The age-old art form, Japanese bonsai:

Still fascinates, spellbinds !

In Japanese, bonsai literally means ‘planting on a tray ‘. Originating in Asia, eons ago bonsai has developed in to a whole new art form that fascinates the eye and spellbinds the mind.

The tree and the pot form a single harmonious unit where the shape, texture and colour of one, compliments the other. Then the art of shaping up the tree begins.

It is not enough just to plant a tree in a pot and allow nature to take over. Bonsai is a entirely new phenomenon where the tree is manipulated to grow in to a minute version through artificial mitigation.

Every branch and twig of a bonsai is shaped or eliminated until the chosen image is achieved. From then on, the image is maintained and improved by a constant regime of pruning and trimming to attain the tree designer’s dream plant.

It is the art of dwarfing trees or plants and developing them into an aesthetically appealing shape by growing, pruning and training them in containers according to prescribed techniques. In other words it is a discipline that physically moulds and shapes a tree to take on an artificial form; controlling the natural growth pattern.

Overall, bonsai is of great interest to many, a hobby or even a profession to profitably indulge in. Although famous theologians have claimed that it is actually 90% art to a meager 10% of horticulture, it has to be said that a successful bonsai is most definitely a horticultural masterpiece.

Once arriving in the Western World, this enjoyable and rewarding pastime has never turned back, and has gained a magnificently diverse range of plant material and techniques. Today this ancient Japanese art adorns homes, castles and palaces of the rich and famous as well as the commoner with equal aplomb.

Bonsai has come a long way and have planted itself deep in the heart and art of modern civilizations. It will be there in the next millennium too, to outlive us all.

CF