With at least three different organizations promoting gardening in specialized fields, the future   of horticulture in Trinidad and Tobago looks very bright. 

Today, I will give you some news about two of them.

THE BONSAI SOCIETY

The Bonsai Society of Trinidad and Tobago, founded in 1992, has about 150 members.  It has done a marvelous job of introducing and promoting the ancient Japanese art of growing trees in miniature in containers. 

It does this mainly by mounting displays at shopping malls and other busy, public places, and inviting the interested onlookers to their monthly workshops.

The workshops are hands-on courses, in which the participants are taught techniques of creating bonsais in different styles, and at which they can purchase containers, tools and plants.

The Society also mounts displays at horticultural shows, but takes most pride in the    one it mounts at President’s  House on Independence Day.

As evidenced by the quality of plants seen in its displays, the Society has achieved the highest international standard.  In 1995, at the Bonsai Clubs International annual show held in Tokyo, John Yip Young, one of the founding members and the first president of the Society, was presented with the Ben Oki Award of Magnificence for a 75 year old Gmelina histrix, the only Bonsai grower from the Caribbean to have ever been so honoured.  This plant is now featured in the Society’s logo.

For more information about the Bonsai Society, you can write to P.O.Box 5154, Woodbrook, or phone the Secretary at 662-7194.

 The Orchid Society

The 250 member strong Trinidad and Tobago Orchid Society is a vibrant organization.    Founded in 1956 to bring orchid growers together and to encourage conservation, it also promotes the cultivation of orchid species and hybrids with special emphasis on hybridization and exhibition.

It has a remarkable record of winning international awards for locally bred orchids.   Its first such award was from the Royal Horticultural Society at the 1973 Chelsea Flower Show for a Miltassia “Limbo Dancer”, a locally bred hybrid.   Since then, prestigious Awards from international judges have become quite routine.

Since its inception, the society has produced annual Shows, at which members exhibit their prized blooms, and the public gets to see these exquisite flowers.

This year’s show in September will be a special one to celebrate the Society’s 50^th anniversary.  In addition to the Show, a commemorative stamp is being issued to mark this milestone in the history of horticulture in Trinidad and Tobago.

Visitors are welcome at the Orchid Society’s meetings, which are usually on the third Sunday of every month.

For further information, you can log on or e-mail to www.ttorchids.net or www.ttorchids.com, or write to P.O. Box 1128, Port of Spain

If you have any gardening news or tips you would like to share, or if you are having a problem in your garden, e-mail me at thehappygardner@tstt.net.tt

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