Customer Reviews

The Creative Art of Bonsai

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

 

 

A very good first bonsai book. Very clear pictures Lots of suggestions and ideas.

There are numerous books on the subject of bonsai that are SO much better... This book has pictures of trees that look like the works of a dead drunk gardener. But if u want to relax from the "perfect" trees seen in many other good books, and relieve the tension from your own "mistakes" this could very well be the book to get ;-) The Art of Subtlety is in no way revealed in this book. However, there are very nice DRAWINGS of how the different styles can be percieved. There are some more or less useless techniques on display in the book. And the focus seems to be more on technique rather than on aiming for something beautiful. The most "shocking" of all mis-facts in the book is: The Siberian Pea Bush (Caragana sp.) is listed as an indoor species... It is not. It DEFINITELY needs a good winter-freeze to go on living. It is an extremely hardy bugger

I agree some of the trees leave you scratching your head but the book covers all the common bonsai species and is very comforting on the horticulture of bonsai, species by species. The reader needs to be aware that the book assumes you're growing your trees in the south of France and adjustments need to be made for your own climate.