Bonsai trees are mystical objects, subject of the imagination. To provide some insight in what Bonsai is, where it comes from and what it's about we created an infographic, with all the basic information you need to get started.
Bonsai infographic
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Bonsai styles, shapes and forms explained
Over the years many styles to classify Bonsai trees have been advanced, closely resembling circumstances in nature. These styles are open to personal interpretation and creativity, meaning that trees do not necessarily need to conform to any form. Still, the styles are important to gain a basic understanding of shapes and should serve as guidelines to successfully train miniature trees.
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How to grow a Bonsai tree
Most people started growing bonsai after having bought a tree in an (online) shop. Though this is without doubt a nice way to get started, it might be more interesting and less expensive to grow a tree yourself. Though 'bon-sai' is an Asian art, studied and refined for many centuries, don't think you won't be able to grow one yourself. In fact, everyone is perfectly capable of growing a tree as long as you pick the right tree species for your environment and properly care for it. In this article I'll explain how to get started with growing Bonsais and introduce you into the three main parts of this website: grow, train and bonsai care.
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Top 10: Most popular "Bonsai of the Day" images
With the year 2012 coming to an end, its time for a quick look back at the ten most popular Bonsai images that we shared on social media. These 10 trees are absolutely stunning and deserve special attention.
Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter to be notified about our "Bonsai of the Day"!
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Top 10: Greatest Bonsai trees
Though growing Bonsai trees is a hobby practiced by many people around the world, its Asian origin is still obvious. Not surprisingly, the most impressive trees are to be found in collections of famous Japanese masters. We have put together a list of ten stunning trees that are unique in their beauty, balance and realism. These trees will help you appreciate this ancient and fascinating art!
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History of Bonsai
Although the word ‘Bon-sai’ is Japanese, the art it describes originated in the Chinese empire. By the year 700 AD the Chinese had started the art of ‘pun-sai’ using special techniques to grow dwarf trees in containers. Originally only the elite of the society practiced pun-tsai with native-collected specimens and the trees where spread throughout China as luxurious gifts. During the Kamakura period, the period in which Japan adopted most of China’s cultural trademarks, the art of growing trees in containers was introduced into Japan. The Japanese developed Bonsai along certain lines due to the influence of Zen Buddhism and the fact that Japan is only 4% the size of mainland China. The range of landscape forms was thus much more limited. Many well-known techniques, styles and tools were developed in Japan from Chinese originals. Although known to a limited extent outside Asia for three centuries, only recently has Bonsai truly been spread outside its homelands.
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What is Bonsai?
The word “Bon-sai” (often misspelled as bonzai or banzai) is a Japanese term which, literally translated, means “planted in a container”. This art form is derived from an ancient Chinese horticultural practice, part of which was then redeveloped under the influence of Japanese Zen Buddhism. It has been around for well over a thousand years. The ultimate goal of growing a Bonsai is to create a miniaturized but realistic representation of nature in the form of a tree. Bonsai are not genetically dwarfed plants, in fact, any tree species can be used to grow one.
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Top 10: Most popular "Bonsai of the Day" images
On social media (including Facebook and Twitter) we share a "Bonsai of the Day". The ten most popular trees deserve special attention in this Top 10. Enjoy!
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Top 10: Greatest Bonsai trees
Though growing Bonsai trees is a hobby practiced by many people around the world, its Asian origin is still obvious. Not surprisingly, the most impressive trees are to be found in collections of famous Japanese masters. We have put together a list of ten stunning trees that are unique in their beauty, balance and realism. These trees will help you appreciate this ancient and fascinating art!
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Bonsai infographic
Bonsai trees are mystical objects, subject of the imagination. To provide some insight in what Bonsai is, where it comes from and what it's about we created an infographic, with all the basic information you need to get started.
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Bag End Bonsai Trayscape
"A large hill (The Hill) lay to the north, and under its southern slopes Bilbo's father Bungo built the luxurious smial Bag End above the lane of Bagshot Row. This is the home of Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, where both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings begin and end."
The described scenery was more than enough inspiration for Chris to recreate it in miniature, with a stunning Bonsai plant as result. This article describes how this landscape was created.
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Metamorphosis of a Juniperus Sabina
I am always exited when new material arrives at my shop. I study it, find their positive and negative aspects and think about new ways of improving them. I am most exited when confronting virgin material, eagerly anticipating the treasures entailed within.
This is such a case. I was anxious to reveal what was hidden within years of old bark, progressive accumulation of dirt and to see its various shapes. This excitement was quickly overshadowed by the challenge of how to find a solution of
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Jarek Lenarczyk
Jarek Lenarczyk was born on the 14th of August, 1964 in Poland. He's now living in Ascheberg (Germany). Since 15 years he is a lover of bonsai. Every day he discoveres new aspects of his hobby and daily professional work. He works as a professional bonsai artist and tries to advance his own knowledge. He does what he loves to do. In 2000, Salvatore Liporace invited him to learn the Bonsai art in Studio Botanico. After that time Jarek started to work with bonsai in Germany and
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Pavel Slovak
Pavel Slovák was born in 1965 in Vigantice Czech republic and he's living there whole his life. The first time he tried to grow and style Bonsai was in 1986. But only since 1998 he started to be more interested in bonsai and he started to work more on them. He met a lot of new people who were more experienced at that time. In 2006 he starte organizing his own workshops and at that time Bonsai art also became his job. Mostly, he works with
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How Big is Bonsai (and related arts) worldwide?
How “big” is bonsai these days? How popular is it in one country/territory compared to another? Where are enthusiasts concentrated? We investigated these questions and present our findings in this article.
The term “Bonsai” can refer both specifically to the Japanese form of artistically-trained dwarfed potted trees, and also generally to most similar versions, such as penjing in China, bunjae in Korea, hon non bo in Vietnam, etc. It is this wider definition of containerized, naturalistically-shaped and usually woody-stemmed perennial plants which we are
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How a Samurai became Bonsai, Literati style
Lone Wolf with Cub. How a Samurai became Bonsai
“Lone Wolf with cub” has won the first prize at the Swiss Bonsai Award in 2012 in the category import conifer, first prize at the EBA 2013, second prize at the Coordinamente Piemonte-Lombardia in 2013, first prize at the 2nd contest of the Bonsai Club Ticino in June 2013 and has been selected for exhibition at the Sakka Ten in Spain in November 2012. The prize is to be selected from hundereds of other bonsais!!
In this article Melanie Walzer discusses
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Bonsai in the Karate Kid movie
When I was young I watched the Karate Kid movie and, as you might have guessed by reading the title of this blog post, I was amazed by those little bonsai trees that mr. Miyagi styled. I just had to have one!
And so started my passion for Bonsai. This blog post lists the bonsai moments showed in the movies, with a few screenshots. Enjoy reading.
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Report: Summer Bonsai Festival, Italy
Between august 31st and september 8th Fai della Paganella, a small town in the middle of the Brenta Dolomite Mountains in Italy hosted a bonsai week named Summer Bonsai Festival and organized by the Nippon Bonsai Sakka Kyookai Europe (NBSKE) with the support of Trentino Bonsai Club and the municipality of Fai della Paganella. The goal of the Association is to spread knowledge about traditional Japanese bonsai trees and its ancient art to Europe. This Association is non profit, its goals are educational and cultural in nature
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The most expensive Bonsai tree
Bonsai trees come in all tree-species, sizes, shapes and... prizes. Ranging from a few dollars for a small and young plant to one plant that sold for over a million dollars in Japan!
In this post I add a few examples of expensive Bonsai trees.
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Hornbeam Forest - Carpinus betulus in netsuranari style
I collected it in March 2011 in Zselic hills, in a wonderful valley where I’ve been collecting bonsai material for years. I found this Carpinus betulus with a beautiful root collar on the side of some bushes by accident.
The tree was growing in a clay soil, so it was easy to dig it out without harming the roots too much: the roots were only 5-10 cm in the soil.
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More Pages to Explore .....
