The Art of Bonsai (9780804820912)

Learn the ins and outs of proper bonsai design and care with this comprehensive Japanese gardening book.

Japanese bonsai have long been admired throughout the world while their care and preservation have seemed shrouded in mystery. The Art of Bonsai is, however, a comparatively simple art to learn. Anyone with a love for plants, a little patience and this eminently practical book can create bonsai and keep a finished plant healthy and vigorous for generations.

Included in this definitive volume are:

• Detailed, illustrated instructions on propagation and training
• Hints for those growing bonsai in a hurry and apartment dwellers
• Daily and seasonal bonsai care practices
• Dealing with pests and bonsai troubleshooting
• How to judge, select and exhibit bonsai
• Detailed appendices on tools, equipment, soil analyses
• Data on more than 300 species of plants used in making bonsai

This classic work remains an eminently practical book and is the classic guide to bonsai care. It contains the essentials of an art that is one of Japan's most treasured traditions—sculpting beauty in living wood.


About the Author:
Yuji Yoshimura brings to the subject a long ancestral tradition, intensive training in modern horticultural techniques, and wide experience in teaching bonsai on an international scale. His nursery, the Kofu-en, in the outskirts of Tokyo, is a mecca for admirers of bonsai all over the world. He is also the co-author of The Japanese Art of Stone Appreciation, published by Tuttle.

Giovanna M. Halford of England is one of Mr. Yoshimura's star pupils. While in Japan, she studied at the Kofu-en for two years, completing the most advanced course, and thus brings to the writing of this book the ability to anticipate the Western reader's questions and problems. She co-authored with her husband the Kabuki Handbook, also published by Tuttle.