Bonsai are living sculpture, the only type of art where your canvas has as much to say about the final composition as the artist.
People assume that growing a bonsai is like growing a houseplant. It’s not: It’s more like breeding exotic pets. In the photo above, I’m trimming the massive roots on one of the masterpiece bonsai in the James J. Smith Bonsai Gallery at Heathcote Botanical Garden in Ft. Pierce, FL. This is a significant bonsai that has been in training for about 40 years.
Mature bonsai require constant care to maintain their beauty.
The wizened gentleman in the photo above is the late James J. Smith, one of the most lauded bonsai masters in America. He’s trimming the pads on one of the Portulacaria Afra bonsai in the collection.
This tree has been in training for more than 40 years. Jim grew it from a cutting that was sent to him by someone in Africa. During those decades, the tree has been trimmed perhaps 150 times, root-pruned a dozen times, and redesigned at least four times.
So why would anyone do this? The answer is simple: Art is the expression of the longing of our soul. I’ve hiked and backpacked all over the country; viewed towering vistas from the tops of mountains in the East and the West. The trees I style are an expression of the same longing that drives me to seek out the lonely places of the world. When I gaze at my trees, I recall the far-away places I’ve been.
Read other answers by Tom Kehoe on Quora:
- Gardening: Why do Bonsai trees have small leaves?
- Would it be ok to begin growing a bonsai tree in my room?
- What's the easiest tree to use for bonsai?
from Quora http://ift.tt/2gbRFtU
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