The Way Bonsai People See the World

Bonsai Iterate

I happened to pass a shopping center where they were tearing out all of the trees and shrubs from all the medians in the parking lot. My reaction to this really got me thinking about just how differently bonsai people see the world.

I guess this distinction was brought into focus when I ask someone working in one of the shops how long the work had been going on. When I suggested I might take one or more of the plants she looked at me like I was an alien.

I guess the average person would just see a big mess and maybe think, “Oh, how sad that all of those plants had to die.” A bonsai person, on the other hand, wonders how long the plants have been out of the ground and if any of them have viable roots.