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Creating Bonsai Landscapes: 18 Miniature Garden Projects
Western home and garden design has been increasingly influenced in recent years by ancient Eastern traditions. Feng shui masters are now routinely consulted by architects and interior designers, and bonsai gardening continues to fascinate and inspire. In CREATING BONSAI LANDSCAPES, the spirit of the East is recreated in 25 stunning miniature landscapes that not only are a delight to look at but also lend a harmonizing and soothing force to any environment. Su Chin Ee works with a Chinese form of bonsai art known as penjing - which literally translates as "landscape in a pot or dish" - to create her designs. The art of bonsai was developed as a means to please the ancestors so that they would bestow blessings and wealth for generations to come. Su explains how each bonsai landscape in the book conveys different elements of the original eastern philosophy and themes. Each landscape is presented in project form, with clear advice on how to select suitable plants, plant and position them, and nurture them successfully to full maturity. Each project is thoroughly illustrated with a color photograph of the completed landscape, cross-section drawings to show how the landscape is put together, and practical advice on choosing the equipment and materials for creating special features. Tips on construction techniques and shortcuts, and a visual materials list of required items, round out the detailed instructions. And to ensure long-lasting success, Su provides pruning and trimming tips, solutions to common problems and diseases, and a directory of the most popular bonsai trees and shrubs.
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2003
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 5, 2017
Considering I kill every bonsai project I begin, maybe I'm not the one to review this book. But I find them fascinating and can sit and study one or two for a while!
Ms. Chin Ee is certainly qualified. Each project is carefully chosen and named (tho painted in water color?), and the plants are included with their botanical names. Building the complex armatures for the landscapes are shown, as well as time spent on the ingredients for building them, step by step. However, the fact that each landscape is chosen to be shown from the front only, is quite a disadvantage for the armatures. I would have liked to have seen some overhead and backside photos, at least of the structures; how she mixed her paints would have been nice also. I could not determine how large or small each unit was either, and the fact that she suggests "two or three years" before assembling leaves me wistful.
"Red Wind -- the Phoenix" looks the simplest, and I have had some luck in "creating" a grove of trees by bending one tree over sideways and "teaching" the branches to become some roots.
If anyone would like about a bo-jillion empty bonsai pots . . . !!
Ms. Chin Ee is certainly qualified. Each project is carefully chosen and named (tho painted in water color?), and the plants are included with their botanical names. Building the complex armatures for the landscapes are shown, as well as time spent on the ingredients for building them, step by step. However, the fact that each landscape is chosen to be shown from the front only, is quite a disadvantage for the armatures. I would have liked to have seen some overhead and backside photos, at least of the structures; how she mixed her paints would have been nice also. I could not determine how large or small each unit was either, and the fact that she suggests "two or three years" before assembling leaves me wistful.
"Red Wind -- the Phoenix" looks the simplest, and I have had some luck in "creating" a grove of trees by bending one tree over sideways and "teaching" the branches to become some roots.
If anyone would like about a bo-jillion empty bonsai pots . . . !!
Displaying 1 of 1 review