Bonsai

Bonsai is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of penjing. All sorts of trees and shrubs are used as bonsai. In essence, any plant that can be grown in a small container can be cultivated as a bonsai. The most popular varieties include a type of pines called shohaku; maples, whose leaves change their color in autumn and flowering trees, like the cherry and plum. The trees can grow as tall as 1 meter (3.3 feet), or be small enough to be fit in one's palm. Some common meanings and bonsai tree symbolism include wealth, harmony, and balance. Unlike other works of art, there are no such thing as "finished" bonsai as long as the trees are still alive and growing; they must continue to be tended to on a daily basis.