Mountain Meadows Nursery and New Leaf Garden Market. See Stuart Roger's email on March 17th
Apr. 2 Meeting. RESCHEDULED FROM APR. 16. At Bullington Gardens
Hands on session: Wiring and/or initial styling of members' trees.
May 7 Meeting. At Asheville Botanical Gardens
Make Yourself a Kusamono workshop led by Peggy Snow.
Note: This is open only to BRBS members who have paid their dues for 2023.
There will be two sessions:
10:30 am - 12:30 pm or 2:00 - 4:00 pm.
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Register for one session using email from Chris. Registration deadline is April 1.
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Bring a pot, tools, and wire and moss. Everything else will be provided. Fee of $5 to be paid in cash or by check at the event to help defray the cost of the plants.
May 13 & 14 - World Bonsai Day with club activities at the at NC Arboretum on both days. Club members will display trees, do demos, and answer questions from visitors.
June 2 through 11 - Our exhibit of "Bonsai as Fine Art" at the Blue Spiral Gallery in Asheville and associated activities at the NC Arboretum.
See the "Bonsai as Fine Art" webpage.
July 9 - Program to be determined.
Aug. 13 Meeting. Location to be determined.
BRBS Bonsai Exhibit. Probably open to the public with a professional judge. Members may submit trees in categories from "Starter" to "Advanced."
Sept. 10 Meeting at the Bonsai Learning Center in Statesville. Activities to be determined.
Oct. 8 Meeting - Location to be determined.
Presentation and/or demo by a bonsai professional.
We are currently discussing availability and content with several people. Watch this space.
November 12: Annual pot luck dinner and auction.
December 1 & 2 (?): Everyone is encouraged to go to the Winter Silhouette exhibit in Kannapolis, NC.
No regular club meeting this month.
2023 Completed Meetings
Jan. 8 - Meeting at the Asheville Botanical Gardens
Presentation by bonsai professional Daniel Coffey on the development of deciduous bonsai, using trident maples as an example. He will also have some small trees for sale.
Note: All members who ordered potting compound materials from the Bonsai Learning Center must pick up their orders at this meeting or arrange to have someone else pick them up.
PLANNED Feb. 12 - Meeting at Bullington Gardens in Hendersonville. This is the first time we have met at this location. See their website for driving directions:
https://www.bullingtongardens.org/
12:00-2:00 pm: Repotting workshop - the basics. Chris will cover this information at the meeting using his PPT which you can download on the "Tips, Advice, and More" page. If this is your firt repotting, experienced members will be ther to answer questions and help you
2:00-4:00 pm: Everyone bring a tree for any kind of work, including repotting, or just advice and comments.
ACTUAL MEETING: Because of forecast freezing rain and snow, we actually met from 1:30 to 4:00 for the repotting presentation and work on members' trees.
Saturday, Feb. 18 - Field Trip: Stone and tree-collecting trip to member Greg Hinson's property close to Spartanburg.
Mar. 12 - Meeting at NC Arboretum. (Education Bldg)
Arthur Joura, the Bonsai Curator at the Arboretum, will restyle a an old Chinese Hackberry. More than simply showing what to do, Arthur will explain the thought process behind working with an older, established plant when shaping it to be a miniature expression of a great old tree in nature.
Note: This event is open to the public. BRBS members will have a short business meeting starting at 1:00. Arthur's presenation will start at 2:00 pm
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BRBS Dues for 2023
Dues are $35 per year for Individual membership or $40 for Family membership. Dues for 2023 must be paid by the end of February, 2023.
Dues may be paid online using this link to Square. (This link is not live. You must paste it into your browser. This arrangement is necessary for us to avoid fees.)
https://square.link/u/AxObp8de
You can also pay dues by giving cash or check to our Treasurer Rebecca Ayres or mailing her a check at:
Rebecca Ayres, BRBS
15 Murrough Dr
Biltmore Lake, NC 28715
If you are a new member, please download this membership form and include it with your dues.
Thanks!
Interesting Topics on
Our Tips, Advice, & More page
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BRBS Monthly Bonsai Tips
Download a short, clear statement of what each of us should be doing for our bonsai each month, correct for our geography, written by a small committee of our most experienced members--Felix Laughlin, Peggy Snow, and Troy Schmidt.
Also, thanks to Bjorn Bjorholm, for sharing with us his excellent summary on "Pesticides and Insecticides."
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Download a PPT presentation by Daniel Coffey on the new "Shag Rug" method of creating a bonsai forest on a rock.
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A new source--VSANA--devoted to suiseki (viewing stones).
Be sure to look at our new web pages for:
Our "Bonsai as Fine Art" exhibit in June at Blue Spiral 1 gallery and associated exhibit at the NC Arboretum
and another new page for:
Bonsai at the NC Arboretum for information about classes and programs related to bonsai and the Curator's Journal series.
Our own Rebecca Ayres will be teaching Beginning Bonsai classes at the Arboretum and a Wiring class on Friday, March 10.
Click on either page name to go to that page.
