Nash Nurseries hosts hands-on bonsai workshop with Mike Simmons
A full-day bonsai workshop at Nash Nurseries gave attendees a plant, materials, lunch and eight hours to learn pruning and shaping with Mike Simmons.
For Michigan bonsai growers looking for more than a quick demo, Nash Nurseries put together the kind of workshop that can actually move a beginner forward: a full day, a real tree, and Mike Simmons of the Mid-Michigan Bonsai Club guiding the process from first cuts to finished design. The session ran Saturday, May 16, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Nash Nurseries in Owosso, and the ticket was priced at $80 per attendee.
The format was built around doing, not just listening. Each participant was told to select a plant, then spend the day learning how to prune, shape and nurture it into a bonsai. That matters, because the biggest gap for new students is usually not enthusiasm, it is the jump from theory to the first wire, the first chop and the first decisions about future structure. Nash Nurseries said all essential materials were provided, lunch was included and attendees were encouraged to bring their own tools if they had them, which made the day feel closer to an immersive studio session than a lecture in a greenhouse.
The setting fit the assignment. Nash Nurseries is a seven-generation family business at 4975 W. Grand River Road in Owosso, and it specializes in nursery plants, large tree installation and custom tree planting. That kind of plant stock and practical tree-care background gives a bonsai class a different feel than a generic classroom, especially when the goal is to send people home with a tree they shaped themselves. Simmons’ connection to the Mid-Michigan Bonsai Club also gave the workshop local credibility, tying the session to an established bonsai community rather than a one-off craft event.
Nash Nurseries’ Eventbrite page said the nursery had been hosting events for eight years, with 31 followers, 17 events and 186 total attendees through its hosted programs. That footprint is small enough to feel personal and large enough to suggest repeat demand for hands-on horticulture in the region. The club side of the story was active too: Mid-Michigan Bonsai Club scheduled its next meeting for May 21, 2026, at Foster Community Center, Room 109, in Owosso, with members gathering at 6 p.m. and the meeting running from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The topic was propagation, including seeds, cuttings and air-layering, which fits neatly with the same practical, skill-building approach that made the Mike Simmons workshop worth the day.
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