Bonsais and Books For The Winter Art Market, Rome, Georgia

December 3, 2021

Reflections Day 53

“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful, and optimistic. We can change the world.”

–Jack Layton

It began with the realization that perhaps most of the questions I have been asked about plants and landscaping over the past forty years have to do with pruning. I started a blog in 2009 titled johntheplantman.com and the first article I published was titled “The Basics of Pruning.” In about 2016, while reviewing the stats on the blog, I realized that this first article received more hits than any of the other 250 articles that I had published over the years. That’s when we began writing a book with the same title, “The Basics of Pruning.”

Every December for several years, the dynamic ladies at the Rome Visitors and Convention Center have organized and sponsored The Winter Art Market. It’s a neat gathering of Georgia Artists from a number of disciplines. They have food, gifts, neat stuff, pottery, honey, wood turnings, and garden art.

In early 2019, I spoke with those dynamic ladies about selling The Basics of Pruning at the Art Market. We were invited to be a part of the Market. It was early summer when I got the news.

The book had not been finished.

But I told Dekie, “This puts the pressure on and we will have to finish it now.” And we did. The printed books arrived in plenty of time, two weeks before the show.

In September of 2019, I remarked, “Sweetie, I think that we could use a few bonsai trees to generate interest in the pruning process.” I had been growing the small trees as a hobby. Well, it was a hit. We sold out of the bonsais, the pruning book was (and still is) popular, and we had some of our other books with us.

So, we signed up for the Winter Art Market in 2020. You know how that went. I had spent the COVID isolation time working in the garden and preparing bonsai trees. They were really developing well. And then there was no show because of the Pandemic.

But, the trees don’t spoil—they grow, mature, and become more well-developed with time. My hobby turned into a haven of meditation and joy. But, since I am known for going overboard sometimes, we need to share some of them with others.

So, tomorrow, we will be setting up our display for the Winter Art Market which will open Saturday, December 4 and run through Sunday, December 5. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and in making some new ones.

I’m not sure of the timing, but some time during the weekend Dekie and I will present “The John and Dekie Ten Minute Bonsai Show.” At the end of the show which should last eleven minutes, we will have produced a beautiful planter using a tree that I will purchase at a local nursery tomorrow. At the end of the show we will draw names and some lovely person will take the small garden home with them.

Y’all come now, Y’Hear?”

—john schulz, dekie hicks