As well as catching up with everyone's activities over the summer break, the February meetin saw Melody give a fascinating and humerous talk on how to ensure your trees survive the drought we are currently experiencing. Her talk not only covered prevention but also some very valuable tips for resurecting seemingly dead trees, and what to do with those that don't survive as well. Melody will be writing her talk up for publication in a later edition of the newsletter.
The main focus of the March meeting was the talks given by various members on species suitable for growing as bonsai in the Waikato area. The talks on the seven species discussed styles, pests, propogation, frost hardiness, soil mixes, watering and pruning techniques.
April saw a very successful trip to Auckland to visit a number of collections and the show at Eden Gardens which included a stand by the Auckland club.
The main item at the April meeting was an illustrated presentation by Peter on the use of photography within bonsai. The talk included samples of recording progess, refinement, display, pot choice, competition, inspiration and critique.
The May meeting was a workshop for the redwood trees collected from Rotorua last August. It was very interesting to see and hear about the progress on the trees and some of the problems that had been encountered in trying to get new branches to shoot.
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June saw our annual workshop weekend. This year saw the return of the very popular Clinton Nesci. Over the two days Clinton managed to work on and give guidance on a large number of trees in various stages of development. Some of the trees were those he saw 3 years ago during his last visit. On the Saturday nigh we had a mid-winter meal at a local Mongolian restaurant. All in all a very good weekend.
July saw several new members welcomed to the club.
As wintertime is when we start to think about repotting, Noel and Peter gave illustrated talks on what makes a good Bonsai pot and how to choose the correct pot for your tree. At the end of his talk Peter showed pictures of established trees and asked the members to dedcide on what pot would be suitable for the tree. Some of the pots currently used got the thumbs down. A very interesting meeting.
Tha August meeting was split between a general workshop and a dig for trees in the Redwood Forrest in Rotorua. Eight members had a glorious day in the sunshine digging up trees before having afternoon tea with Peter in Rotorua.
Following on from a discussion on our forthcoming show Gordon gave an interesting talk on Cedars. The display table was full of flowering trees.
| There was no normal meeting in October due to the closeness of the Convention in Napier - with our own Dianne as one to the speakers, and our own very successful show. |  |
As well as the AGM we had an illuminating talk by Susan from Hamilton Lighthouse on the use of garden lighting. Her talk certainly gave several members ideas. We also had a return visit by Nobuyuki Kajiwara who did a two day workshop.
Our final meeting for the year saw the usual display of decorated trees (well done to those who brought them along) and an illustrated talk by Peter on the 2008 Convention in Napier. After nibbles Peter rounded off the evening by challenging the members to write a Haiku.
