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SALT LAKE CITY -- Small, but with a powerful dose of perseverance.
The descriptions one could give to bonsai trees could also apply to the group of those who care for them. At Red Butte Garden, some of those budding horitculturalists got a chance to put their work on display.
With roots going back centuries, the ancient art of cultivating bonsai trees has attracted a group of dedicated Utahns.
"It's just beautiful to me," said Sam Miller. "It's an integral part of who I am now."
For the past 11 years, Miller's family could often find him out back, hunched over a tiny tree.
"I was in the gardening section at Barnes and Noble and I saw a book on bonsai, and I just immediately became obsessed," he said. "It's the artistic outlet for me as a horticulturist."
Sculpting these trees involves foresight. Wielding wires and shears, Miller doesn't just see the trees as they are, but as he wants them to be.
"It's very Zen," he said. "I want to bring everything that's on the apex closer in, because trees grow typically somewhat in a triangle."
In Japan, shaping bonsais is far more than just a hobby.
"There have been trees that have sold for a million dollars," Miller said. "It's a very prestigious art for them. It's like displaying a painting that would be at the Louvre."
This passion takes patience — especially in Japan, where crafting miniature trees takes on a whole new meaning.
"They've been worked as a bonsai and they've been perfected year after year," Miller said. "These trees, they get passed down from generation to generation. Every couple decades, there's a new person taking care of them."
Miller's only been at this for a little over a decade, but he still feels the pressure.
"If I'm going out of town, I've got to find someone that I trust and that is willing to take on the commitment of coming to my house every single day and watering them while I'm gone," he said. "It's like having children. Or at least a really demanding pet."
Miller thinks the level of dedication is so high, it scares some people away.
"There's about 15 of us that are really into it," he said. "Every time we have a meeting, it seems that a lot of people want to come in, check it out, and they get curious for a minute and they lose momentum."
But bonsais are in Miller's blood. A landscaper by trade, he's trying to turn his bonsais into a business. But one way or another, he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.
"There's nothing that gives me more pleasure," he said.
For more information, check out The Bonsai Club of Utah or Intermountain Bonsai.
