I’m planning to bring this little Shohin Maple along to the meeting next Friday.

Japanese Maple

The tree would appear to have been a root over rock at one point but the tree has all but swallowed it whole.

Shohin Nebari Front

Shohin Maple Back

The back of the tree shows the rock almost covered and a Uro (hole) which needs some attention as water is gathering inside the tree and will need to be drilled through to allow it to drain away.

Today was possibly the nicest day of the year so far in Northern Ireland. Please remember to check your trees carefully as they may require watering twice a day! Not what you would expect in the Emerald Isle!!

Members will have their hard copy Newsletter in a few days. We hope to start delivering this in PDF format via email soon.

I just added a few new trees into the members gallery.

Brain isn’t a new member but I don’t get the opportunity to photograph his trees very often. He goes on holiday this week and as we do in the Society, we look after each others trees. He brought a car load to me and I took the opportunity to take a few snaps.

This is is little Common Alder Alnus Glutinosa. For more of Brian’s bonsai go to the members gallery or just click on the Alder.

Common Alder

After a recent article from Walter Pall on Feeding, Substrate and Watering I thought I would share a link to an article on ‘Cat Litter as Bonsai Soil’. Some people laugh when they hear this but try buying akadama in Northern Ireland! You can buy twice as much cat litter for half the price and in many ways it is superior to Akadama.

These two are the most commonly found in the UK.

Tesco's finer grade

Pets at Home heavier grade

For an in depth look at Cat Litter for Bonsai soil, click on the link below for Bonsai4me.com who have kindly given us permission to link to their articles.

If, like me, you browse the internet regularly looking for  quality bonsai related content you will have already seen these. In case you have missed them I thought I would share a link to two of the best sources of bonsai videos on the net.

First up is Graham Potters Youtube channel  where he gives fantastic insight into the styling and carving of trees. Graham is the owner of Kaizen Bonsai, a UK based mail order bonsai business. Click on the link below to visit his channel.

Next up is Lindsay Farrs World of Bonsai Series. Looking at Bonsai in Japan and China, Lindsay has produced a series of videos free to view on the net. Click on the link below to go to his vimeo website. Lindsay has a bonsai business in Australia called Bonsai Farm.

Now that we have sorted out our new venue it’s time to get the word out where we are. We are asking our members to download the poster below and display i local shops and public buildings.

Please click on the poster below to download the poster in PDF Format.

There are very few Horticultural Societies still functioning in Northern Ireland and most are struggling for members. Not so in Comber, County Down. Comber Horticultural Society has a strong membership and other societies visit thier Annual Show to see they manage to keep the love of plants going.

The show has a small section for Bonsai with two classes, deciduous and Evergreen. If you live locally, why not pop in and see what they have. If you have a bonsai, why not enter. Although the NIBS don’t attend the show each year, I would encourage members to  support a fellow society.

A link to the show information can be found by clicking on the Venue Image below.

Comber 2nd Presbyterian Church, Show Location

A downloadable Application form has been added to the Membership tab today.

Click on the form below to print a copy.

These guys aren’t quite bonsai artists but I thought I would add it here as it has an Irish feel to it

and Yew is one of my favorite trees

Harp Yew @ Mountstewart, County Down