GSBF Report #6 Saturday - Min Hsuan Lo / Trident Workshop

Joanie

Well, as you can see we didn't post on Saturday at all. It was a very full day, and by the time we got back to the room it was close to midnight. We had been on the run, on our feet, since early morning. But we did complete all of our assignments, finished up the last of the pictures, did a little more shopping, watched more workshops, ate a good lunch and sat through another fun-filled raffle, then the long Saturday dinner, entertainment, awards, auction and raffle.

Stamina. It all comes down to stamina. You go, go, go all day long, eat, go some more, eat, talk until you're hoarse, yip and yell and holler and clap when your table wins a raffle item, clap till your hands hurt when honoring an awardee, and then fall into bed with your head filled with the things you had seen and the people you had met.

Saturday was intense.

I got up early because I thought my Min Hsuan Lo/Trident workshop was in the morning. I was already regretting not having spent more money on tools, because the Ted Matson/Liquidambar workshop had shown me the ... well... deficiency, in my tool kit. (I only have about six tools) But having spent the wad already on trees and pots, there was nothing to be done. Wandering through the workshop room about forty-five minutes before they were to begin, there was a noticeable lack of Tridents on the tables, but my battered brain couldn't comprehend that until the workshops almost started and there was still a distinct coniferous quality to the room. So sure enough, the workshop was scheduled for afternoon. Which freed up the morning for Jim Barrett's photo and his okay of the interview, and Pedro Morales's picture and interview, and a nice breakfast with Michelle over at Coco's. (If you haven't had their pumpkin pancakes with whipped pumpkin butter, brown sugar, and nuts, you are really missing out) We needed a few minutes to defrag.

When the workshop started, the usual grumbling commenced about drawing for names. Here's a big hint for workshops, and one I plan to personally take care of for GSBF 2007... the workshop should be supplied with a wax crayon to mark numbers on the pots, and the same number of little preprinted numbers for the people to draw from. Oh, and maybe a little box to keep them in. It was silly that I had to quickly tear paper and make numbers for both workshops. It delays the start, and makes for a certain amount of grumbling. So that will be a bonus of holding a workshop at GSBF '07.

Anyway, the Tridents were lovely stock. They had been grown by the same retired grower that had done the Liquidambar. No complaints from the Trident people. But the Hornbeams (you could choose when you registered, hornbeam or trident) were awful. Just really bad for what they should have been. The lady next to me had one that was so bad that even Min Hsuan Lo couldn't see any good form for it. Although it had a big trunk, it had terrible big branches and a congested top. Nothing went in the same direction or complemented anything else. She said that she would be putting it into her club raffle, although she was gracious about it. Even to my beginner eyes there was no hope for the tree. Some of the others were better but they were certainly not of the quality of the tridents.

What an endearing man! He's funny and sweet and kind. Although it was difficult to understand him at times, especially when he was under stress and talking more quickly, his enthusiasm was contagious. I wired my little trident and placed the branches as I thought they would go, and he came and moved them upward considerably. After all, he said, it isn't a pine! He spoke of a "peaceful revolution" toward more natural styles. My little tree is wonderful and I will always remember the workshop with Min Hsuan Lo. May it only be the first of many!

(Photos of the tree, now home, will follow today. I didn't take pictures during this workshop because I was just too frazzled, but the tree had very little structural work because the previous grower was so good. Which suited this newbie just fine!)

Joanie

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