By Paula Day

Father Paul Bourne, OCSO, is acclaimed one of the greatest American masters of bonsai.

The 83-year-old, soft-spoken monk toils amid the clutter of his backroom workshop at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit on Conyers with the love of an amateur, the vision and precision of an artist.

Father Paul will be honored for his contribution to the nurturing of bonsai when the Atlanta Bonsai Society dedicates its annual spring show in his honor May 25.

Born and raised in Seattle with its large Japanese population, he majored in sculpture and architecture and graduated from Yale University with a degree in aesthetics. The contemplative life of Cistercian monk provided the final environment for the making of a master of bonsai.

Bonsai, called "tray planting" or sometimes "tree in a container," first appeared in China over a thousand years ago. It was introduced to Japan sometime in the 13th or 14th century and to the United States in the 1870s. But it was not until after World War II that the art aroused American interest.

Father Paul says he was "always" a horticulturist. He remembers gardening as a very young boy and he opened the greenhouse at the monastery 35 years ago. Growing orchids was the fashion then, but because of his own interest he began to develop bonsai. Within five years American taste for things oriental had grown and the monk's bonsai were in demand.

Bonsai are ordinary trees or plants kept small by pruning branches and roots, and by repotting. The size of the container partly determines the final size of the tree. The grower also controls the size and shape by pinching off new growth and by wiring branches and truck so that they will grow into the desired shape. The goal is a truly miniature tree, looking natural with gnarls, branches, limbs and foliage all in proportion, set off by the finishing touch of "just-the-right" container. If the container does not fit the plant, a person's innate sense of beauty is jarred, Father Paul explained.

The Japanese have strict rules for correct bonsai cultivation. In this, Father Paul is a maverick, according to Father Francis Michael, who oversees the commercial aspects of the monastery bonsai production. Because leave size is not greatly affected by the bonsai process, a small-leaf tree, whose leaves will be in proportion to the bonsai, is considered best for cultivation by the Japanese.

To get around this and have available trees with any size leaf, Father Paul will defoliate a developing bonsai. Each time the leaves grow back they are smaller, limited by their confined root system from growing to full size. This tactic is disdained by the Japanese. But for Father Paul, the only requirement for selecting a plant to nurture into a bonsai is: "Is it beautiful?"

The monastery is donating a 64-year-old Kingsville Boxwood from its collection to the Atlanta Bonsai Society. Father Paul has had many offers from collectors to buy the miniature tree, given him by the man who first developed the strain almost 70 years ago.

"Put any price on it," eager prospective buyers have urged. With a glint of mischief in his eye, the lean, gray-bearded octogenarian tells them, "This is for Our Lady. It doesn't belong to me. I've asked her if she'll sell it. She says 'no.'"

However, the sale of bonsai has become a growing source of revenue for the monastery. To meet the demand, Father Francis Michael has enlarged five-fold the selection of containers imported at wholesale prices from Japan. A person wanting to try sculpting a bonsai can select from a variety of plants at different stages of maturity from the greenhouse behind the shop.

Father Francis Michael estimates there to be between 75 and 100 different species to choose from. The deciduous include maples, elms, oaks, fruit trees and flowering shrubs. Conifers range from pine, juniper and spruce to fir and hemlock. Even ivies, vines and herbs have been nurtured into bonsai.

For those who love beauty but have other outlets for their creativity, there are fully matured bonsai for sale. A selection of these will be available at the Atlanta Botanical Garden during the May 25 and 26 Spring Bonsai Show.

Japanese tradition holds that three transcendental qualities are necessary when creating a bonsai: truth, goodness and beauty. It also says the successful bonsai grower must possess the virtues of benevolence, justice, courtesy, wisdom and fidelity. Where better to find such qualities than in a monastery of Trappist monks?

(The monastery is located on Highway 212 in Conyers).