GSBF Report #4: Goodie Bags & Meet the Vendors

Joanie

Timing out on the fun meter? It's Thursday night and our heads hurt with all the people we've met and the things we've seen. Who cares about Disneyland? For us, this week the most magical place on earth is right in this hotel! Luminaries walk through the halls and our sweet Cindy Reed has introduced us to most of them. We are overwhelmed.

Here's a picture of the goody bag we received. Strangely enough it smells of fish emulsion. Odd little packets of soils and supplements, with dusty business cards stuck inside. Coupons that we forgot to use in the hurry to buy everything we wanted. Fliers, pens, THE pin, and of course the lovely tool bag. (I had Ted Matson sign mine, he looked a little bemused.)

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Joanie

Gotta love those yellow lanyards!!

Everyone is down at the "Meet the Vendors" event right now, having appetizers and cocktails with the people who are selling. Every purchase this evening entitles the customer to a certain number of raffle tickets for a special raffle that the vendors donated to. Good gracious those people can party! Most of us have been up since 7 am and they're still talking and buying and having fun. Michelle and I, on the other hand, having spent our money and talked until our eyes crossed, seek only quiet.

That workshop with Ted Matson, the Liquidambar orientalis, was really a blast. Ted is a vigorous, motivating speaker, and he took a lot of time to help each of us. Eight people attended, and we were all pleased with our material. Consider this... there were ten trees at the beginning, and Ted told us that if we didn't like the tree we drew we could take one of the unspoken for two. Those two trees remained untouched when the workshop ended. Pretty amazing! Ted gave specific instructions for each person based on their home location, his knowledge of liquidambar is very deep. He told us that the trees were first utilized by a man who makes basically mallsai for fairs and such, who wanted a tough but pretty tree that he could develop quickly. The man found that he could completely defoliate the tree, root prune, repot, and in a couple of months or less the trees would be covered with leaves and looking just great! These particular trees that we were working on had been grown in the ground for about five or six years, and the first two years or allowed to grow wild. Then they were simply topped with hedge trimmers and shaped into cones for several years. They had so many branches and choices that the hard part was choosing!! And their root balls are wonderfully dense, they are ready for pots very soon. He had us defoliate the trees first (and I was terribly glad to have bought a low end pair of Johua Roth leaf trimmers only hours before) So while we frantically pruned, he talked. It was like flowing on a river of information while paddling for all you're worth!

Cindy Read's workshop was today, and her workshopees were amazed and delighted by the landscapes they created. Cindy gave them the choice between dwarf olives, Italian cypress, and procumbens nanas. The pots and trays were made by our talented Bonsainut, each one very different. The rocks were desert sandstone that she and her hubby collected in our southern desert, and Michelle Dougherty supervised from the sidelines. In fact, Attila was so taken by the rocks that after the workshop Cindy found out and handed him four bags full! She had taken the time to match the rocks as sets. Between the choices of species, the handmade pots and the puzzle sets of rocks, each saikei was very individual. People walking by paused to comment and enjoy them.

left to right: Yolanda and Cindy; Lisa and Ralph and Cindy: one of our very favorite people in the whole world, Dave Woodall.

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MattPenton

Joanie:

Where are you keeping all of this wonderfull material... Seeing as you are staying at the hotel?

Just curious!

Matt

Joanie

Ummmm.... in our room.... our room is full of our trees, and our pots, and lots and lots of food, and the leftovers of Cindy's saikei workshop. Yep, trees in the room. We suspect that everyone has trees in their rooms.

Joanie

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TreeBay

I kept my plants on the hotel balcony in Sacramento, but we were on the second floor.

Otherwise, it's trees in the bathtub!

Regards,

Matt

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MattPenton

I can imagine some funny dreams and some curious waking moments if you have forgotten where you are...

Entertained in orange county,

Matt

Joanie

Yep, trees in the bathroom. We're dreaming bonsai anyway, Matt, our brains can't slow down. Now we are doing a series of interviews. We will be going international today with the interviewees.

Joanie

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MattPenton

i'm planning on coming tonight to the vendor area... I realy "need" a new tree. I'll look for you there.

All the best,

Matt

Migoto

Matt,

No such luck on the balcony, the windows won't even open, and we're on the 4th floor. We are refraining from any type of climate control for fear of drying out the room. The really good trees are alternating between sun basking by the window and soaking in the tub. Next thing we know they'll be ordering room service.

Michelle

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