At our meeting May 6th we will be taking a good look at wiring our trees correctly with Jennifer Price.  Because the Main meeting topic is fundamental to Bonsai there will not be a Bonsai 101, however there will be an important Society business meeting starting a 7, so please be early to the meeting. As always, our meeting will be held at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Regenstein Center

In addition, our May show is only 4 days after the May meeting.  Our shows are only successful because of the dedication of our volunteers. If you haven’t already, please review the volunteer portion of the May Exhibit page for details and opportunities.

The April meeting is scheduled at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 1st, at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Burnstein Hall, located in the Regenstein Center. Bonsai 101 begins at 7 p.m. and will cover repotting. At 7:30 pm, presentation on Shohin bonsai by guest speaker Mark Fields.

The March meeting is scheduled at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 4th , at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Burnstein Hall, located in the Regenstein Center.  At 7 pm - Bonsai 101 will cover bringing your trees out of their winter quarters for the sunny season.  The 7:30 pm - General meeting program will feature review, by Ivan Waters, of selected trees from August 2018 Exhibition.

The General Meeting October 1st will be our pseudo-annual White Elephant swap meet / sale.  Everyone who’s been in the hobby for a while has a few pots, stands, plants, etc.. that they don’t really need or use.  One mans’ trash is another’s treasure, bring your unwanted items for giveaway, sale or trade and enjoy some cookies and coffee as a Halloween treat.  Bonsai 101 will review wintering your trees, this is an important topic for the new folks so we will be starting it promptly at 7

The next General Society Meeting will be held Monday May 7th at the Regenstein Center at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  Starting at 7:00PM, we'll be holding our annual repotting meeting.  Bring trees ready to repot, or if you're done with repotting, bring your skills to share with others!
Note: There will be no Bonsai 101 to allow for more time for repotting.

More information available on our Meetings page.

See you there!

Less than two weeks away from the Spring Bonsai Exhibit, the Society is hard at work finalizing the plans for the exhibit to be held May 12 and 13th.

Visit us at the Chicago Botanic Garden for our exhibit focused on education about Bonsai. New to Bonsai? Take a workshop, or peruse the items for sale from our vendors. More details available on our May Exhibit page.

Our next Society General Meeting will be held at 7PM on April 2nd at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

At 7:00PM the meeting with start with a brief Bonsai 101 session on an overview of repotting.  We'll then hold the general meeting starting around 7:30PM, covering Society Business, and then will have a presentation on stands from stand maker Austin Heitzman.  Austin's work can be seen on his website.

More information on our meeting schedule, and key information on getting to the meeting at the Garden, is available on our Meetings page.

With Spring just around the corner, and Bonsai season picking up steam, it's still hard to believe that just under two months from now, May 12/13th, will mark the 14th Annual May Bonsai Exhibit held at The Chicago Botanic Garden !

Mark your calendars for this popular event! Vendors from across the Midwest will be selling Bonsai-related wares.  Bonsai workshops for those of all ages will help you cultivate a new interest, or build skills you haven't had prior.

And of course, trees will be shown in this non-judged show.  Tree entries are open to all skill levels, regardless of residency or membership in the society.

Full details are available on our May Exhibit page.  Look for further details as the event nears here on our Website, as well as on Facebook.

We hope to see you there!

On July 10th, 2017, Bonsai Artist David Martinez-Moreno visited to give last-minute advice to our membership ahead of the 40th Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibit that was held the following month.  David also gave detailed advice about Junipers, regarding trunk thickness, bending and shaping, and the right time of the year to do work on trees.

A video of his visit is now available under About Bonsai > Videos

Our first Society meeting of 2018 is this Monday at 7PM.

Join us as we host Chris Baker, the Curator of the Bonsai Collection at the Chicago Botanic Garden, as he presents on soil compositions and preparation.

As always, our meeting is at The Chicago Botanic Garden in the Regenstein Center.  Hope to see you there!

It's that time of year! Our Annual Holiday Party is December 7th.

More details on our 2017 Annual Holiday Party page.

While the bonsai season is winding down for 2017, we're already hard at work scheduling and planning the General Meetings for 2018!

The full schedule of the meetings is now available on our Meetings page.  While topics haven't yet been announced, mark your calendars so you don't miss a meeting!

Have a suggestion for a meeting topic? We'd love to hear from you!

Our November Society meeting will be held on November 6th at the Chicago Botanic Garden and is the last meeting of 2017.  The meeting will start at 7PM with Bonsai 101, and the main meeting will be the elections for our Board.  The following positions are open:
President
Executive Vice President
Vice President in Charge of Special Events
Vice President in Charge of Monthly Programs
Treasurer
Secretary
3 Member-at-Large Positions

Hope to see you at the meeting!

Join us for our October meeting on Monday October 2nd. At 7PM our Bonsai 101 session will cover purchasing new trees, as well as fall care for bonsai. At 7:30, we will have our annual White Elephant sale. Bring items you no longer want to sell to other society members. Hope to see you there!

The 40th Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition was held August 18-20th.  Being one of the largest exhibitions in recent history, we're proud of the quality of the trees exhibited by members of the Midwest Bonsai Society, as well as other Bonsai enthusiasts from around the region and country!

We've prepared a Exhibition Review page, which includes a gallery of selected ribbon winners.

And don't forget to save the date! The 41st Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition will return to the Chicago Botanic Garden August 17-19, 2018 - it's never too early to start planning and preparing trees!

Join us Monday for our August Society Meeting. Past president Cat Nelson will be speaking about accent plants - with a specific focus on preparing them and other accessories for the August Exhibition. We'll also dedicate time during the meeting to preparing your own trees and displays - so please bring items you are planning to show! Reminder, only 2 weeks until the 40th Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition. More information on our page dedicated to the August Exhibition.

Due to the Labor Day holiday, we've moved the September Society meeting up one week - our "September" meeting will be held at 7PM on August 28th.

We'll be doing a recap of the 40th Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition that happens just a week prior.

More information is available on our Meetings page.

We're only three weeks away from the 40th Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition, held as always at the Chicago Botanic Garden!

Join us August 18-20 for one of the largest Bonsai Exhibitions in the United States.  Trees from around the country will be on display, along with vendors, workshops and demonstrations, all centered around the Chicago Botanic Garden's world-class Bonsai collection.  Guest Master Kathy Shaner will be presiding over the judging of the trees.

More information is available on our page dedicated to the August Exhibition.  See you then!

Due to the migration of Boxwood Blight into the areas of Lake and Cook Counties, Illinois, the Chicago Botanic Garden has instituted a policy disallowing all Buxus plant materials brought in by visitors, vendors and others to the Garden, to protect the Garden's collections.  This has immediate impact to the Society, Visiting Guest Artists, and attendees registering trees for our twice-yearly exhibitions. Read more about Boxwood Blight at our dedicated page.

Only three days to our May Exhibit! Online tree registration is now open. Details on tree registration, as well as other pertinent details on the Exhibit, are available on our May Exhibit page.