Big Dream for Small Trees

Gardening is one of my hobbies from childhood. All I know about gardening were growing roses, hibiscus and other flowering plants until I happened to see a program in Doordharsan about Bonsai. My curiosity to know about Bonsai picked up there.

Before I say more about my interest, here is a small intro about Bonsai. It is a Japanese art of growing big trees in small shallow pots. After years, these trees get the shape of any normal big tree in a miniature fashion.

Even though I got the interest but there were no sources of learning the techniques by that time and I stopped there. In-between I got a chance to visit bonsai exhibition at Ooty Botanical Garden organized by the Horticulture department of Tamilnadu. There I could see different varieties of bonsais which triggered the hidden interest once again.

An article about Bonsai in Metro Plus column of The Hindu gave a light to my interest. The write up was done by Mrs. Indira Mehta. I contacted her and learned the basic techniques in three classes. Now I have four years old bonsais. Picture posted here is atleast 40 years old trees. Only after 5+ years, bonsais will get a look of a tree. My bonsai collection is too young to get the shape. Will post the picture from my collection in coming years. As my master said, for growing bonsai you should have little interest and lots of patience.