Harold Johnson, vice president of the Triangle Bonsai Society, says bonsai means "tree in a shallow container." The tree is living, designed and sculpted, he says. "It keeps changing shape because it's living."

To create a bonsai, every branch and twig of a tree or shrub is shaped or eliminated until the chosen design is achieved. The shape is maintained and improved by a constant regimen of pruning and trimming.

"I love the idea of small trees in a pot," says Raleigh resident Leigh DeNeef. "They are so beautiful. The shapes are fantastic. Doing bonsai is a way of expressing yourself artistically."

Making young appear old

DeNeef was first introduced to bonsai 25 years ago when he visited the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington. He was impressed with the notion that people could combine a work of art with nature.

"You are taking a young tree and making it look like an old tree," he says. "So it has age and character. You are trying to duplicate that in a little form. It's a challenge."

We can take almost any tree or shrub and work with it to be a bonsai, Johnson says. "We prefer things with smaller leaves because we can keep the design with the leaves in scale with the trunk. The difficulty is learning the horticulture, a tree's response to anything you do to it," he says.

'Just you and the tree'

Johnson says designing your tree can be a struggle if you are not a trained artist.

DeNeef took lessons for almost five years to learn how to craft his trees. He sometimes spends several hours cutting leaves.

Certain times of the year are busier than others. He starts repotting in February. He dedicates many hours during spring to shaping and trimming his trees. In summer months, he waters and trims.

In the fall, there is not as much to do.

Like DeNeef, Johnson trained for several years. "In five or six years, I felt proficient," Johnson says, but he adds that most people should feel comfortable styling their trees within a couple of years.

Helen Davis, a Clayton resident and longtime member of the Triangle Bonsai Society, says she loves the solace of the hobby. She shuts out the everyday stresses of life when she is working on her collection of about 25 trees.

"When you're working a tree, you sort of lose contact with all the world and its problems. It's just you and the tree," she says.

Davis also enjoys seeing what other club members have done with the same trees. Some of her junipers will be featured at this weekend's Carolina Bonsai Show at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville.

And unlike some pastimes, in bonsai you develop new skills, DeNeef says. "It takes you a lifetime. You are learning with every tree. I don't think any one bonsai master says, 'I'm through learning.' "

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