Bonsai Art

 

The art of bonsai always evokes wonder and admiration for the work of gardeners. Attitudes toward it vary. Some love it, while others view the plants with pity, considering bonsai not art but rather a mockery of plant nature. Generally, bonsai trees are associated with harmony, inner peace, balance, and positivity. Many use them as living decorations in their interiors.

 

When I saw these plants grown in bonsai style at the RHS Wisley Botanical Gardens, I immediately began photographing them. I really liked their shape and foliage. Some were blooming, others were striking in their appearance.

Here are photos, you can see conifers and maples of various species. Despite their small size, they retain their characteristic features and beauty. I liked this red-leaf maple, its roots intertwined in a small, shallow pot.

  

Bonsai is the Japanese art of cultivating miniature trees in containers through precise pruning, wiring, and root restriction to mimic the appearance of full-sized, aged trees.  

Bonsai can be created from nearly any woody-stemmed tree that produces true branches and can be cultivated to remain small through pot confinement with crown and root pruning.

 

I was delighted with the blooming azalea. In the city, I tried several times to get it to bloom again, creating all the conditions I thought it needed :), but it never bloomed. Here, at the botanical garden, the azalea bloomed and grew well in a small pot.

 

Such plants, grown in shallow, small pots, can easily be brought indoors for enjoyment in the winter when other plants outside are not growing or blooming. I also wanted to grow bonsai, but I was deterred by the fact that it's cold in a garden greenhouse in winter, making it impossible to keep them there.

 

This plant—I don't know its name—also amazes with its roots, which intertwine just above the soil surface. The plant has enough soil to grow so beautifully.

 

What do you think of the art of bonsai? Have you seen these plants, and what impression did they make on you?