Bonsai hobby

Bonsai is a tree grown in a pot or tray and pruned in a special way. It is a type of tree that has both ancient and artistic features, a harmony between art and gardening.

Mr. Tran Van Nguyet, group 3, Quyet Tam ward, City, takes care of bonsai trees.

The hobby of bonsai in Son La has existed for many years, attracting a large number of members of the local ornamental plant community to participate. Bonsai pots with beautiful, lively and harmonious shapes are considered as “brainchildren” from nature, combined with the skillful hands of the creator, bringing many emotions to the viewer.

Currently, in the province, there are 34 bonsai associations, with 528 members playing bonsai; the most developed are Moc Chau, Song Ma, Mai Son districts and Son La city. There are 7 provincial-level artisans, 5 typical central-level bonsai gardeners, 46 gardeners achieving the title of typical provincial gardeners with thousands of trees of all kinds, with a total value of bonsai trees in the garden of over 40 billion VND.

According to long-time bonsai artists, the beauty of a tree is the harmony of the trunk, branches, canopy, and pot. The branches and leaves of the tree are miniaturized by the creator, the smaller the more beautiful, and the flowers are only a secondary element. A beautiful bonsai tree must ensure the elements of "ancient, strange, and beautiful". "Ancient" is understood as the age of the tree; the element "strange" is strange, unique, or also known as a rare herb; "beautiful" is beauty, perfection.

Bonsai trees have 4 basic shapes: upright, horizontal, inclined and downward. Nowadays, there are many types of bonsai trees, such as pine, cypress, bougainvillea, guava, fishbone, banyan, ficus, etc. Any woody plant, under the hands of the player through the creation process, will have a new appearance and new value. Therefore, to have bonsai pots with strong artistic character, the creator must devote his heart, effort, passion and have a high aesthetic eye, rich imagination to put into his work...

Bonsai paper flower work by Huyen Anh gardener, group 2, Chieng An ward, City.

Song Ma district has 7 bonsai associations, with 96 members, mainly aged 50 - 80; some members have garden products worth from 500 - 700 million VND; many members have an income of over 100 million VND/year from bonsai.

As one of the long-time bonsai artists, the bonsai garden of Mr. Vu Xuan Tung's family, group 2, Song Ma town, Song Ma district, has over 100 valuable bonsai and art bonsai trees; each tree has a different shape and position, bringing different feelings about art to those who admire it.

Mr. Tung shared: Many bonsai trees are from a few dozen to over 100 years old, such as the "Ngu Long" elm tree; the "Quan Thu" banyan tree; the "Tru Cot" pine tree... bonsai trees have been selected for many years to participate in exhibitions and bonsai competitions in and outside the province, winning a number of gold, silver, bronze awards and certificates of promising bonsai trees.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Toan, group 7, Chieng Le ward, city, shares experiences in caring for and creating bonsai trees.

Talking about bonsai trees means talking about trees shaped by techniques of care, pruning into shape, with a balanced number of branches and canopy with a suitable subject. Therefore, playing bonsai trees is quite elaborate, requiring the tree player to be patient, meticulous and rich in life experience, love for nature, country and people, have a high aesthetic sense, rich imagination... to create works of unique art and express profound philosophy of human ethics to advise children to respect the good and right things in life such as "Three obediences and four virtues", "Mother and child" or "Five blessings and glory".

Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Group 2, Chieng An Ward, City, shared: My family's bonsai garden is mainly medium and mini bonsai. I focus on easy-to-care-for plants, such as bougainvillea, Japanese pine, pine, cypress... Playing with bonsai has helped me gain more patience and reduce my temper. I find that playing with bonsai is close to nature, making my soul lighter.

Visitors come to see bonsai trees at Huyen Anh garden, Chieng An ward, City.

Bonsai trees bring people a richer spiritual life, healthier and have the will to reach for truth - goodness - beauty. And above all, bonsai players can satisfy their passion with creative works of art that are loved by many people.

Article and photos: Truong Son

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