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The following information may be out of date.Why botanical names? Common names vary country to country and region to region. Do you have an Elephant Ear somewhere in your plant collection? Is it an Alocasia odora, Colocasia esculenta, Philodendron bipinnatifidum, Haemanthus albiflos, or an Acacia dunnii? These plants are all commonly called Elephant Ears!
Introduction to Bonsai by Charles Harder who gave a presentation to LAVGC in 2012. For more information visit or join Bonsai Society of San Francisco (BSSF) or Shikishima Bonsai Club in Pleasant Hill.
Please protect our endangered plants. Likewise do not plant or propogate "invasives".
We try to find local resources for our members. However, techniques may come from national or international sites. Always take into consideration where the website or blog is written for differing weather conditions.
If you have questions about when to prune what, http://www.gardening.about.com has two excellent articles to help you with Fall Perennial Plants to Prune and Perennial Plants to Prune in the Spring. This can prevent plants from dying due to inappropriate pruning. See Fall Pruning and Spring Pruning.
IKEBANA is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is more than simply putting flowers in a container. It is a disciplined art form in which the arrangement is a living thing where nature and humanity are brought together. It is steeped in the philosophy of developing a closeness with nature.
Ikebana has a number of schools: Aratame, Chiko, Enshu, Ikenobo, Ohara, Sogetsu and Wafu.
New Zealand flax, Phormium tenax and Phormium cookianum, known by Maori as harakeke and wharariki, is not the same as linen flax, Linum usitatissimum, which is farmed for fibre, seeds and linseed oil. Palms, lily grass History