Bonsai Club Welcomes Any and All

The Bonsai Club of Santa Barbara will host its first meeting of the year on Tuesday, January 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Goleta Valley Community Center. Mel Ikeda, a well-known bonsai master who lives in Costa Mesa, will be at the meeting presenting different ways to style an untrained tree.

The club, founded 42 years ago by John Naka, meets on the second Tuesday of every month except August and December to teach its members about things such as horticulture, styling, and pesticides. Members also learn how to show trees at bonsai shows and conventions.

Tom Post, a club member who got involved about 20 years ago after seeing a show put on by the S.B. group after his son’s soccer game, said anyone is welcome to join, regardless of skill level or familiarity with growing and styling bonsai trees.

The club also hosts a workshop on the third Saturday of every month for club members with their own material. For these workshops, the club will bring in instructors from the greater Los Angeles area to teach different ways to style bonsai. The club also provides community projects and displays of their bonsai, like at the Tea House Garden at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, as well as the yearly Santa Barbara Asian Festival.

Membership fees are $30 a year. More information about the club can be found at santabarbarabonsai.org.