The Living Art of Bonsai

Bonsai School

With color photographs on almost every page, Coussin's guide forms a lovely and thorough introduction to the ancient art of bonsai gardening. The book covers every aspect of the art, from choosing a plant and a pot to training a bonsai with wiring and pruning techniques. In addition to introductory sections on the evolution of bonsai and the relation between bonsai gardening and Buddhism, the book contains dozens of short articles by experienced bonsai gardeners from around the world. Italian gardener Patrizia Capellaro, for example, explains how to style a large juniper bonsai, while American Lit Van Phan analyzes how the miniature landscape style Hon Non Bo reflects the larger landscapes of Viet Nam. For anyone eager to try his or her hand at a hobby that just might offer "a lifelong path to enlightenment," as Coussins suggests, this is an excellent manual. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

The Art of Natural Bonsai

There's no other bonsai book like it: this magnificent guide was 30 years in the making and features beautiful natural specimens photographed over long periods of time. Dave Joyce has devoted his life to growing, researching, and photographing natural bonsai, and his wisdom and artistry are showcased in this full-color volume packed with advice and breathtaking images of trees maturing. Illustrated case histories offer details on the preferences and requirements of various species. Every task and technique is explained, from choosing a container and watering to wiring and pruning. Helpful tips explain using garden-center stock, starting trees from seed, collecting from the wild, or taking cuttings.

The Bonsai Workshop

This book features specimens of bonsai from the author's collection, photographed in colour. Simple tips on growing, pruning, principles of growth, tools, shaping, trimming, potting, training and wiring are provided, as well as information about the effects of weather, emergency treatment, watering, insect/disease control and winter care. The author also suggests imaginative ways of displaying bonsai in the garden, at home and at shows.

Join the contemporary artists around the world who are refining and developing the ancient art of bonsai. Find out about state-of-the-art tools invented by Ken Moore. See how Rob Clausen uses latex and fiberglass to create dramatic groupings of trees on a rock base. Explore the breakthrough methods of Singapore's bonsai masters, with inspiring examples of the results. Covering both basic and advanced techniques and illustrated with step-by-step photographs taken over months, "Bonsai Master Class" is designed to guide the reader on an artistic journey. It provides expert tips throughout on buying bonsai, seasonal care, horticultural requirements for different climates, and distinctive ways to display the results.

Classic Bonsai of Japan

The Nippon Bonsai Association, Japan's pre-eminent voice of the bonsai tradition, introduces a collection of the finest bonsai pieces to be found in Japan today - some of them presented to a Western audience for the first time. Over 130 full-colour and 71 black-and-white plates of priceless specimens with informative commentary provide a definitive tour of the bonsai world from a 15-year-old flowering cherry to a majestic 1,000-year-old Yezo spruce. The notes for each piece offer insights into the balance, style, harmony, and overall aesthetic effect along with comments on the history of its cultivation at the hands of several generations of bonsai masters.

Reviews

This sumptuous, oversize book features over 200 high-quality color and black-and-white photos of classic bonsai selected from a 12-volume series published in Japanese for specialist growers. The photos illustrate bonsai of various ages, including examples that are hundreds of years old. An appendix of brief descriptive comments for each plant gives valuable information including age and size. A narrative section provides background on the history of Japanese bonsai and good descriptions of growth styles of various types. This pricey but beautiful book focuses on examples of classic bonsai that will inspire growers and collectors.-- Dale Luchsinger, Athens Area Technical Inst. Lib., Ga.

"It is not only the length of its lifespan that distinguishes the immobile tree from birds that fly, fish that swim, and men and beasts that walk over the earth; it is also the only living thing that creates, within itself, annual rings spelling out the history of its life." Bonsai, dwarf trees, contain "a record of our ancestors' trials and tribulations" in "less space than a man can encompass with his arms." This (ironically) oversize book includes 200 full-color and black-and-white photographs of Japanese specimens ranging in age from a mere five to 1000 years, and from the cheerful winter jasmine, bedecked with yellow blooms, to wizened junipers with twisted limbs. Bonsai specialists Naka, Aragaki and Marushima detail history, cultivation and stylistic nuances. Presented in an oddly luxe fashion for such an understated art, the trees--bathed in startlingly unambiguous light-appear larger than life, but more legible for that. A Garden Book Club selection." -Publishers Weekly

``It is not only the length of its lifespan that distinguishes the immobile tree from birds that fly, fish that swim, and men and beasts that walk over the earth; it is also the only living thing that creates, within itself, annual rings spelling out the history of its life.'' Bonsai, dwarf trees, contain ``a record of our ancestors' trials and tribulations'' in ``less space than a man can encompass with his arms.'' This (ironically) oversize book includes 200 full-color and black-and-white photographs of Japanese specimens ranging in age from a mere five to 1000 years, and from the cheerful winter jasmine, bedecked with yellow blooms, to wizened junipers with twisted limbs. Bonsai specialists Naka, Aragaki and Marushima detail history, cultivation and stylistic nuances. Presented in an oddly luxe fashion for such an understated art, the trees--bathed in startlingly unambiguous light--appear larger than life, but more legible for that. A Garden Book Club selection. (Sept.)

Bonsai with Japanese Maples

With their delicate foliage, seasonal color changes, and intricate pattern of branching, Japanese maples are among the most popular and suitable plants for bonsai design. In this long-awaited book, internationally renowned expert Peter Adams discusses both the specific horticultural needs of Japanese maples as bonsai subjects and illustrates proven techniques for creating and maintaining beautiful specimens. Although aimed at an audience that has some familiarity with bonsai techniques, the book deliberately shows a mix of bonsai at different stages in their training, so that less experienced enthusiasts can gain new ideas and inspiration from trees that are "works in progress." Much more than a mere "how-to" book, "Bonsai with Japanese Maples" is a forthright attempt to look at bonsai as art objects and to critique and assess them from an artist's perspective.

About the Author

Peter Adams began his art career in the 1950's at the age of 12 in England, gaining a graduate degree from the Farnham School of Art followed by a post-graduate degree in painting from the Royal Academy Schools in London in 1962. In his home country of England, Peter has had a varied career in the arts where he worked at portraiture, cartooning, advertising, TV, teaching and as a Bonsai nurseryman for 25 years. He now lectures worldwide and is a best selling author on the subject of Bonsai as an art medium.

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