2016 Novice Workshop - Double Flowering Plum

Registration for our fifth Novice Workshop is now open!  Please select the link below to view the flyer.  Seating will be limited to 11.

Workshop Flyer

NBS Fall Exhibition 2015

The NBS held its sixth annual Fall Exhibit in conjunction with Lauritzen Gardens' Japanese Ambience Festival.  Once again, we had an excellent variety of specimens on display, including world-class examples of popular Japanese species, several unique succulents and tropicals, and a Southern Live Oak to start the show. Our training/workshop section this year included a native plum complete with training diagrams, in addition to Chinese Elm, Olive and Satsuki Azelea from workshop participants.  New and well-received for this year was an educational display that included examples of various bonsai styles.  Max Miller and Scott Peterson led our demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday, performing some heavy pruning and defining the initial structure on some old juniper material.  Our sale table had some very special offerings, including pottery from our local favorite, Stephanie Walker, and some sweet deals on bonsai from Scott Luke.  Special thanks go to those who participated and spent time at our booth over the weekend.  I'm happy to report that we had our best member participation yet!  Check out photos from the event.

2016 Novice Workshop Preview

The material has been chosen for next year's Novice Workshop.  The Double Flowering Plum is well known for its fragrant double, candy-pink flowers that emerge in spring.  It also has an attractive yellow-bronze color in the fall.  We'll begin official registration in a few months once we have the details confirmed.

Here is a progression from October 2014 to August 2015:

American Shokunin

Please enjoy this short film by Ryan Bush promoting The Artisans Cup.  It features Ryan Neil of Bonsai Mirai, who is the lead organizer of this event.

Colin Lewis Instructional Wiring Video

Thanks to those who attended our meeting last week at Finke Gardens.  As promised, here is a link to the video Bonsai Wiring Essentials by Colin Lewis.  If you'd like a refresher or missed our February meeting, I'd suggest you check it out!

2015 Novice Workshop - European Olive

Registration for our fourth Novice Workshop is now open!  Please select the link below to view the flyer.  Seating will be limited.

The European Olive pictured in this post is part of the permanent collection at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  Check out this post from Scott's blog for more from the Garden.

Workshop Flyer

Fall Bonsai Exhibition 2014

The NBS held its fifth annual Fall Exhibit in conjunction with Lauritzen Gardens' Japanese Ambience Festival.  Once again, we had an excellent variety of specimens on display, including native yamadori, world-class Japanese bonsai and several popular tropical species.  Our training/workshop section this year included a seven-tree Elm forest and Chinese Elms from participants of our Broom Style Chinese Elm Workshop.  Max led a demonstration on both Saturday and Sunday, performing some heavy pruning and setting the structure on some excellent Jack Pine material.  Our sale table had some very special offerings, including a wide array of pottery ranging from locally made kusamono containers to antique Chinese bonsai pottery.  We also had some sweet deals on bonsai/pre-bonsai.  Special thanks go to those who participated and spent time at our booth over the weekend.  Check out the photos from the event and a video.  I’ve also included an album from the Omaha Chapter #60 Ikebana Display.