Surprise!

I always enjoy the sight of the FedEx truck coming up the driveway.  Who knows what it’ll be this time?

This time I received a mysterious box.

"What on earth could this be?", quoth I.

On further inspection I noticed the print on the side:

LIVE PLANT

Hmmm…

As long time readers know I have a little pen jing back in Roma.  It provided a wonderful contrast in the bright and lofty chamber.  I enjoyed it very much.

Here at the Sabine Farm, I had no pen jing, so, quite a long time ago, probably shortly after my return Stateside one time, I put a bonsai tree on my Amazon wish list.

Ta Da!

 

This is a Carmona microphylla or Indoor Fukien Tea Tree.

I believe it may blossom.

I am not quite sure who sent this little tree, but I suspect blog reader LB, who wrote not long ago and mentioned bonsai.

Here is the pen jing back in Rome.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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8 Comments

  1. Geoffrey says:

    I love Bonsai trees. Sadly, I can’t seem to keep them alive. I have wondered about shipping Bonsai trees. Looks like yours made it without any damage.

  2. Geoffrey: It is fine! None the worse for wear, as far as I can tell.

    My only worry is that I am about to leave home for a couple weeks.

  3. Dove says:

    I am amazed that they would deliver a live plant at this time of year in your climate!!! How nice to receive a beautiful plant in the dead of winter. . .I have always admired bonsai but are they difficult to care for? Do you prune it yourself or do you have to hire an expert? I suppose that here in N. Calif. I could have one outside year round since our climate is like the climate in Rome.

  4. Dove: Having had a bonsai for a couple years, I learned how to do if from the guys in Rome I bought it from.

  5. Kradcliffe says:

    That’s your view in Rome?! You know, I’m never going to feel any sympathy for you, again, when you talk about how cold it gets in Minnesota.

  6. Geoffrey says:

    Fr. Z said: “It is fine! None the worse for wear, as far as I can tell. My only worry is that I am about to leave home for a couple weeks.”

    Interesting. I’ll have to take a look at some Bonsai tree websites and see if I can’t keep another one alive. Is there a patron saint of Bonsai trees? ;-)

    Leaving your new tree for a few weeks could be tricky… At first I would say leave it in a sunny window, but it would need water… Perhaps a damp basement?

    How is your pen jing in Rome?

    Please keep us amateur-Bonsai-enthusiasts up-to-date! :-)

  7. LCB says:

    It was indeed I. ;-)

    I was going to send a book, but decided on the tree entirely because I didn’t know live trees could be sold on on amazon.

    In addition, I imagined how surprised I would be after opening up a box (expecting a book) only to find a tree (which is like a book, but in infant form)! I was also going to send a copy of Chesterton’s “SURPRISE!”, but couldn’t find a way to add it to the order.

  8. Geoffrey: I will ask someone to mind it for me.

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