Ruth McLucas says there is more to the art of bonsai than just cutting branches from trees. Photo: Canberra Bonsai Society.
When Ruth McLucas came to Canberra, she found a community sharing an ancient practice.
In the Chinese and Japanese art of bonsai, growers prune and shape branches and leaves to create miniature versions of the tree’s full-size counterparts.
Ruth started growing (and shaping) the tiny trees in Melbourne in 1980, taking lessons with famed bonsai enthusiast and author Max Leversha, and joined the Canberra Bonsai Society after moving to Canberra the following year.
“It was very friendly and welcoming. It was really that friendliness and the people I met that kept me going and wanting to keep coming back,” she said.
Ruth’s first bonsai meetings in the bush capital were held at Willow Park Nursery. Members would bring their plants, she said, and work on them while talking to each other.
Sometimes there would be guest demonstrators or workshop leaders coming from Sydney, Melbourne, as well as Japan or America. But the trees were the focus.
“It was a place where I wasn’t mum, and I wasn’t Mrs McLucas,” she said.
“It was somewhere where I was Ruth, and I could interact with people who had similar interests in plants and working with plants,” she said.
As the Canberra Bonsai Society grew, they moved through several locations over the years – their meetings are currently held at the Hughes Community Centre in Hughes, the group’s home since 1993.
“When you get a whole lot of people together, the whole amount of knowledge you can call on is a lot greater,” she said.
During her time with the Canberra Bonsai Society, Ruth served as a committee member and president for more than 12 years before stepping down.
For Ruth, bonsai tests creativity and dedication in equal measure.
“The way I was taught is very formal [and] stylised – you follow certain rules. There are different names for different styles,” she said.
“Some people still adhere to that because that is what attracted them to bonsai. But others are taking a bit more of a spontaneous, free-form approach, inspired by things they see in nature.
“Bonsai don’t have to be old or big or expensive to give a lot of pleasure.”
As Canberra Bonsai Society nears its 50th anniversary, current president Tony Gill says the group has “not only survived, but thrived” since a small group of CIT horticulture students founded it in 1975.
Each meeting has about 80 to 90 people, with most of their 270 members living in Canberra and the surrounding area.
“Our youngest member is eight-year-old Henry, while our oldest member is actually 101,” he said.
“It’s a social gathering, with a common interest in gardening – specifically bonsai.”
In recent months, the members have been hard at work nurturing their plants for a birthday show held as part of the Association of Australian Bonsai Clubs’ (AABC) National Bonsai Convention.
“We’ve been planning for the last two years, and we’ve actually sold out the delegate position and all associated activities, master classes and workshops,” he said.
The public is welcome to visit the AABC convention to see their local bonsai club’s show, set to feature more than 100 trees, distinctive pots and bonsai display stones (suiseki).
The Canberra Bonsai Society has monthly meetings (except for January and October) on the first Saturday of the month at 9:30 am at the Hughes Community Centre. Their show will be held from 17 May to 18 May, with tickets costing $7 (concession) or $10 (adults).
The AABC National Bonsai Convention will be held from 16 May to 19 May at the Canberra Rex Hotel at 150 Northbourne Avenue in Braddon. It is supported by the ACT Government, with masterclasses and workshops on the use of the facilities at the National Arboretum Canberra.
