May 15, 2007

A new “baby”

My Mother’s Day gift arrived in the mail last week.  When I opened the box and unpacked all the styrofoam peanuts, what greeted me was a miniature tree, a bonsai tree.  The card was from "your karate kids" and it was a sweet and thoughtful gift.  Once I had the delicate tree out of the box, I saw a sheet of paper at the bottom of the box. 

The sheet was single-spaced, and typed on both front and back. . . the instructions for my bonsai tree’s care.  For most plants, the care instructions can be fit on something the size of a small bookmark, but for the bonsai. . .

-Watering is crucial, but don’t over-water and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, don’t under-water.

-Sunlight is crucial, but not too much direct sunlight and you better have a window that faces south or else the Bonsai Police are coming to take you away!

-Bonsai tree’s do best outside, but ONLY when there is no threat of frost.  Bringing the plant inside once it starts to get cool again is a gradual process.  You actually have to bring the tree in for a few hours at a time to reacclimate the tree.  Talking to the tree to let it know it’s going to be o.k is highly recommended (o.k. I added that last part). 

After reading the entire two pages, I started wishing the box contained a massage therapist instead, and started feeling like I now had three very temperamental children to care for.  And then, right at the end of the second detailed page?  A recommendation to buy the book about the complete care of the bonsai tree, because really, these two pages are just the basics. 

I’m including a picture of my bonsai tree now, because this is probably the best it will ever look. 

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Mr. Miyagi, where are you????

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Posted by on May 15, 2007 in Mental Strain for Mama | 11 Comments

Comments

11 Comments on A new “baby”

  1. Miss Chris on Tue, 15th May 2007 7:36 pm

    2. My neighbor is a bonsai expert. It’s his “therapy”. And he manages a spa! Does something about that seem unusual to you?

  2. Bush Mackel on Wed, 16th May 2007 12:29 am

    3. Mr. Miyagi : “BONZAI!!!!…Er, BONSAI!!!”

  3. the weirdgirl on Wed, 16th May 2007 1:32 am

    4. Is that a bamboo bonsai? Oh, it’ll be fine. I tend to baby my outdoor plants and neglect my indoor ones. (Yeah, I don’t know why.) I had a bamboo that hung on so long I was actually wishing it would croak.

  4. frotoe on Wed, 16th May 2007 5:28 am

    5. That is excellent! I am dying to get a bonsai tree. I used to trim a couple of my forsythia bushes like big bonsai trees but then I ended up cutting them down completely. I really want one. What a cool mothers day gift.

  5. supergroup7 on Wed, 16th May 2007 9:31 am

    6. Aw.. that is such a lovely gift. It sure does look like it is going to need alot of care from your description. Let’s hope that it doesn’t really get too bad.
    I used to be a green thumb 20 years ago.. but I traded that in for other skills when my kids came into the world. Laundry comes to the top of my mind.

  6. Ml on Wed, 16th May 2007 11:28 am

    7. It is a beautiful gift. Seems kind of high maintenance, though.

  7. Aithyne on Wed, 16th May 2007 12:28 pm

    8. Try one of those miniature cactus trees…if you don’t water it JUST RIGHT it dies. Fast. I gave up trying to nurture it.

  8. AikiAddict on Wed, 16th May 2007 1:42 pm

    9. Oh man. A student who was moving away gave my sensei a bonsai tree (juniper) as a gift before he left. My sensei put me in charge of the poor, helpless, high-maintenance tree. Hahahahaha. It did not live very long. THEN another student gave him a bonsai tree, this time it was a student who was not moving but does not practice on a regular basis. He put HER in charge of the tree. Enough said.
    Good luck, BBM!

  9. J on Wed, 16th May 2007 2:04 pm

    10. I killed someone’s bonsai tree once…caring for it while they were gone. I’m glad it was so easy to do! Wait…that came out wrong…what I meant to say was that I wish it hadn’t died, but if it is THAT complicated to care for them, it can’t be ALL my fault, right? I hope…

  10. Kristi on Wed, 16th May 2007 4:58 pm

    11. Um, yeah, I’m even capable of killing plants made of plastic. Good luck with that.

  11. John on Wed, 16th May 2007 7:39 pm

    12. Delicate? That bonsai tree looks pretty hearty to me. Very nice. Tell it for me I think it’s going to be OK!