NABF Newsletter No. 3

Feature #5

CONSTANCE DERDERIAN

By Jerald P. Stowell

Constance, flanked by Jerry Stowell (L) and Lynn Perry (R), taken on the Shinkansen in Japan in the 1960s. Photo by Adachi Michio

Constance Derderian was a leader and teacher in the Boston, Massachusetts area. She was a Director and Secretary of the American Bonsai Society and a President of the Bonsai Study Group of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Connie participated in the bonsai workshop and study tour to Japan in 1967. Instrumental in organizing and caring for the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection of the Arnold Arboretum, she was named Honorary Curator. She was awarded a Gold Metal for her skill in bonsai culture and for sharing her knowledge of the art form. The Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection was repotted under her direction n 1969.

Connie attended the first annual meeting of the American Bonsai Society in Cleveland, Ohio on June 15, 1968. She spoke on the art of growing chrysanthemums as bonsai. Connie wrote articles for the American Bonsai Society Journal. Her bonsai subjects ranged from tropical to temperate trees. She grew tropical species in a window in her home as well as temperate material in Watertown, Massachusetts. In later years, she brought the tropical bonsai with her to Boca Raton, Florida where she spent the winters.