Marcela Ferreira Workshops May 2026
Marcela Ferreira of Native Inspiration Bonsai recently visited the club to lead a series of weekend workshops for members.
The workshops were well attended, with members bringing a range of native and exotic trees for styling. Marcela generously shared her extensive knowledge of native species and encouraged all participants to explore the many wonderful species we have that are well suited to bonsai.
Some of the participants were happy to share their workshop experience:-
I booked the morning and afternoon sessions because I knew the tree that I was bringing along was medium size and had quite a lot of growth on it and needed quite a lot of work. It hadn’t had any serious training – never had the touch of any wire – for the 15 years that I’ve had it. I wanted to be able to spend some time with an experienced professional going through possible design iterations and actively achieving as much as possible while at the workshop.
The location at Pembroke School was convenient, level and with parking nearby. A nice lunchroom next door with nice coffee available. The fellow bonsai nuts were all friendly and helpful, and we had a great atmosphere of sharing our ideas and experiences.
Marcela is lovely…friendly, approachable, knowledgeable – put some native bonsai myths to bed! I came away very happy with the process and with a tree that was a great step forward in its development.
I’d highly recommend this method of learning and engaging with other members in club.
Lou S
So pleased that I did attend Marcela’s workshop with my “out of contro”l peppercorn. I had no idea as to where to begin with it and had over some years caused a lot of die back due to incorrectly wiring in a way the was not natural for the trees’ growth. Marcela was so helpful with her suggestions for shape and ongoing growth. I feel that I have come away with a totally different tree and positive ideas for managing it in the future. Also, as a very novice participant it’s great to see and listen to what is suggested for the others in the group, that in itself I find a great learning experience.
A very big thank you to the club for organising these workshops and the Pembroke site is so good – easy access, parking and comfortable, especially with the weather on that day!!
Barbara H
As a baby in this new world, I mainly used online content as my primary learning tool. Watching and listening to Marcella in a more personal environment over multiple native species was extremely more informative for me than most videos.
Her vision and guidance with my tree has opened my eyes to attend more workshops.
Mark C
