Last Spring, I went to the NC Arboretum in Asheville with my parents.  The Arboretum has a bonsai garden.  I was blown away by the bitty trees and the groves of bitty trees.

My dad is as fascinated as I am.  He told me that they were going to do a workshop, but it was a weekend we were going to be on the other side of the state.  So, we have made a date to attend the workshop in 2015 together.

There was a multistate exhibition in October and it inspired us even more.   Pictures I took to show a friend are here.

Pop has some concern that my mother would object to a live plant in their condo, but I have learned that they aren’t houseplants.  Bonsai that would live outdoors in your area are outside bonsai.  If you have a tropical tree, then it does need to come in through the winter.  But, it should go outside as soon as possible.

I’m having a little trouble getting my head around that. I keep thinking that the roots will freeze in those bitty pots.  But, I have seen pictures of a bonsai collection with snow all over them.  So, it must be true.  I can’t imagine anyone putting that kind of effort into something and, then, letting it die on purpose.

I am 54 years old and beginning to learn something that takes decades.  If that isn’t optimism, I don’t know what is.