Garden Walk Buffalo to Absorb National Garden Festival Events

Garden Walk Buffalo to expand its mission and enhance its commitment to horticultural tourism. The two horticultural organizations plan a unified approach to promoting Buffalo Niagara’s garden assets and attractions.

Garden Walk Buffalo, the largest free garden tour in the United States, and the National Garden Festival, the first multi-week festival devoted to horticultural tourism in the United States, have entered into an agreement whereby Garden Walk Buffalo will absorb the National Garden Festival schedule of events with the intent of expanding its mission as a horticultural organization devoted to promoting Buffalo Niagara’s green assets to residents and visitors alike.

In the weeks and months to come Garden Walk Buffalo intends to amend its mission statement to reflect its expanded role in the community and begin work on absorbing the activities, committees and projects of the National Garden Festival.

Bonsai Basics

 

I have been fascinated with Bonsai plants for years, probably because of my love for nature and especially trees.

The word bonsai literally means pot and plant, but any plant in a pot is definitely not a bonsai.

The Chinese first started bonsai almost 2000 years ago but the Japanese turned it into the art form that it is today.

The basic idea of bonsai is to create the illusion of a full size tree but on a miniature scale. You do this in many ways and this is where the artistic part comes in.

The process begins by selecting the appropriate plant. Almost any plant can be turned into a bonsai but some plants just lend themselves better to the process if they have a good structure.

Selectively removing branches to reveal the trunk of the tree is the beginning. When you see a full size tree growing naturally, the trunk is widest at the bottom and then gradually becomes narrower until you reach the top. The branches also are thickest at the bottom and become thinner. That is the trick to creating a realistic bonsai tree.

You can turn almost any plant into a bonsai but the common misconception is that you keep them all indoors. The tree on the left is a Jaboticaba from Brazil so definitely a tropical plant. It lives in my kitchen most of the year.

Other bonsai are still real outdoor trees that need the winter to complete their yearly growing cycle. Ideally you keep them in an unheated garage during the winter but if you are like me and don’t have a garage, there are many other ways to keep them cold yet protected. The tree grouping on the right is a Juniper and small versions are commonly available in many different types of stores but people think they are a house plant and then wonder why they die. I wish this grouping of Junipers was mine but this photo was from a bonsai show I attended last year.

I am no expert as it takes years to learn about this art. It also teaches you patients as many trees take years to achieve the desired shape and style. It is best to start with inexpensive plants as there are bound to be some casualties. A schiffalara is easy to grow and is a fairly easy to find house plant.

I will be posting some of my outdoor trees when they come out of hibernation.