On this gray day with no sight of either sun or snow, I took myself and my first bought – podocarpus that I named Benji – to one of the islands of Stockholm to meet true bonsai enthusiasts of the North – the Eastern wing of the Swedish Bonsai Society. This time one of the members and a big fan of bonsai and Japanese culture was hosting the year’s first inspirational meeting.
Bring me to a place with pine trees and I feel happy already.
Add some fish to the scene and I am in heaven.
The outdoor bonsai belonging to the host were partly covered by leaves (for lack of snow) for winter …
…and hard to spot in their natiral setting.
I was curious and desperate to get all the advice I could on what to do with my little plant I got at the local supermarket. When I had shared the news about my purchase at the Swedish forum, the reply was not an optimistic one: “Welcome to the society but don’t get upset when your podocarpus dies”. Apparently, those buggers are not so easy to grow in our climate. I decided to give it a try and use if for pratice.
Plenty of information for my poor head but also lots of inspiration. Benji is facing a make over. The ambition is to learn to see the potential of the tree and not to follow some preconceived idea of what it should be styled like (which is the stage where I am right now).
What I like about this new hobby of mine is that there are always things to learn and not only on the technical level. One thing for sure: I will never look at the trees outside the same way. For one thing, I suspect I was one in my previous life.
