IT could be a scene out of The Karate Kid movie, Mr Miyagi’s bonsai shop to be more specific.Thousands of these miniature trees line his garden, in a dazzling green and gold pattern.
Originally grown in the far east, bonsai have become a pastime for people all over the world, with experts and enthusiasts describing the pint sized plants as ‘living, breathing art.” Farouk Patel of Durban North agrees with this description.
For more than 30 years, the chairman of the Durban Bonsai Society has been collecting a forest of pint sized trees and has amassed well over a thousand plants in his three tiered garden.
“It’s like an obsession, once you are hooked, it’s hard to let go. Every bonsai tree is a thing of beauty. My family think I’m insane because of my collection but they also see how passionate I’m about the art,” he said.
Farouk has a little workshop in his back garden where he pots the bonsai trees expertly with an array of tools that line his table top. He expertly uses a branch of a larger tree and sculpts its branches and roots until the roots fit into a shallow dish. He then covers it with a mixture of manure and uMngeni sand.
“The art began about four 4 000 years ago in China, where it was known as Penjing. The Japanese took it further, using the art as something spiritual. If I remember correctly, South Africa first began importing them in the 1950’s. A woman in Cape Town started a nursery and it’s just grown from there,” he said.
Farouk who is also the treasurer at the South African Bonsai Association (SABA) said the country’s climate lends itself to growth.
“Almost any tree can become a bonsai. I’ve recently started using boababs as bonsai trees and they’ve bloomed beautifully. It’s not a complicated hobby. Bonsai need the air, water and sunshine to thrive and a lot of tender loving care,” he said.
