Beautiful bonsai graces this landscape

I'm in awe of even a single bonsai plant. I've seen only a few collections, but never have I seen one like Frank Celani has or one so neatly integrated into the landscape.

How did he learn this difficult art?

"I'm Italian. It comes naturally," he said, adding he learned by reading and through trial and error. "There is hardly a plant I haven't tried as a bonsai."

Celani said he was a strange kid. While others were playing cowboys, he was down in the woods turning over rocks. He belonged to the Bonsai Society for awhile.

"But I tend to do things differently," he said.

A retired contractor and real estate agent, Celani built all three of the patios behind his house with bonsai plants in mind. Some of these miniature trees are more than 30 years old, and several have been in the same pots for 27 years. Two of them, a Concord grapevine that once covered a trellis and a bougainvillea, had grown to good size before he cut them back, roots and tops, and made them into bonsais.

The bougainvillea is solid color when it's covered with flowers, and the grape vine still bears some grapes the birds enjoy.

Celani also grows other things. His front garden is small but bright green with a bottle brush tree, small palm and dazzling patch of marigolds. It reminded me of the gardens in Ireland.

There is a row of bamboo along the back fence that froze down the past two winters, but he used the stalks he cut off to build one of the patios and the railing of a small bridge over his koi pond. In the small space at the side of the house is a colorful garden filled with almost all regular plants, but many are in containers. It's a great surprise as one walks along the patios.

The bonsai plants take a great deal of care and commitment. All are watered by hand-held hose because each plant has unique needs. Celani has good help. Every morning his mother, a young 91, waters the front garden for about 10 minutes. He waters the back for an hour. In dry times, he waters at night, too. But once the rains come that will ease up.

"I weed the bonsais with tweezers," he said, and feeds them as needed. His wife also helps. Their garden is awesome.

Today's pick

Rosemary is easy to grow in the ground or in a container. And it can be made into a bonsai. It's one of my favorites for its fragrance alone. I never pass one of these plants without rubbing the leaves so my hands smell good for hours. Rosemary is used as an ornamental plant, the sprigs in crafts and the leaves in cooking. It's good for the memory and brain, grows through winter and summer in all parts of Florida and can be started from seeds or cuttings.