The weather was perfect and then years later she and her law enforcement husband finally lived in their own home – and now, Shirley could begin to do so much more with all the different flowers, plants, at their home.   She had a banana plant, a hedge of bougainvillea, an apricot tree, azaleas, orchids, geranium  –  everything grew in California and the great weather never stopped the everlasting beauty of this state.  

 

In 1974 Shirley met Kahn Komai and he had a landscape nursery close to her home.  One day she stopped and found a world totally unknown to Shirley – it was full of lots of pine, maple and so many other plants and Kahn told Shirley he was into Bonsai.   Shirley became immediately interested – she wanted to know how to pick a plant, plan a design for that plant and wire the plant to keep it small and resembling a full grown plant.  Whoa, the excitement was so intense, Kahn told her he taught classes and she should join because there is lots of book work first and Kahn would explain the trees and what kind of tree is best for what shape, oh there was lots to learn.

 

So classes started and along with this ‘hands on training,’ Kahn also taught why the Japanese are so good at this – they believe in zen and how it affects you daily and it can affect the tree, for instance if you are upset, this can be transferred to the tree and a possibility the tree could die.

And so it did happen to me.   Months into my training, I picked 5 Alberta spruce and was wiring and planting in my container and so proud of them – the first try at Bonsai.  During this time my husband was injured in the line of duty and he sustained a serious head injury – it was a most difficult time for this family and when I returned to the nursery during all of this, I found my spruce trees all wilted and died.   I never forgot that lesson and today if I am a little upset, I do not work on my Bonsai.

 

But during the next 5 decades I still continue with Bonsai.  I don’t live in California, now back in Colorado I can find plants that I can Bonsai, and still enjoy the interest and joy in digging a bunch of Chinese elm, caring for them for years and when they have a good size trunk, wiring them and plant in a bonsai container – then trimming yearly to keep the leaves small – the whole purpose of Bonsai.   As a side note – later working with Kahn Komai I found out that he was considered “THE” authority on Bonsai in the United States – not surprising, he showed me how to do magic if the interest is deep in a person. and for me, it was and still is today.

 

When we moved to Colorado I took 45 bonsai with me.  Because of the extreme weather conditions – like cold and snow – many of my bonsai did not make it.  But today I find plants desirable to Colorado weather and have done much work in making my own version of Bonsai work for me.

 

My family moved 23 times over the course of my marriage and at my home I planted 65 trees and bushes – a lot to care for, but if you love gardening and the plants, it is a joy to plant, water, trim and watch them grow – many of my trees grew “out of the design I had for them” but I found out that ‘growing’ turned into another design I could work with and along with bonsai, gardening and the outside yard work, yes, even the weeds, is the love in my life.