DOWNTOWN FORT WAYNE'S PREMIER GIFT SHOP

The Conservatory Shop offers a boutique-style atmosphere filled with houseplants, home & garden essentials, unique toys & books, trendy apparel & fashion accessories, and seasonal merchandise perfect for souvenir-taking and gift-giving.  Local vendors are also featured from Fort Wayne and the surrounding area.  Beginning May 23, the outdoor Sales Garden offers a selection of perennial flowers herbs, tropical plants, flowering baskets and patio containers.  Conservatory admission is not required to shop.

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BONSAI, THE ART & SCIENCE OF ILLUSION:

Bonsai (A tree (bon) in a tray/pot (sai))pronounced bonsai (bone-sigh), is the technique of creating an illusion; using cultivation practices like pruning, wiring, root reduction, defoliation (removing all of the leaves), potting and perhaps grafting.  The illusion being attempted is that of a large, natural looking tree that has been captured and planted in a small container. It can be grown from seeds, plant cuttings, purchased in a nursery pot, or collected from the yard, hillside or field.

Bonsai is both a science (horticulture) and an art (sculpting).  Perhaps that is why it appeals to so many people.  Whether they become interested because of the mystique of a tree, or they want to challenge themselves with a new form of growing things, the bonsai tree tends to draw people in.