When people think of bonsai, they tend to picture tiny trees, gnarled and twisted into odd shapes, displayed on the living room coffee table. Many think that bonsai are a special breed of dwarf tree.
In reality, a bonsai is almost always an ordinary tree, such as a juniper or maple, pruned and trimmed back to maintain its small size and particular shape. What sets a bonsai tree apart from your run-of-the-mill houseplant or tree in the yard is the time and attention spent training it into a specific shape or style. A bonsai that is not shaped, trimmed, repotted, and maintained on a regular basis will end up looking like a regular tree. Bonsai can be created from a wide range of vines, shrubs, and trees, from conifers to flowering plants. Becoming a bonsai artist just takes time, knowledge, and plenty of patience.
Bonsai began in the 12th century, if not earlier, in China as part of the art of creating miniature landscapes. The word for bonsai comes from the Chinese