Page 71 - Demo

Spotlight on BCI Members
The Bougie Man from Koloa, Kauai
Sam Lee, Hawaii, USA
Sam Lee, a long-time BCI member, first came to our attention when he entered photographs of his beautiful Bougainvilleas in a recent BCI Photo Competition. Both the quality of his trees and the photos were exemplary. After exchanging a few e-mails regarding the photo compe- tition, we learned that Sam has over a hundred trees in his collection, including many more bougainvilleas of substantial size. Other species under development include Casuarina, Pemphis, Premna microphylla, Ju- niperus procumbens nana, Vitex rotundifolia, Ficus mi- crocarpa, Brazilian pepper, Guava, Lantana, Hibiscus, Tamarind, Olive, Acacia, Chinese privet, Paper bark, Baobab and more.
Now retired from the work force, Sam started bonsai in 1997 when he joined the local club, Kauai Bonsai, a 40-year-old society dedicated to promoting bonsai on the small island. Sam’s mentor was William Kaneakua who has been practising bonsai on Kauai for over 50 years. “His kindness and willingness to share his knowledge was singularly important to my developing a passion for bonsai during the early years,” says Sam. After a short five-year period, Sam had soaked up all that Kauai Bonsai had to offer and wanted more. Soon after, Sam and five other bonsai enthusiasts looking for a more intense approach to developing bonsai, organized a study group called Kauai Bonyu Kai, a name given to the group by Kenji Miyata. The group meets monthly, mounting exhibits two to three times a year and spends considerable ef- fort preparing the exhibit spaces such as painting the interior and whatever else has to be done to present a beautiful exhibit. One of the group’s most interesting exhibit venues is the Lawai Peace Garden at the annual Day of Compassion Festival.
There are no bonsai nurseries on Kauai so sourc- ing material is difficult. Sam’s training material comes from digging trees from old landscapes or from the wild, supplemented by occasional imports. Sam has become an expert in the process of importing trees from Indonesia, Taiwan and Japan, learning to navi- gate the complex maze of import permits, transport manifests and border crossings. His trees are trained with wire, and clip and grow methods. He is fond of the deadwood look, so carving is an important part of his practice. Sam spends as much time on bonsai activity as he can—literally hours per day, enjoying the rewards of his hobby and passion.
Top 3 photos; Bougainvillea glabra. Top right is Sam’s first Bougie. Inset; Vitex rotundifolia. Bottom left; some of Sam’s carving projects. Bottom right; Juniperus chinensis.
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