We were lucky enough to meet a man named Thu Cao who not only shared with us his love of bonsai, but offered us his friendship. He was a kind man whose peaceful nature was infectious. Mr. Cao lost a long battle with liver disease in early September at the age of 57. About 200 people attended his funeral and a small forest of flowers and wreaths lined his grave site, proof that this was a man not only worth writing about, but one worth knowing. Here are the photos and story he didn't get a chance to see. But we like to think that somewhere in heaven -- somewhere where there are koi fish ponds, and of course, endless bonsai -- Mr. Cao is reading this and smiling.

The small piece of paper taped underneath the doorbell explains it all. The back yard, it says, is where the bell will chime. After all, that's the most likely place to find the home's owner.

In this Irvine, Calif. backyard you will find an oasis centered on neat rows of elegant, leafy, curving bonsai. These are not the bonsai trees of mall stands and do-it-yourself kits. These dwarfed trees explain why bonsai is an art. Standing among them, you'll find a smiling man named Thu Cao, the home's owner and the artist behind the garden. Through the years, Cao has built a reputation as not only a bonsai master teacher, but also as a really nice guy.

During a spring tour of his garden, Cao walked two visitors through his collection of bonsai, many of which he'd been "training," for at least 15 years. California Junipers, Japanese kumquats, pomegranates, grapes, guavas and bougainvillea, all dwarfed and awe-inspiring. He points to a few of his favorites: a potted grove of nine trees, a lucky number, then to two forested islands separated by a never-ending river.

A garden like this does not come from careful watering alone. After working days healing the broken part of buses as a mechanic for the Orange County Transportation Authority, Cao goes straight to his garden, where he spends at least two hours tending to his trees.

"It makes me feel comfortable, relaxed," he says of bonsai. "I talk to the trees. They're like my babies. My wife says, "You love the trees more than me."

For 10 years, Cao has taught bonsai classes for all levels in his garage. Cao, who founded the Viet Bonsai Association, is an attentive teacher who weaves his way from student to student giving individual attention and instruction. Students are lined in two rows, seated before turntables Cao crafted from old stools and barbershop chairs. They laugh and sip tea and munch on snacks Cao buys with the small "tuition" his students insist he take. While most of his students come from nearby cities, others have come from as far north as San Jose to get a chance to learn from the "Master."

"We look like a family," Cao says of his classes. "We enjoy the art, we enjoy talking, we have lots of fun. We feel a release and a lack of pressure."

Cao, who also teaches regularly in Little Saigon, admits that the art isn't for everyone.

"When you like it, you can do it, but if you don't like it, you get bored," he explained. "Most people who come to me like it and they don't quit."

Although his father practiced the art, Cao didn't discover his love of bonsai until he was nearly 40, after attending an exhibit at a nearby community college. He then pursued learning with a passion, joining clubs and finding teachers.

Over the years many people have asked to buy Cao's trees, but he's never agreed.

"I never think about the money," he tells his garden visitors. "If I do a business, it's different. When you make money, you feel a lot of pressure. I feel healthy, my family is happy and I thank God for giving me this. That's enough."