bonsai!

Yesterday Joseph and I went to a bonsai shop in Louisville owned by this old man. We were going to just look around- we have been thinking of trying our hands at bonsai--but we ended up coming home with a little starter tree. It is a Brazilian Raintree and is about seven years old. It will be a good tree to learn on because it can be inside or outside and is in general very tolerant. Its leaves close up at night and then open up again in the morning. I like that it shows that it feels the difference between day and night. Also, it has half inch thorns on it that aren't very sharp but it is a nice contrast to its tiny feathery soft leaves.


We hope to have a number of bonsai someday and even when we are living in an apartment, we can keep them on a balcony and then inside for the winter. Some of them can stay outside for winter, but they do better if they can be planted in the actual earth so that the roots stay more warm than they would in a pot.

At the shop where we got our tree, the man had a 70 year old raintree that was just beautiful. I hope ours will be that big someday- not that that is what it is about, but it was just so beautiful. Here is a photo of it.



The amazing thing about bonsai is how they can be so small and yet be very old and have all of the character and rough weathered look of full size tree, but be even more expressive since you can affect the shape.

Well, this weekend is my mom's birthday and I am going home to Martinsville, plus Tara and Matt are flying in. It will be a good weekend.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!