by Earl Ekman

On Saturday June 11, we will have our annual garden tour-picnic and we've got a great lineup of bonsai collections to see. The gardens we are going to visit belong to Gene Sewell, Ron Smith and George Buehler. Gene lives at 1509 S. 6th St., Station House Apts. Ron's garden is at 211 Bonner Ave and George's garden is at 6914 Windham Parkway in Prospect.

The schedule we have planned is as follows. Meet at Gene's at 2 PM to view his indoor grown trees, especially his Brazilian rain tree. There we will have drinks and snacks. From 2 to 3 PM you can head to Ron's to see his great collection of trees and possibly buy something from his trees, books and pots. Here we will have appetizers before we go to George's. From 4 PM to 5 PM you can visit George and Betty and view his bonsai garden. We will have our main meal & dessert at their house.

Please bring a vegetable dish or salad and a dessert. The food is always delicious. The club will furnish the meat dish, paper plates, utensils, napkins, chips, drinks, etc.

You may want to bring a couple of extra folding chairs so you can relax while you eat. The directions to each garden are presented on page two of this newsletter. I'm looking forward to seeing each of you. It should be a wonderful event.

The Yew Dell garden show in May was absolutely beautiful. Ask any member who was there. The trees were outstanding and the surrounding gardens were great. See the pictorial review starting on page 5. We are already making plans for next years show. Thanks to all the members who participated and helped out. You guys put on a fabulous show.

We are having a beginner workshop Tuesday, May 31st, 7 PM at the Bon Air library. We need lots of help so please plan on being there.

Best Regards, Earl