Page 56 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2017Q2

Bed and Bonsai

in Thailand

Suanphung

Bonsai Village

By Jerry Meislik, USA
Photographs courtesy
Montri Suksermsongchai, Thailand

y wife Rhona and I had the great pleasure of touring Thailand prior to our attending
the Asia Pacific Bonsai Association convention in Vietnam in June of 2015. This was
our fifth visit to Thailand which ranks high on our list of the most wonderful countries
to visit. The country is beautiful and the people are all so very warm and hospitable.
MOf course we love Thai food and enjoy sampling Thai cuisine with its wide range of
fresh tropical fruits and vegetables, including the legendary aromatic durian.
Our time in Thailand was spent with Montri and Jane Suksermsongchai of Bangkok. They are good
friends and have introduced us to many of the delights of the Thai 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 after a local Thai tree. The 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 figs, Podocarpus, Adenium, Trident
maple, Hibiscus, Wrightia religiosa, Podocarpus, Tamarind and other tropical and sub-tropical spe-
cies. With my special interest in figs, 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. The quality of the trees is second to none.

54 | BCI | April/May/June 2017