Summer is officially begun on the calendar and in the daily cycle of sun and fog and cool temperatures for those of us on the western side of the bay. Though it may be gray overhead our trees continue to grow and their needs for water, fertilizer and trimming continue at an accelerated pace. Now is not the time to slack off. Check your pots daily for watering needs and if you have not already committed to a regular program of feeding sit down with a calendar and mark at alternating weekends to feed all your trees through mid September. Try to keep up with the growth by partially defoliating deciduous trees, cutting live oak leaves in half to allow sun into the structure of the trees and watching any wire that has been applied this spring to growing branches. This is the time of year to put your cultivation skills to work. Bonsai does not just happen on its own; it requires your intervention and developing skills be put to work.

In addition to watching your own trees develop take time to advance your knowledge through reading and visiting bonsai shows and the Collection North in Oakland. Our very own web site has become a source of much thoughtful explorations of local bonsai cultivation. If you have not yet read some of the recently posted articles by Eric Shrader and Aaron Newton I urge you to spend some time, you will benefit greatly from their respective observations.

Likewise the Collection North is moving further down the path of becoming a center for bonsai education. Kathy Shaner the collection’s curator has initiated a sign system throughout the garden wherein she expounds on the development of many of the trees in the garden with explanations of processes and seasonal care. If you have never visited the garden there has never been a better time. There is much there to learn about bonsai creation and training. Soon docents will be receiving training in caring for many of the trees in the collection and will be getting hands on experience and education from the more seasoned members of the community.

The need for docents at the collection is also critical at this time. Many of our members have made a monthly commitment but far more have ignored this important resource in our midst. In the month of July the garden is facing a critical shortage of willing docents. On July 16 we have one member who will be alone in the docent booth. Won’t another member join him? The last two weekends of the month are completely open. Go to the Collection North’s web site or visit our own docent schedule for the BSSF commitment to the Collection for a complete listing of openings in the coming months and check into up coming months for available spaces. The Collection North has much to offer all of us but only if we nurture and provide for its continuation.

With the departure last month of our long time newsletter editor Ben Petrosanta we are stretching the human resources of the club. There are currently too few members doing too many tasks to keep you informed and move the club forward. The July newsletter will be produced by a temporary group of volunteers but we need the commitment from some member or members to carry it forward. Aaron Newton, our cyber guru, is developing a pdf format version of the newsletter that will make it easier than ever for a future editor to download articles and information directly from the club web site. We know that many members still do not take e-mail or access the web and it is important that we have a mailed paper version of the newsletter for these members. However if you would be satisfied to go paperless and receive the monthly information in e-mail version let us know so that we can reduce the amount of mailed paper. This is something you will be hearing from club officers more in the coming months. The duties for anyone willing to take on this task are minimal and the appreciation you will receive is great.

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