Sh! Don’t tell Bill that today the boys and I had a top secret field trip out to Lynnville, Indiana. What’s in Lynnville, you ask? Bogan’s Bonsai. As soon as we pulled up in front of the house, I knew we were in the right place.
Bill has been a long time fan of bonsai trees, probably since childhood and quite possibly from his many trips to the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens where there is a wonderful collection of bonsai.
The boys and I wanted to get Bill a bonsai back at Christmas but when I consulted with our friend, the botanic director at Evansville Botanical Gardens, he suggested I contact the Bogans. Little did I know how big of a learning curve we had in front of us. First, the Bogans pronounced bonsai like BONEz-eye, not BONz-eye. Since they were wearing gold bonsai necklaces, living and breathing with these plants for thirty years, I deferred to their pronunciation. Secondly, bonsai are seasonal here. They live in greenhouses during December we had to wait until now to grant this wish.
These folks took their trees seriously. They had an amazing assortment and several trees that were quite old (and hence very spendy).
After looking at rows and rows of little trees, the boys chose this one for Bill and then each one selected a small statue to rest at its base.
It is a barberry tree.
Don’t tell Bill that it’s currently hiding out in the backyard. Yes, the backyard. These little guys require daily water and live outside. I hope we have not given Bill a gift destined to death.
Wonderful gift! Opa called them Banzy trees…he also called a certain animal an O-ran-GU-tan, which I think may be the British pronunciation. Oma loved asparaGRASS. I have a few oddities too.
What a thoughtful gift!