Welcome to the Victorian Native Bonsai Club

Our club specialises in Australian Native Plants and Trees as Bonsai. We’d love for you to be part of our club. Feel free to browse our content rich website and for more information on how to join so you can be part of our community and gain access to other specialised videos, events and our species database, please click here.

Monthly Club meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month commencing at 7:30pm at the Newlands Senior Citizens Centre, 49-53 Murray Road, Coburg.

Workshops are held from 10:00am at the same venue on several Saturdays in the year, as shown in the club calendar.

Visitors are always welcome at club meetings and workshops.

LATEST NEWS

  • November Club Meeting – Tuesday 12th Nov.

    The November club meeting, on Tuesday 12th November, was primarily a workshop night for members to work on their trees with advice or assistance from others as needed. The evening’s program included a review of several trees from the display table, as well as a critique session for a group review of a few trees put forward by members for analysis.

    The trees reviewed were a varied lot, from some young trees which were just beginning their bonsai journey, through to a more substantial “garden rescue” tree. As usual, there is always plenty for everyone to learn through these critique sessions, and, of course, for many of the trees there is often no single answer as to what the tree could become in later life.

    A well- attended meeting on the night, with several new members welcomed into the club.

    This was a recent large garden rescue Callistemon

     

    There were several possibilities suggested for this large Banksia

  • 10th Symposium – Australian Natives as Bonsai

    The 10th Symposium on Australian Natives as Bonsai – “Sharing Our Learnings” was held on 31st August and 1st September, hosted by the Victorian Native Bonsai Club, at the Treacy Centre, Parkville, Melbourne.

    This Symposium once again was intended to bring together much of the knowledge which continues to expand amongst bonsai growers in utilising Australian native plant species as bonsai, with demonstrations, discussions, exhibitions, critiques and workshops,  a concurrent Exhibition of Australian Native Species as Bonsai. An excellent set of presenters covered a range of topics during the symposium, with plenty of different species of trees to think about, and demonstrations of development of bonsai from collected plants, as well as group plantings.

    Steve Cullum presenting – finding different native species suitable for bonsai.

     

    Quentin considers the next steps for this tree

     

    Marcela and Craig working on separate group plantings
    The workshops were well-attended at the completion of the symposium

    This was certainly an event which was inspiring and encouraging for the participating bonsai enthusiasts to continue to work with Australian native species as Bonsai.

    Photo gallery of exhibition trees to be added shortly.

     

  • Change of club meeting venue from January 2024

    As of January 2024, we have a new venue for all club meetings and Saturday Workshops this year. The venue is now the Newlands Senior Citizens Centre, located at 49-53 Murray Road, Coburg, approx 1km to the east of our previous meeting rooms.

  • VNBC 2024 Exhibition: Shining a Light on Australian Plants as Bonsai

    The 2024 VNBC Exhibition – 15th March and 16th March, in the Preston Town Hall – what a great show of Australian native plant species as bonsai, and what a good crowd of visitors to enjoy the exhibition, both on the Friday night and most of Saturday.

    Altogether, we had nearly 70 trees and tree groups on display, ranging in size from the very small to the very large, and with such a diversity of species in the show. The range of species included representatives of Acacias, Banksias, Eucalypts, Sheoaks, Figs, Melaleucas, Leptospermums, and many more.

    Setting up the exhibition

     

    One of the quieter times, but still plenty of interest

    As usual, we had an award for the Best Eucalypt in Show, sponsored by Eucalypt Australia as part of the lead-up to National Eucalypt Day on March 24th. The winning tree was selected by our guest judge, Prof Ros Gleadow, the Chair of EA Board, and the prize this year went to a 40-year-old Red Box, Eucalyptus polyanthemos.

    Best Eucalypt in Show – Eucalyptus polyanthemos, Red Box

    We also continued the very popular Public’s Choice Award, with very strong voting over the two days by the visiting crowds. While there was quite strong numbers of votes for several of the trees, this year the winning number of votes went to a magnificent Coastal Tea Tree, Leptospermum laevigatum, the “Three Headed Monster” hanging from a cliff face.

    Public Choice Award – Coastal Tea Tree, Leptospermum laevigatum

    The sales area was also well patronized over the weekend, demonstrating that there are many people who want to start and/or continue to develop their enjoyment of the art of bonsai.

    Our thanks to all who participated – members, supporters, family and friends, and the cheerful crowd of visitors, who all came to enjoy seeing outstanding specimens of bonsai featuring many of our Australian native plant species. We will be back again next year, of course, to continue the story.

     

  • Interested in becoming a member of VNBC?

    Membership of the Victorian Native Bonsai Club is a great avenue for anyone who wants to develop their understanding and skills in growing bonsai using Australian native plant species.
    Access to support, new ideas, knowledge of others, regular Club newsletters, a database of information, and much more, all come as benefits of club membership.
    The Victorian Native Bonsai Club is keen to hear from you if you are interested in membership.
    Just click on the “Joining” tab in the menu list, and follow the prompts.