President’s Message

Jul 1

July 2025

With July now upon us, our Midori yearly bonsai show is just a few months away. Friends, now is the time to sort through your collection of trees and determine what you plan to put in our show this year. Timing is very important with bonsai. In order to have your trees looking their best, including an appropriate accent plant, taking action now will make that procedure much easier to implement when Saturday, October 4th arrives.

I was very disappointed with the turnout for our club's road trip this past Saturday up in Sebastopol. JT, Martin, and I were the only ones who showed up that morning. It was a beautiful day at Lone Pine Gardens, and we were accompanied by a few members of the Marin Bonsai Club, which allowed us to wander around and select whatever trees we wanted to purchase. Those of you who stayed home really missed out on a great opportunity to add some wonderful pre-bonsai material to your collection. The club only organizes one road trip with everyone each year, and the traffic for me going to and coming back from Brentwood was the usual weekend situation.

I hope that many of you took the opportunity to attend the Sei Boku Kai bonsai club's show this month. It’s such a beautiful location to enjoy among the lovely cool redwoods, which made for checking out all the vendors' wares outside. They always have a great variety of trees on display that showcase great age and craftsmanship. I took many pictures of the trees on display that morning, which you can view in this newsletter.

For Our First Thursday Meeting in July

How many of you are feeling stuck now that your trees have put on all this new growth, yet you can't seem to come to grips with where to start trimming and how much needs to be cut back? These are questions we have all faced with our trees, especially when we're too scared to move forward by ourselves, fearing making a terrible mistake. Sound familiar?

Take comfort, club members—JT to the rescue! Yes, our own John Thompson will be handling all your questions and demonstrating how to approach this perplexing issue, which will get you started with the confidence you need. This is the perfect time of year to take on these important tasks, cutting back and shaping this new growth. I can't think of a more important topic to cover now that July is here, and we need to finish this work before our trees start their hot summer dormancy.

For Our Third Thursday Meeting

Our club has grown significantly over the past two years and continues to grow by leaps and bounds, making our meetings full of happy and eager members always wanting to advance in this new hobby. It is a delight for us who take the lead with the club, trying to balance our new situation and give everyone the attention they need. I know that meetings are not all that is needed or necessary to develop the bonsai skills we all want to have. Yes, our bonsai education and specialty techniques can be learned by viewing the many videos provided on YouTube about bonsai. Are you taking advantage of this important educational tool? It’s crucial to be selective about what you view, who is providing the information, and ensuring it’s up to date. There are so many great bonsai teachers out there generously sharing their years of bonsai experience, wanting you to benefit from it just by watching. Don't miss out on this great opportunity!

For our third Thursday club meeting, we will have a normal workshop, so bring in your trees for some good advice, and we'll get you started on the right path.

Have a great month of July doing bonsai, everyone! 🌳