SOURCES OF POTS, PLANT MATERIAL, AND THE OTHER STUFF OF BONSAI
Dasu Bonsai Studios (www.bonsaitrees.com) Kelly, Iowa
Currently the only bonsai business in Iowa; vendor
to the Iowa Bonsai Association. Dave Lowman is a potter
who makes some superb bonsai pots. See his signature
style Special Process stoneware pots.
Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery
(www.brusselsbonsai.com) Olive Branch,
MS
The largest bonsai business in North America. Brussel’s
hosts an annual Rendezvous every May which has come
to rival regular conventions and is characterized by
extremely high quality plant material available in the
workshops.
Golden Arrow Bonsai
(www.goldenarrowbonsai.com) Deadwood, SD
Andrew Smith collects, trains, and sells
bonsai specimen material from the Black Hills of the
Dakotas and the mountains of the Western United States.
His collected trees are unique, having been significantly
shaped by nature; many are quite ancient.
Sara Rayner’s Bonsai Pottery (www.redwing.net/~daalms) Red Wing, Minnesota
Perhaps it is the long cold winters that make good bonsai potters, as two of the best are
here in the upper Midwest--Dave Lowman of Dasu (see above) and Sara Rayner. See ”The
Pottery and Bonsai of Sara Rayner” in the FEATURE GALLERY of The Art of Bonsai Project
(www.artofbonsai.org/galleries/Rayner.php)
For web links to other bonsai related suppliers see the SUPPLIERS LINKS at freeplone2.openia.
com/abs/links-of-interest/suppliers-link, maintained by the American Bonsai Society.
ASSOCIATIONS
American Bonsai Society (www.absbonsai.org)
Founded in 1967, the national organization publishes a journal and maintains a very
informative website which includes a REFERENCE CENTER that links to suppliers, club listings,
individual bonsai artist’s pages, bonsai literature, and a wealth of other bonsai information.
International Bonsai Clubs (www.bonsai-bci.com)
The website is full of useful bonsai references and information. Of particular note are the
following: BONSAI BASICS, PUBLIC BONSAI EXHIBITS, the BONSAI SPECIES GUIDE, and the
BCI LIST OF INTERNET BONSAI SITES.
Mid-America Bonsai Alliance (mababonsai.org)
MABA is an organization made up of local bonsai clubs and societies form nine Midwest
U.S. states and Canadian provinces. The IBA is a member club. The alliance holds a convention
every other year, the next to be held in Indianapolis in 2008.
See the convention
website
for details.
BONSAI
CLUBS
There are a large number of bonsai clubs in North America, many
now with a web
presence. Noted below are only a few of neighboring Midwestern
clubs that may be of
interest to Iowans.
Bonsai Society
of Greater St. Louis
(www.stlbonsai.org)
Monthly
meetings are held at the Missouri
Botanical Garden, home of the largest traditional
Japanese Garden in North America. The BSGSL holds the second
of its two annual exhibits in
collaboration with the Botanical Garden's annual Labor Day weekend
Japanese Festival. The
exhibit is held in conjunction with the Ikebana (Japanese flower
arranging) exhibit. BSGSI will
host a Shohin Convention in 2009.
Greater Cincinnati Bonsai Society (www.cincinnatibonsai.com)
Founded in 1964, the GCBS is one of the oldest bonsai associations in the country. The
website has links to bonsai MONTHLY TIPS, tip sheets issued monthly since April 1999. This
site is a good source of information on the 2006 MABA convention (where the IBA won an award).
Indianapolis
Bonsai Club
(www.indybonsai.org)
IBC
will host MABA 2008 in June. See the convention
website
for details.
Midwest Bonsai Society (www.midwestbonsai.org)
The MBS has a close relationship with the
Chicago
Botanic Garden
in Glencoe, Illinois,
where it holds its regular meetings and its shows. Their fall show is perhaps the most
significant bonsai event in the Midwest.
Minnesota Bonsai Society (www.minnesotabonsai.com)
Priding
itself on being one of the largest and most active bonsai societies
in the country,
this group of our northern neighbors hosts a number of interesting
bonsai activities, including
two annual bonsai auctions, an annual spring show on Mother's Day at
Como
Park Conservatory
in St. Paul in conjunction with the Annual Flower Show, held in a
beautiful bonsai exhibit room
that was new in 2005; and a two-day State Fair Bonsai Show every
year on Friday-Saturday before
Labor Day at the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul.
Quad
City Bonsai Club (www.quadcitybonsai.org)
The
club serves a membership in the Quad City area straddling the
Mississippi River in
eastern Iowa and western Illinois defined as Davenport and
Bettendorf in Iowa, Moline/East
Moline and Rock Island in Illinois, and surrounding
communities. Note that the club holds a
Saturday morning workshop about six times a year as well as an
annual special workshop and
other events. QCB holds events at the Quad
City Botanical Center
in Rock Island, Illinois.
BONSAI CARE
Index of Bonsai Species (www.bonsai-bci.com/species/indexgen.html)
Compiled by Bonsai Clubs International, the site consists of guidelines for the care of tree
species as compiled from postings on various lists and newsgroups and from several bonsai
periodicals and standard bonsai reference works. Listed by both botanical name and common
name.
Pine Bonsai in the Midwest, by Douglas K. Hawley, MD (http://mababonsai.org/pages/articles.
html)
The author is a member of the Greater Cincinnati Bonsai Society. This article along with a
companion article by the same author available on the same MABA articles page, Detailing Your
Pine, constitute the scripture of successfully maintaining pine bonsai in the Midwest.
BONSAI
GARDENS
National Arboretum National Bonsai & Penjing Museum Virtual Tour (www.usna.usda.
gov/Gardens/collections/VirtualTours/BonsaiVirtualTour.html)
A virtual tour of the nation’s official bonsai collection. Established in 1976, the National
Bonsai and Penjing Museum is the most comprehensive of it’s kind in North America. It is
dedicated to the display, education and scholarly study of bonsai and related art forms.
National Bonsai Foundation (www.bonsai-nbf.org)
The NBF is a support organization for the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. The
Foundation website provides a wealth of information about the national collection and bonsai
events. Of particular note is its COLLECTIONS & GARDENS page, which provides excellent
photos of the bonsai and Penjing collections and special Museum exhibits.
Chicago Botanic Garden Bonsai Collection (www.chicagobotanic.org/explore/bonsai.php)
In 2002 renowned bonsai master Susumu Nakamura donated 19 specimen bonsai from
his personal collection to the Chicago Botanic Garden, therewith transforming their bonsai
collection into one of the best public collections of bonsai in the world. The collection numbers
over 180 bonsai. One can view the Nakamura portion of the collection in both summer and
winter aspect from this site.
JAPANESE
GARDENS
Some
of the best Japanese Gardens in the country are within reasonable
driving
distance of
Iowa.
Anderson
Gardens, Rockford, IL
(www.andersongardens.org)
Rated
the best Japanese garden in North America by the Journal of
Japanese Gardening.
A great visit opportunity in conjunction with the annual
Mid-American Bonsai Show held each
August at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Carleton
College, Northfield, MN
(apps.carleton.edu/campus/japanesegarden/)
Rated
number 9 of the top 25 Japanese Gardens in North America by the Journal
of
Japanese Gardening. A compact dry landscape garden nestled into
the campus landscape of
this renowned Minnesota liberal arts college.
Chicago
Botanic Garden Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden -- Sansho-en
("The garden
of three islands"), Glencoe, IL
(www.chicagobotanic.org/explore/japanese.php)
A
stroll garden. A great visit opportunity in conjunction with
the annual Mid-America
Bonsai Show held each August at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Missouri
Botanical Garden Japanese Garden -- Seiwa-en ("Garden of
pure, clear harmony
and peace"), St. Louis, MO
(www.mobot.org/hort/gardens/Japanese/intro/)
Rated
number 13 of the top 25 Japanese Gardens in North America by the Journal
of Japanese Gardening. A wet stroll garden in design, it is the
largest traditional Japanese
garden in North America. Labor Day weekend Japanese Festival
is an occasion for the
annual Ikebana Show and an annual bonsai show by the Bonsai Society
of Greater St.
Louis. Adjoining the Japanese garden is The Margaret Grigg
Nanjing Friendship Chinese
Garden, the most authentic Chinese garden of its size in the United
States.
The
University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Japanese Garden -- Seisui
Tei,
Chaska, MN
(www.arboretum.umn.edu)
Rated
number 19 of the top 25 Japanese Gardens in North America by the Journal
of
Japanese Gardening. The Arboretum is part of the Department of
Horticultural Science within
the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at
the University of Minnesota.
It is located SW of the Twin Cities.
SUISEKI
Although
viewing stones is a more correct and inclusive term, a majority of
bonsai
fans currently seem to prefer to use the Japanese term suiseki and
to more or less
follow the Japanese classification system for viewing stones.
There is not yet the web
presence for viewing stone information that bonsai has developed,
but below are a few
places from which to depart.
Sean
L. Smith - Suiseki & Furniture
(bonsai-suiseki.com/Suiseki.html)
California
Aiseki Kai Stone Viewing Club
(www.aisekikai.com)
California
Suiseki Society
(felixrivera-suiseki.com/CaSuisekiSoc.html)
Nippon
Suiseki Association
(suiseki-assn.gr.jp/en/index.html)
Suiseki.com
(suiseki.com)
INFORMATION
The Art of Bonsai Project (www.artofbonsai.org)
An online journal and community for the examination and exploration of the bonsai art
form. The masthead makes the claim that “this is the bonsai artist’s home on the Web."
Knowledge of Bonsai Forums (www.knowledgeofbonsai.org)
An online forum and community for the discussion of the cultivation and technical design
aspects of bonsai. “This is the serious bonsaist’s home on the web.” Particularly useful for the
photographic galleries of bonsai shows, exhibitions, events workshops and demonstrations. Of
note to Iowans are the galleries for the 2006 Mid-America Bonsai Show at the Chicago Botanic
Garden (www.knowledgeofbonsai.org/galleries/shows/06/mid.php); and the 2006 MABA
Convention in Milwaukee, at which the IBA won the second place award in the competitive club
exhibition. See the photos of the IBA entry at www.knowledgeofbonsai.
org/galleries/events/maba06/exhibit.php (the second and third photographs in this gallery).
Lindsay Farr’s WorldOfBonsaiSeries (www.bonsaifarm.tv)
These internationally acclaimed downloadable bonsai videos are wonderful short visits to
some of the more esoteric aspects of bonsai as it is enjoyed and described by the proprietor of
the oldest bonsai garden in Melbourne, Australia.
Magical Miniature Landscapes: The comprehensive history of bonsai and the related arts
(www.phoenixbonsai.com/BonsaiHistory.html)
The most comprehensive bonsai history ever attempted, this site continues to evolve.
North American Bonsai Potters (www.gobbs.org/Potters.htm)
The purpose of this site is to promote the art and craft of pottery for bonsai in North
America by providing a guide to the practitioners of this art form that is so essential to the art of
bonsai. Photographs of pots and potters marks and contact or website linkage information if
available are provided. The compilers are particularly interested in historic pots and potters no
longer practicing. The site list of bonsai potters includes Dave Lowman, Gary Wood, Sara
Rayner, and other favorites of IBA members.
|
