Page 71 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2014Q4

Spotlight on BCI Members

The Bougie Man from Koloa, Kauai

Sam Lee, Hawaii, USA

am 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
Strees 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.
October/November/December 2014 | BCI | 69