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Event
introduces Long Beach community to Japanese
culture
Workshop
• Club experts teach attendees
about Japanese plants at the Horticulture
Symposium Sunday. Nadia Abu-Hijleh / Online
Forty-Niner
By
Matt Pearson
Online Forty-Niner
Sports Editor
A
peaceful serenity presented itself as people
came to Cal State Long Beach to witness
the beautiful cultural display at the Japanese
Garden Horticulture Symposium on Sunday.
"Our
purpose in doing the Horticulture Symposium
is to provide opportunities for the community
to come here to the Japanese Garden and
be introduced to the ancient art of Japanese
horticulture," said director Jeanette
Schelin.
The
events included a bonsai workshop, an orchid
workshop, a koi pond workshop and an orchid
sale open to the public.
Gardena
Bonsai Club members put on a workshop which
taught a class on the art and proper care
of the bonsai tree. The workshop focused
on wiring, trimming and properly planting
a bonsai. During the workshop class members
were able to learn about bonsai trees from
people who have been practicing this art,
some for 30 or 40 years.
"This
is the time-honored way of learning from
Japan," Schelin said. "It's to
learn from a master."
Experts
from the Gardena Cymbidium Club taught a
class on how to care for orchids, which
are known for their long-lasting blooms
and breathtaking appearance.
James
Umemoto and his assistant Gary Kennell explained
orchids need to be in an environment where
there is a 20-degree temperature difference
between day and night. This is why summertime
in Southern California is an ideal climate
for orchids.
At
the workshop people could ask questions
on how to care for their own orchids and
the different options available. Class members
also learned how to transplant and divide
a plant in a hands-on demonstration.
Garden
curator and koi expert Vergil Hettick guided
a tour of the garden and gave a behind-the-scenes
look at how the pond is cared for. The tour
showed how the pond is kept clean, including
the use of the cyclomat, which is a tank
that pumps the gases out of the water and
into the city sewer system.
Another
way waste is kept out of the pond is by
regulating the food the fish eat. The public
can feed the fish, but they must buy food
from a feeder near the pond.
People
can pay 25 cents for a handful of food that
is safe for the fish and does not include
bacteria harmful to the water.
The
koi is a beautiful fish that is a prized
possession in Japanese culture, with some
fish in a price range of several hundred
to several thousand dollars.
"People
would not spend a $100,000 on a fish if
they weren't going to get recognized for
it," Hettick said.
During
the day, people were able to learn about
different forms of art and soak up the harmonious
atmosphere that surrounds the garden.
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