Because of my love for trees, I took on a hobby that has been around for a long time. The history of Bonsai trees begins in China and extends to our time. I love houseplants because they give life to a home, but I have a special affinity to the Bonsai tree because it is a miniature of something larger and more powerful.
A Bonsai can actually mimic a whole forrest. These groupings have a special formula. They should be created in groupings of five or seven. Because they are in such shallow soil, they must be cared for daily. They cannot be left alone, or they will die of thirst. Both the top of the tree and its roots must be pruned must be pruned regularly to maintain it's proper porportions.
A few years ago, Robert gave me a money tree. It looked very similar to the one to the left. There were five trees braided together and there was a cloud of leaves above the trunks. The picture to the left is not the one that Robert gave me, but it is similar to the one I got from him.
I'm no bonsai artist, but I have enjoyed taking care of Robert's little tree. We've had it now for several years. I've lost three of the five trunks and the branches are getting quite leggy. I don't know how to prune them back without killing the plant. 
When Eddie passed away, someone gave us a potted plant. Betty has cared for it and it has grown from a table top arrangement to a plant that is thre to four feet tall and stands on the floor. I took a snipping of the plant and put it in a bonsai pot. I've enjoyed pruning it and shaping it. You can see from the picture at the right that I have a wild branch that I either need to wire or snip to bring it back to a better shape. I think I'll try bending it first.
The plant at the right is a jade. I stuck a clipping in a bonsai pot and have been keeping it for about a year. For a while I thought it would never be more than a couple of leaves. In the last couple of months, it has started branching. This plant is quite easy to prune. It can be done with a sharp fingernail and a pinch. The oriental statuette was a gift from one of my home teaching families. One of their boys served a mission in China.
My trees have taught me a lot of lessons. For the last five years, I have taken care this little tree and have watched it flourish. As the spruce trees in the neighborhood were producing buds, this little tree did too. It stayed outside during the winter and endured just as its larger cousins. When we moved into this house, there was no shade tree we could put it under, so we put it on a table under the patio cover. While we cared for it, it did well, but when we neglected it it could not survive. Because of the small pot, it didn't take long for the tree to die from thirst.
I'll replace the little tree, but I'll be a bit wiser. I will remember this experience and care for the tree as I should.
Relationships are like these trees. They flourish with the proper amount of care, and if they don't get the care they need they grow sick and die.
5 comments:
I think it is an interesting hobby. Life teaches us lessons in many ways. I seem to be a slow learner. I think your trees are neat.
A bonsai would not do well in my house. Thank you for sharing your experiences with bonsai plants. As of lat my hobby has been BLOGGING. I have been pleased to see that there is traffic to some of the BLOGs from all around the world. Some of the traffic seems to be incidental, but there are signs that some extended family is lurking.
Mom, why do you say that you are a slow learner? I don't see you in that light.
Larry, I too enjoy blogging. I feel a little frustrated at times that I can't think of anything interesting to write about and that at times you and I are the only ones that have touched my blog. I need to work harder at it.
It takes alot for me to keep my house plants alive. I have one tree that I got when Adam was born, when we moved here our cat started peeing in the pot it was in, needless to say it started losing all it's leaves. I was sad it was twelve years old. I've left it in the pot, a scary site, in hopes that it will produce leaves and look beautiful again. It's obviously a hardy desert-like tree because it has lived. It now has a few leaves sprouting on top. I have wished it to stay alive, maybe that's why it has. I also want you to know I enjoy your comments.
Never underestimate your influence. You may find that through the simple things you do and the small steps you take in behalf of others that you are enabling a great and marvelous work.
I am amazed at some of the traffic that is being directed to the BLOGs. I believe there are people out there that are lurking and reading, even though infrequently.
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