Creating Bonsai Landscapes: 18 Miniature Garden Projects (Paperback)

by Su Chin Ee (Author), Lewis Collin (Author) "You can begin with just three essential tools: a bonsai branch pruner, a pair of short-handled scissors, and a pair of long-handled scissors..." (more)
Key Phrases: Quan Yin, Rooster Mountain, Long Shu Gui Shui (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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.

About the Author
After a successful career as a textile designer, SU CHIN EE became fascinated by the little-practiced art of penjing. A gold-medal winner at the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show, she is now an official judge in the bonsai category at that show. Su grows and sells bonsai landscapes from her nursery in Kent, England. She writes regularly about bonsai and penjing for magazines and journals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (February 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580174841
• ISBN-13: 978-1580174848
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #180,887 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #31 in

  Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Japanese Gardens

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A very small world, July 13, 2003

By	Valerie Adolph "Coast Journal" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The writer presents 18 miniature landscapes which, she says, "represent a very personal synthesis of the bonsai and penjing traditions". These landscape are made up of the usual tiny trees, moss and gravel, but they also contain intricate rocky "outcrops" which form the basis of the entire landscape. Her creations combine the delicacy of the tiny landscape with the ruggedness of rock and tree to unique effect.

The writer gives detailed instructions for making each of the landscapes, including - I kid you not - how to make all the rocky outcrops yourself. Given patience, skill and delicacy of touch almost anyone could follow these instructions and make a very attractive table top landscape.

The writer was born in Singapore and studied art in England. She is a judge in the bonsai category at the Chelsea Flower Show in London. She approaches her miniature landscapes from the point of view of a painter, and she incorporates the Chinese principles of Tao and the balance of yin and yang to create harmony in these beautiful miniature worlds.

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book for the "bonsai landscape" beginner, December 24, 2008

By	Jeffrey Wyman "jeff" (boston) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're looking to start making your own landscapes for your bonsai, this is a great book to begin with. I didn't buy the book, it was at my library, so maybe you can save a few also.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A very specialised application of Bonsai, November 11, 2007

By	AF Litschka "SA Bonsai Fan" (South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a useful book for a very specialised application of bonsai landscaping. If you have every other book on bonsai, then this will complete your collection, though you may not practice what you read because of the specialised and complex application.