Bonsai INDY — My Journey into the World of Bonsai

WELCOME TO MY JOURNEY WITH THE BONSAI!

WHY I AM STARTING THIS JOURNEY…

I have always been envious of people who have really cool, interesting hobbies that they can throw themselves into.  Hobbies that require a time commitment (some, but not too much!) that takes them away from their screens.  Hobbies that require some skill and knowledge and are unusual but not overwhelming.  Ones where you can meet people (but not too many people).  Hobbies that make life more interesting.

About three years ago I visited the National Arboretum with my husband and my bonus son (better word for stepson) in Washington D.C. U.S. National Arboretum (usda.gov).  I’m an avid hiker.  I have always loved trees and really enjoyed walking the grounds at the Arboretum.  Trees are amazing.  As we neared the end, we entered the bonsai exhibit  of the National Bonsai Penjing Museum. National Bonsai Foundation – Bonsai Museum Washington DC (bonsai-nbf.org).  Here is where I learned a small fact that blew my mind – and got me hooked.  I knew I had found my hobby.  I held on to it.  Three years later I actually started.

I had seen bonsais before.  Who hasn’t?  But I always thought of the bonsai as one specific tree that has been trained into an artful shape.  I now know this is the Juniper Tree.  See image below.

While these are kind of interesting, they aren’t really my cup of tea.  I’ve always felt that nature is beautiful in and of itself – no interruption needed.

But then I learned (drum roll) that ANY tree can be trained to be a bonsai tree.  A tree you know and love, but in a miniature form.  With tiny leaves.  That change color in the fall.  Drop their leaves.  And grow back in the spring.  MIND BLOWN.  I was hooked.

My love of trees comes from two places.  First, many of my favorite places growing and where I have lived have an iconic tree associated with them.  The Weeping Willow at my neighbor’s house in Edison, NJ, where I would pull leaves and make soup “leaf and stone soup” with my elderly next door neighbor.  The Crab Apple tree in my grandmother’s backyard.  We would all run out back and climb the tree, use the fallen apples for target practice, eat them until we were sick.  Now I live in Western Mass and have the town’s largest oak in my backyard and the most amazing Silver Beech gracing the side of our house that my kids loved to climb.   The 15’ high Rhododendrons that were the backdrop for all the prom photos for all three of my children.

Anyway, they say YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU.  But I plan to TAKE THEM WITH ME.

WHY DO I THINK BONSAI IS RIGHT FOR ME?

LOVE OF WOODS AND TREES.  Second is my love of hiking.  All season (maybe not Summer so much – hate bugs and sweating in humidity).  But Spring, Fall, Winter.  You can keep Florida, but give me the woods.  I have always had a high stress job that requires me to manage a team, talk incessantly, win people over.  I love it, but it can be exhausting.  My oasis has been a walk in the woods.  I am blessed by living in a place where the woods are abundant, and the trail possibilities are endless.  Feeling stressed?  Grab Bella (our amazing dog) and take a hike.  At least one hour.  At least 500ft elevation gain.  Come back a new person.  I heard once that it has been scientifically proven that the color green is calming.  I believe that.  Maybe a topic to explore later.

But I won’t be able to take the hikes forever.  So, I plan to bring my trees and my forests to my home, in the form of a bonsai garden, that I can take with me wherever I end up going in life. 

WHAT THIS BLOG WILL DO

I know growing bonsais is very challenging.  I expect many of my starter trees not to make it.  So, I thought it would be interesting to share this journey with the world.  What works, what fails, grand successes and utter failures.  This blog will track my journey.  I’m doing this blog for me.  I bought a journal but quickly realized I want to insert photos and videos.  I want to take pictures of my mother trees in all seasons and see how closely my bonsais replicate the real thing.  In short, a blog seems like the best place. 

MY BONSAI – NATURE IS THE ART

One thing that will be a bit different, and possibly frowned upon by the bonsai community (I am learning that there is actually a bonsai community – who knew?) is that I do not want to train my trees into “works of art.”  I do not plan to twist or train them into sculptures.  Rather, I want to recreate them to be tiny replicas of their mother trees.  I envision a tiny birch forest like the one on the Robert Frost Trail, a group of beech or a mini swamp like the Greene Swamp Preserve from my favorite loop at Bull Hill.  This style of bonsai may be frowned upon.  But it may not.  I’ll let you know.