Esprit Bonsai International APRIL MAI 2016 - 81

In the field of bonsai, as in many other artistic disciplines, you learn by both doing and looking. By looking, you learn more about what is attractive and what is less so, and about what you do or don’t like. While nature is a source of inspiration for creating bonsai, exhibitions are also worth visiting in order to develop your own approach, and to feed your sense of beauty and artistry. Exhibitions are useful, then, because they allow tree-owners to display their creations and to share their trees’ beauty with the maximum number of people. Visitors can admire dozens of bonsai of different varieties, sizes and origins. They can study display, harmony between pots and trees, and so on. These events offer an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience. There…

BONSAÏ CLUB DU LAURAGAIS http://www.bonsai-lauragais.org/ Here is an aesthetically pleasing and well-designed website. The section about the club is very detailed with its history, practical advice, and its purpose and reports on its activities. Another section is devoted to cultivating and maintaining bonsai trees: how to prune them and care for them throughout the year, as well as advice on how to treat diseases. The “Autour de bonsai” (About bonsai)on the display bar will take you to pages on different aspects of Japanese culture and its language such as the nomenclature of bonsai styles, shitakusa and kusamono, and suiseki. Other pages are dedicated to Azaleas, and an extensive bibliography covers general bonsai terminology as well as the species used for bonsai. Finally, a photo gallery of regional exhibitions complete this…

Liège, Belgium An exhibition by the Bonsaï club de Liège, in Belgium will be held 28 and 29 May in the grounds of the Château de Waroux. Workshops on wiring, pruning and training a nursery-grown bonsai, will be given during the exhibition. • Château de Waroux, rue de Xhendremael 4432 Alleur, Belgium From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entrance free. Web site: bonsaiclubdeliege.be Email: bonsail.liege@gmail.com Ghent, Belgium The Ghent Floralies (flower and garden show) will be in full swing from 22 April to 1 May. Eight Flemish clubs have been invited to exhibit about 60 bonsai trees as part of this major event to be held at four historical locations across the city. • http://www.floralien.be/en Washinghton DC, USA From 13 to 15 May, the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum will…

The Fédération Française de Bonsai (French bonsai federation) has announced that the 2016 congress will be a major event! The organising association, L’Arbre dans la Main, has invited speakers, demonstrators and workshop tutors from France, Europe and Japan, who will complement the exhibition of the best trees by members of the Federation. Make it a date to take part in this great French bonsai event from 28 to 29 May at the Palacium at Villeneuve-D’Ascq (Nord,France). The heart of the event will, of course, be the trees themselves that were chosen in 2015 during the Federation’s regional exhibitions. Koji Hiramatsu, who was recently at the Noelanders Trophy in Belgium, is the Japanese guest. He will talk about some of the trees exhibited, alongside Udo Fisher, a professional bonsai artist from…

An online Bonsai intermediate course Bonsai Empire and Bjorn Bjorholm are launching the follow-up of the online Bonsai Beginner’s Course: the “Bonsai Intermediate Course” this April. Oscar Jonker, from Bonsaï Empire, replies to a few questions on this new course. Esprit Bonsaï: What is the goal of this Bonsai Intermediate Course? Oscar Jonker: When we launched our online Beginner Course we had no clue if people would like this new way of learning about Bonsai. It turned out to be very successful and so we started planning for a much more detailed and in-depth course, at intermediate level. Our goal is to offer students a fundamental understanding of how trees grow and function before we dive into the technical parts. As with the Beginner Course, for the new Intermediate Course,…

SURREY, UK April 2-3 Spirit of Shohin 2016 Royal Horticultural Society grounds, Wisley GU23 6QB Contact: antique. netsuke@gmail.com NITRA, SLOVAKIA April 14-17 Bonsai Slovakia® 2016 19th International Bonsai, Suiseki & Tea Exhibition with non-stop international cultural events and art exhibition Contact, Ondeicik Vladimir: bonsai@e-bonsai.sk www.bonsai-slovakia.sk CARDIFF, WALES, UK April 15-17 RHS Show Cardiff Bute Park, Cardiff Castle GHENT, BELGIUM April 22-May 1 Floraliën exhibition Ghent http://www.floralien.be/en WROCLAW, POLAND April 30-May 1 Bonsai and suiseki exhibition Triennale Bonsai 2016 and National Exhibition of Polish Bonsai Association www.bonsaiklub.plwww.facebook.com/ PolskaAsocjacjaBonsai OLDHAM, UK May1-2 Accrington & District Bonsai Society Spring Show, Daisy Nook Garden Centre, Stannybrooke Rd. Failsworth, Oldham M35 9WJ Tel.: 01616814245 ARCO, ITALY May6-8 31st Arco bonsai convention and the 20th Congress of the UBI – the Italian bonsai federation.www.arcobonsai.com WASHINGTON DC,…