Bonsai literally translates as a "planting in a tray", but this isn't where bonsai really got it's start. Nature started the whole gig, and with imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, man decided to flatter mother nature and copy the idea.
The art of bonsai gardening started centuries ago in China, and was then adopted by many neighbouring communities, eventually spreading globally by this day and age. The word 'bonsai' is a Japanese pronunciation, taken from the Chinese word,
penzai, but the art itself originated from the Chinese art of
penjing. Bonsai has since become an umbrella term in the english language, that describes any miniature plant in a container.
Nature has formed some of the most unique and interesting bonsai though. Plants, being as resilient as they are, have found ways to live in some of the mort trying, and seemingly impossible places to grow.
Bonsai, quite literally, are plants that have a very confined root space in which to grow, usually with restricted water and nutrients. Because of the difficult environment, these plants grow very,
very slowly, and stunted or dwarfed. In nature, they tend to take on a very gnarled and misshapen form, often sculpted by strong winds at high elevations and years of abuse. Man has adopted this 'windswept' form as one of the traditional styles for modern, potted bonsai. Cultivated bonsai are far more picturesque, most notably from careful cultivation. Modern bonsai relies less on stressing the plants into stunted forms, and more on controlling their growth by regular root and stem pruning. Wires are often used to shape the plants to the desired form. Nutrients and water are provided regularly, though not generously or maximally, but enough to encourage strong and healthy, albeit,
slow and stunted growth.
In nature, these conditions exist primarily on rock faces, mountains, cliffs or in very harsh terrain or extreme climates. These plants somehow get a hold on life, wedged into cracks or crevasses in rocks where debris has collected over time to provide a substrate in which to grow. Most rocks are very non-porous, meaning that water runs right off of it, and water is available to these natural bonsai sparingly, and infrequently.
 |
| A tree in Methuselah Grove |
The most common natural bonsai are conifers, such as junipers or pines. Sometimes, entire rock faces can be covered in these miniature trees, looking young and lush, but really, are decades or centuries old. The oldest tree in the world is known as '
Methuselah'. Methuselah has spent between 4800 and 5000 years living in the White Mountains of California. She has a rather large family of her own, an entire dwarfed Bristlecone Pine forest growing at this high elevation. This forest, called
Methuselah Grove, is made up of trees well over four thousand years old, and somewhere amongst them, Methuselah hides. Her location remains a well-kept secret to protect her from vandalism, and photos of her are impossible to find to hide her identity. Methuselah and her ancient family have been around longer than all of man's recorded history, and lived longer than anything we've ever known.
The redwood forests, found in British Columbia down to California, have trees that regularly reach over three hundred feet tall. The largest redwood, and tallest tree in the
world, measuring 379.1 feet tall! These trees often live for thousands of years, but none have lived as long as Methuselah. With that being said, you would expect Methuselah to be a giant among other giants, but she stands not much taller than you or I. She is a bonsai, crafted with mother nature's cruel treatment and the harsh hands of time.
The art of bonsai gardening started centuries ago in China, and was then adopted by many neighbouring communities, eventually spreading globally by this day and age. The word 'bonsai' is a Japanese pronunciation, taken from the Chinese word, penzai, but the art itself originated from the Chinese art of penjing. Bonsai has since become an umbrella term in the english language, that describes any miniature plant in a container.
Nature has formed some of the most unique and interesting bonsai though. Plants, being as resilient as they are, have found ways to live in some of the mort trying, and seemingly impossible places to grow.
Bonsai, quite literally, are plants that have a very confined root space in which to grow, usually with restricted water and nutrients. Because of the difficult environment, these plants grow very, very slowly, and stunted or dwarfed. In nature, they tend to take on a very gnarled and misshapen form, often sculpted by strong winds at high elevations and years of abuse. Man has adopted this 'windswept' form as one of the traditional styles for modern, potted bonsai. Cultivated bonsai are far more picturesque, most notably from careful cultivation. Modern bonsai relies less on stressing the plants into stunted forms, and more on controlling their growth by regular root and stem pruning. Wires are often used to shape the plants to the desired form. Nutrients and water are provided regularly, though not generously or maximally, but enough to encourage strong and healthy, albeit, slow and stunted growth.
The redwood forests, found in British Columbia down to California, have trees that regularly reach over three hundred feet tall. The largest redwood, and tallest tree in the world, measuring 379.1 feet tall! These trees often live for thousands of years, but none have lived as long as Methuselah. With that being said, you would expect Methuselah to be a giant among other giants, but she stands not much taller than you or I. She is a bonsai, crafted with mother nature's cruel treatment and the harsh hands of time.