Bonsai Tree For Valentine's Day

When I asked my girlfriend what type of flowers I should buy her for Valentines Day, I thought she would say yellow roses, or pink carnations.

I wasnt expecting her to ask for bonsai trees. Bonsai what? Look, Im a guy that has very little sophistication when it comes to flowers, plants or gardening. So I didnt know a bonsai tree from a blueberry bush. And since I was dumb enough to ask my girlfriend what kind of flowers to buy, I guess I deserved to be stumped with her answer. (I also didnt ask her until a few days before Valentines Day, so I only had about 48 hours to bone up on bonsai trees and buy one.)

The first thing I did was scurry over to my local grocery store. They usually had a nice selection of bouquets. Maybe they had bonsai trees in the back room. Well, no such luck. But the clerk directed me to a neighborhood nursery, which in turn, directed me to a little shop in the trendy part of town that specialized in ornamental bushes. By now, I was sweating bullets, since I had just spent the last couple of hours driving around in search of these elusive trees.

However, I was lucky to find this little shop that exclusively sold these tiny tree arrangements. The owner told me that this wonderful magic tree was an ancient Japanese art form that literally translated means tray planting. He patiently explained that the little trees and the planter form one, single harmonious unit. The trees must be shaped and pruned and the branches cut or eliminated, until the bonsai tree achieves a chosen image. Keeping that image is the hard part, since it has to be continuously maintained and manicured. It sure sounded like a lot of work to me.

I was surprised to find that bonsai trees can be very pricey. The smallest arrangements were about $35 and went up from there. The owner of the shop had a huge forest of these trees in his front window. It was not for sale, but he told me it had been growing for almost 25 years! The most expensive piece in his shop was over $2,000. He also accepted special orders. I got a new respect for bonsai trees after this visit and I walked out with a small arrangement consisting of miniature juniper, which is one of the best trees for a beginning bonsai tree keeper. It cost me $65. In addition, it came with a gift certificate to attend a free class in the care and maintenance of her bonsai tree.

On Valentines Day, I presented my bonsai tree gift to my girlfriend and she squealed with delight. I was actually pretty proud of myself. In fact, I may go back and get my own little arrangement, so we can have a family of bonsai trees!