IN THE CARE and tending of bonsai trees, special attention is paid to the trunk.
IN THE CARE and tending of bonsai trees, special attention is paid to the trunk. Although it is the foliage and crown that may be noticed first, it is really the trunk that provides ‘character.’ That gives the impression of age and strength and substance, and of something interesting. With a good trunk, a good bonsai can be made. These little ones are well on their way. Without the pots and the background, you might even imagine you are looking at a great old tree in the forest or on a mountainside. I like to do that.
Human beings are, of course, similar. With a good trunk and strong roots, a good life can be made. The visible greenery always depends upon the strong structure of the sometimes less visible parts.
With my bonsais I also like to include rocks. They have their own great age and meanings, can be imagined as boulders or bedrock outcrops, and remind me of favorite places I have found them. Here we have with the trees, in order, vesicular basalt from Lake Superior’s North Shore, a fossil-filled limestone from southeast MN bluff country, a Petoskey stone (fossilized coral) from Lake Michigan, and granite from Voyageurs National Park.