Japanese Art of Miniature Trees and Landscapes

Book excerpt: Learn all about bonsai tree design and care with this comprehensive Japanese bonsai gardening book. Japanese miniature landscapes and, particularly, dwarf trees-"bonsai," as they are frequently called even in the West-have long been admired throughout the world. It may come as a surprise to inexperienced gardeners but the creation and care of bonsai is a comparatively simple art which can actually be systematically taught rather than, as in earlier books on the subject, just talked about vaguely. Now, given a reasonably green thumb and a modicum of patience, anyone in any country can create his own bonsai. The Japanese art of Miniature Trees and Landscapes contains detailed instructions, together with many helpful diagrams and charts and a treasury of photographs, on every phase of the art: propagation and training, with hints for those in a hurry and for small-apartment dwellers; daily and seasonal care, and treatment of pests; how to judge, select, and exhibit bonsai, with emphasis always upon the untold enjoyment they can provide. Included also, for those who want still more detailed information, are invaluable appendices concerning tools and equipment, soil analyses, and precise data on the more than three hundred species of plants used in making bonsai.