Page 56 - BSAM 2016 Q4

Bed and Bonsai in Thailand
By Jerry Meislik, USA
Photographs courtesy
Montri Suksermsongchai, Thailand
Suanphung Bonsai Village
My wife Rhona and I had the great pleasure of touring ailand prior to our attending the Asia Paci c Bonsai Association convention in Vietnam in June of 2015. is was our h visit to ailand which ranks high on our list of the most wonderful countries to visit. e country is beautiful and the people are all so very warm and hospitable. Of course we love ai food and enjoy sampling ai cuisine with its wide range of
fresh tropical fruits and vegetables, including the legendary aromatic durian.
Our time in ailand was spent with Montri and Jane Suksermsongchai of Bangkok. ey are good
friends and have introduced us to many of the delights of the ai country and culture.
On this trip we had time to explore Montri's extensive and world-class bonsai collections both in Bangkok as well as his Suanphung Bonsai Village, named a er a local ai tree. e village has an extensive bonsai display throughout the viewing and strolling gardens which comprise 40 acres. It would take many hours to stroll through the entire bonsai village but visitors who wish a more sedate
and shorter tour can discover much of the bonsai very close to the main lodge.
Needless to say there are exquisite masterpiece bonsai including gs, Podocarpus, Adenium, Trident maple, Hibiscus, Wrightia religiosa, Podocarpus, Tamarind and other tropical and sub-tropical spe- cies. With my special interest in gs, I was able to view many species developed as bonsai, including Ficus virens, microcarpa, benjamina, racemosa, religiosa and rumphii. Montri’s bonsai are in classical shapes and designs with the styles of bonsai varying from upright to cascade to root over rock. Many of the bonsai are of large or imperial size and not easily moveable by even two or more people. Pots are commensurately large and are constructed of pottery, cement or carved from solid blocks of granite. Many trees are locally grown and others have been imported from China, Taiwan, Philippines, Japan,
Vietnam and other countries. e quality of the trees is second to none.
54 | BCI |
April/May/June 2017