Customer Reviews

The Bonsai Workshop (Our Garden Variety)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best book on the art of bonsai that I have ever read. It gives an interesting history of bonsai. The author thouroughly describes the rules, methods, and styles. There are countless examples on how to create, train, and maintain your own bonsai. The book contains several pictrures of excellent exmples of ancient, finished bonsai.

Bonsai is an art form where one continues learning, year after year and plant after plant. Even the experienced need an occasional refresher. This book can give that reminder. The author wrote the book using his notes from a beginner's class that he taught. When I first read the book, I thought, "How could I have forgotten that?" If I had been a beginner, I would have thought, "How logical!" This book, if nothing else, inspires one to do as the author says and shows. I found myself wanting to go buy or find a suitable tree and pot it, even if it was the wrong season. This is expert advice. This is a book that is understandable. This book makes Bonsai "do-able". For the beginner it takes the "fear" out ofof doing things that may be scarry. Buy this book

Herb Gustafson presents the (often intimidating) art of Bonsai in a simple, straightforward and encouraging manner. Yet he is through. The photos are clear and to the point. I have been working Bonsai for 40 years and came away encouraged and excited, lifted to a feeling of renewal. Well worth the already bargain price. Thanks, Herb, for a job well done.

The book is very well done and informative. Technically, I don't think I'd call this book for the total beginner as it doesn't go into a lot of detail as to types of trees. It does briefly mention types of trees that work as bonsai, but doesn't give care sheets and the like found in some other bonsai books. The workshops are good in the book, however, it would have been better if the formatting was not so confusing. You tend to see pictures either before or after the text and that does cause some consternation. All things considered though, this is a really helpful book and one definitely worth buying.

This is a great book that I find myself reading over and over. Herb presents the art of Bonsai in a practical way, rather than an esoteric concept. There are numerous real life examples throughout the book, that will encourage the aspiring bonsai artist, and show that it really is possible to create beautiful bonsai from ordinary trees. It's the best hands-on bonsai book I've ever read.

After many starts which led to complete disasters for me, this book finally gave the information I need to get started in this wonderful art. The instructions are great for a beginner like myself. The combinaiton of written, step by step direcitons along with the wonderful photographs makes this book a joy to work with. I cannot say if this is a good book for the advanced student, as I am far, far from that category, but I can say without a doubt that it is great for beginners. It certainly answered all of my questions. This book was far better than any other I purchased on the subject! Thank you SO much Mr Gustafson!

I was mostly...unimpressed by the bonsai books you normally find in a book store, so I asked my mentor(world famous) for a good suggestion for a book. He suggested this book. I went out and bought it. It is so easy to understand. It made the hardest stuff seem easy. It put everything that would seem extremely difficult into words even a beginner could understand. I used this book to save a tree that was almost killed by Hurricane Katrina! Using this book I still havn't lost a single tree.

Interested in bonsai but clueless on where to begin? This book makes an excellent starting point. It clearly and concisely explains the basic "rules" - which the author advises the reader to learn, practice, then feel free to ignore as their confidence and creativity take over. Every basic area, from tools to pots, from soil to common plant choices, are explained and illustrated with hundreds of drawings and color photographs. If you decide to truly pursue the art of bonsai this book alone will not be enough - you will need to draw upon other books and build a resource library. But, for your first introduction to the hobby, I highly recommend this "workshop".

This book changed me into a serious bonsai enthusiast. I came into bonsai as one who has for more than 40 years had a greater love of trees than allowable space, meaning I came into it as a container gardener. I have always admired Japanese gardens and bonsai but I was fearful of losing my trees by practicing the art. "The Bonsai Workshop" gave me the courage and confidence to try and now, as my wife often points out, I'm obsessed.

There are many gems in this book that you will not find elsewhere. This author offers the best explanation and information on bonsai soil based on experimental evidence that I have found anywhere. The section on soil alone is worth the price of the book. People must have thought that I was crazy after I finished reading "The Bonsai Workshop" because I would tell anyone (and I mean anyone within ear shot), "It's all about the grain size and the organic/inorganic ratio and the Ph and the porosity!" It is so easy to kill trees with poorly draining soils and I was amazed at how rapidly my sick, potting-soil-planted trees responded to being transplanted in real bonsai soil. As an additional bonus, Herb offers many options for soil components so that one should be able to make one's own soil relatively inexpensively using local material no matter where one lives.

I found the photos and illustrations to be very well executed and the writing engaging, encouraging and enjoyable. I hope some day to tell this author in person how much this book has meant to me.

Decent book to learn the basics. It would have scored higher, but his demonstrations were not applicable to average bonsai work. Also the illustrations accompaning the text were on seperate pages and a little hard to follow.