Tend to a bonsai, you might just improve world peace.

Axel Bubenzer has grown bonsai trees for two decades. He says there’s a lot of patience involved.

“It is like meditation,” said Mr Bubenzer. “I think there would be more peace in the world if more people would go home and mess with plants.”

Bonsai are ornamental tree or shrubs grown in a pot and artificially prevented from reaching their normal size.

The Asian tradition involves careful pruning and sometimes wiring. The plants can be very small or several feet tall.

Mr Bubenzer has about 20 of his trees on exhibit now, at the Bermuda Society of Arts.

He was introduced to the art by a friend, who knew of his enthusiasm for plants.

“I went to art college and I have a degree in art and design,” he said. “I did glasswork for 15 years at Dockyard.

“I can paint and draw and that sort of thing. For me this is most fulfilling because it takes much longer.

“A bonsai tree is never finished.”

In China and Japan, bonsai trees can be passed on for generations. Bonsai trees that are hundreds of years old are considered priceless objects.

“Some of the trees flower and some lose their leaves at certain times of the year,” said Mr Bubenzer. “It is very interesting to watch nature at work.”

He said sometimes you can almost see the tree growing.

“I look at my trees sometimes four or five times a day,” he said.

He has a number of different types of trees in the show including boxwood, ficus, prickly myrtle, Barbados cherry and New Zealand Christmas tree.

“These trees are priceless because they are living works of art that are never finished,” he said.

“The thing about bonsai is that when you are pruning them you have to think about how they going to look in the future.

“When you get the really old trees you are trying to maintain their shape.

“If you don’t do certain things to them they will start growing out again, because they are just regular trees. There is no chemical on them to stop them from growing.”

Each tree is regarded as a separate work of art.

It is traditional to bend and view a bonsai tree from underneath as you would a regular tree.

“This is not an art you do quickly,” he said. “You don’t learn it fast and you need patience.”

He only knew of a few other people in Bermuda who were into growing bonsai trees, and knew of no one as serious about it as himself. He hoped the show would kindle an interest in other people.

“I would like to pass on this art to someone else,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be a family member.”

He’ll hold a demonstration on Saturday at the BSoA from 11am to 1pm.

His exhibit runs until February 17. Also on display at the gallery are new works by Milton Hill, Ami Zanders and Samantha Gosling.

Visit www.bsoa.bm.