WITH more than 1 000 bonsai trees in his collection, Farouk Patel’s garden can only be described as a pint-sized paradise.

The 64-year-old, who is a member of the Durban Bonsai Society has honed his skills over the past three decades and tends to and creates a beautiful array of exotic and indigenous plants as bonsai trees.

Patel explained the word bonsai is a Japanese term which, literally translated, means “planted in a container”.

“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,” he explained. “Bonsai has been around for a long time and one of its goals is to create a miniaturized but realistic representation of nature in the form of a tree. I think that is often a misconception, that bonsai trees are species of dwarfed plants, but the truth is, any tree species can be bonsai.”

The Parkhill resident said his love for gardening started at an early age growing up in Newcastle with a farming background.

“For me bonsai is an art that is continually growing and that spiritual connection extends to you because you grow with the tree you’ve created. When I started with bonsai years ago I would spend every waking opportunity I could to be out in the garden. Even with work and family commitments I would spend my nights tending to the trees. Bonsai are a thing of beauty and while I don’t spend as much time as I did in the garden when I was younger I still spend hours watering and pruning my bonsai trees,” he said.

Patel said while some of his knowledge stems from reading books about bonsai, he gained the most experience through the Durban Bonsai Society.

“Before the society I would read books on the art of bonsai for hours on end. However, the downside to this was that most of them referred to plants in the northern hemisphere. Climate and the type of species you use in bonsai trees is vitally important and you can spend lots of time on trees that look nice but the reality is that not every tree is conducive to our hot and humid climate.

“It was really the society where I gained a deeper understanding and knowledge of bonsai. My knowledge grew in leaps and bounds because I was surrounded by other people who have similar passions and had been doing it for much longer. If I had one bit of advice for those who have a passion for bonsai trees it would be to become a member of the society. Not only do you broaden your knowledge but you interact with people who have similar passions that you do,” he said.

“While Patel could not pick his favourite bonsai tree out of his more than 1 000 tree collection he did say he loved experimenting with Dalbergias as bonsais. The Dalbergias make excellent bonsai trees. It is a rather distinct climber, it has a beautiful leaf and bark structure. While it is a slow grower and doesn’t fatten very quickly I love the character and its look. That would be one of my favourite styles of bonsai,” he said.

Patel encouraged residents to like and follow the Durban Bonsai Society Facebook page.