There’s another story that each tree tells..

Bonsai artists always talk about designing a tree so that it tells a story. We want the movement, the bark, or the deadwood to tell us a story of survival. We want the tree to tell us that it has lived many more lives than us and has overcome decades of struggle.

I’ve found that these are the stories that a tree tells a passerby. This is what it tells a viewer at a show or a visitor to our garden. There’s another story that each tree tells though; and that is the story that it tells only its caretaker.

When I look at my trees now, I very rarely think of the stories that I am trying to tell the viewer with the tree’s design. The only days that I think of that story are the days that I’m working on that tree, and the other days outnumber those days 100:1.

I want to discuss those other days. These are the days that we are just viewing or watering our trees. These are the days that the tree tells you the other stories. It tells a story of a collecting trip, or a visit to a nursery, or time spent with a well-known artist. Many times, it tells a story of good friends and good people. As time passes, it tells a story of many stories meshing into one.

Let’s take a look at the two stories that this tree tells.

This tree tells the reader or visitor a story of survival. I’ve heard “is that even alive?” I’ve heard “that’s crazy”. I asked a young admirer of the tree, “Do you like weird trees?” and she responded with a nod and showed me that she had already made a drawing of it.

These types of stories are beautiful and exactly what you’re hoping for when you design a tree, but as warm as this type of response from a viewer can be, it reminds me of the even warmer stories that the outside viewer can never see. A collecting trip with a great friend.

A tree is 100 snapshots. The story of this tree continues with the work that was done on it with Suthin. I believe his words were simply “This is a difficult tree” before he used his entire weight to bend the trunk. It continues with snapshots of looking outside and seeing a bird sitting on the almost-6 foot tall-spike. These are the stories that no outside viewer sees.

You as the viewer can decide what story this next tree tells you. I’d be interested to hear.

It tells me a story of my first ever spring sale at New England Bonsai Gardens. A day that Ashley recognized me from the internet and offered me a tree for free. It tells a story of taking a tree from essentially raw stock to a finished bonsai for the first time. The pride that I felt after displaying my first tree on the “club show” table at the Topsfield Fair.

These next trees hopefully tell you a tale of survival. It makes you question how they could have grown for so long only to have a huge portion die-off, but still survive.

This is not the tale that these trees tell me though.

It’s interesting that although my trees tell me a different story: A personal story; I also never lose sight of the story that it tells other people. I do still see the value, the flaws, the beauty, the story of survival. It’s just not the first story that I hear when visiting my trees.

These trees will be passed along some day, but only to recipients who will listen to this other story behind the tree and will keep that story alive. They will be expected to pass the true story along to the next owner if they should ever pass the tree along.

I think that we should all talk about the other stories that our trees tell more often.