Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): About 400 varieties of bonsai trees are on display at the Aesthetics of Bonsai & Gardening Exhibition, which drew garden lovers at Kushabhau Thakre Convention Centre in the city on Saturday. The trees on display include bougainvillaea, bargad, jade, premna and prakhar.
Mayor Malti Rai inaugurated the two-day exhibition on Saturday. Forty members of Green Waves Foundation have showcased 200 varieties of bonsai trees in six categories including Informal, Root over Rock, Forest, Sohin,, landscape and Windswep at the exhibition cum contest.
Twenty-year-old bougainvillaea, eight-year-old Ficus Forest, three-year old premna, seven-year-old gamelina, four-year-old Bodhi peepal and two-year-old moonscaping won the first position in the contest. Foundation’s founder president and bonsai artiste Mamta Mishra has displayed more than 100 bonsai trees grown in last 35 years by her.
They include more than 50-year-old bougainvillea, 42-year-old hibiscus, 24 year-old bargad and 20-year-old meetha neem. The 50-year-old bougainvillaea was gifted by her mentor late Jyoti Pandya to look after. She also exhibited penjing bonsai, which is the ancient Chinese art of depicting artistically formed trees, other plants, and landscapes in miniature.
Mamta who is the founder faculty at Digital Bonsai School started by South Asia Bonsai Federation has spent over three decades nurturing the passion for bonsai art. Foundation secretary Anita Bajpai has exhibited more than 50 bonsai trees mostly in landscaping and broken pots categories.
Anita inherited love for plants, rocks, animals and every creation of nature from her father. A lecture on Growing Rose and its Maintenance by ex-president of Rose Society, Sushil Prakash and Ikebana demo and workshop by Sujata Bhatt were also held.
