The first club meeting of the year started with a warm welcome to new members and a brief outline of upcoming club events by co-president Melody. Peter gave us a great run down of the National Convention in October that our club is running. For more information please visit the convention website here.

From there we had our usual ‘Show n Tell’ section, and a few of the committee brought in trees for the ‘Summer disasters’ discussion where the newer members found out that even seasoned Bonsai enthusiasts can lose trees.

After a short break we were straight into learning about what makes a tree look old, and why we try to replicate these features in Bonsai.
Les talked about creating an aged look from new material. A perception of age adds character and is valued in the bonsai world.
There a number of techniques we can use to enhance the perception of age. These techniques were discussed and tried out in the workshop that followed the talk.

From there, Sandra gave a demo on wiring, one of the techniques that was discussed by Les.
Wiring is used to set a skeleton or branch structure for a bonsai.
Wiring is used to wire the tips of bonsai branches to evoke or give an image of an aged tree in nature.

Wiring Tips:
Use the thickness of wire that equals the bendability or the branch you need to wire.
Always anchor your wire to another branch or the trunk by at least 2 loops.