5 comments about Miniature Bonsai.

1. One of the things that I really like about this book is the chart. There is a list of different plants and for each there a recommended pruning style, repotting time and more. Plus there is a lot of good information about how the care for minature bonsai is different from the regular sized bonsai.



2. If you are into Bonsai as much as I am, you'll love this book.This book covers the rare subject of "mame" Bonsai, or "in hand". We're talking about Bonsai who's pots are smaller than an open hand ( in the book, there is a photo of a bonsai who's pot is no larger than half a walnut!).

   It's a great resource if you want to get into this ultra small of alredy small trees. Rarely do you find a Bonsai book that give a little more than just a blurb as to what Mame bonsai is.




3. Perhaps the above would be a better title. This is not a book about the heights to which miniature bonsai can soar...This is simply a book about how you, or I, or anyone else can make passable minature (mame) bonsai in an hour or so, by pruning and wiring common garden material.

   Not that there's anything wrong with that - and indeed I found the book a great inspiration when I was just starting on bonsai. But it really doesn't do justice to the wonderful art that is mame bonsai.




4. Unless you are an absolute beginner, this book will not tell you much you don't already know. Not only is it lacking in specific "how to" info, the pictures aren't even very inspiring. Look at the cover - a little juniper lacking in style and 3 accent plants. That's about as good as it gets. Save your money on this one, folks.



5. This is a book that goes into detail, has beautiful pictures and good directions. I consider it a treasure in my library of Bonsai books!

1 comments about Landscapes in Miniature P.

1. This book deals mostly with miniature landscaping in an outdoor setting and is not very useful for landscaping a dollhouse. Many of the plants recommended are very difficult to find and require an outdoor location. Very few indoor plants are mentioned. It's a Great book for someone interested in outdoor gardening in miniature.

No comments about The Living Art of Bonsai.

5 comments about The Living Art Of Bonsai: Principles & Techniques Of Cultivation & Propagation.

1. I've read this book from cover to cover. I'm already on my 3rd bonzai tree. What an excellent book! You can tell the publisher and the author put alot of work into it.

   nice job




2. I ordered this book because it sounded comprehensive and promised lots of photos. Having spent a good bit of time looking it over, I confess to very mixed feelings about it. There is a lot of excellent information inside and some very handsome bonsai portraits, but the overall subject treatment varies: sometimes Dr. Liang goes into depth, while at other times her approach remains superficial. Her section "Bonsai Creation," for instance, runs all of 4 pages (primarily photographs) and essentially recommends spending a lot of time looking at trees. Worse, I couldn't escape the sense that the book is in some regards a vanity publication. Many of the pictures focus on Dr. Liang and her trees, occasionally including family members, and very few of those pictures are instructive; they seem intended instead to show off her collection. And while the writing is generally solid, the English is at times stilted and could have used editing by someone for whom it is not a second language. Having said all that, it's not a bad book by any means and it does contain useful information. However, I recommend thinking of it as one source among many and suggest buying a used copy to save a few dollars.



3. The book is awesome great pics good tips for almost everything its big i mean the book is really big if you like bonsai you will like this book the quality is good the book came in great condition not even a scratch i recomend it 100%



4. There is a lot of good information, but it is mostly beginner 'common sense' bonsai information, such as how to sow seeds. Half the book contains just pictures of bonsai (beautiful, but only a small portion is dedicated to 'principles and techniques' like the title promises). I LOVED the section on miniature rock formations and a glimpse into 'suiseki' (the art of rock appreciation). A good book for a the coffee table.



5. I received the book at the time when I expected it. It was in superb condition as promised. I will recommend this seller for anybody who do not want to be disappointed when using the net buying books.

1 comments about Practical Bonsai (Practical Gardening).

1. Bonsai requires time and patience and

   Regular Regular Regular watering. Becuase the pots are so small they dry out fast.

   Detailed into in a compact book. This book rocks. No fluff. Just Bonsaiiiii

   It has tables-precious precious tables with info info info

1 comments about Wildflower Gardens: 60 Spectacular Plants and How to Grow Them in Your Garden (21st-Century Gardening Series).

1. Disappointed with this purchase. It is a boring, humdrum tome, not at all what I expected. Reads more like a novel for an English class instead of an informative, pictorial as I imagined. May try to resell on Amazon.com marketplace.

No comments about The Bonsai Specialist: The Essential Guide to Buying, Planting, Displaying, Improving and Caring for Bonsai (Specialist Series).

No comments about Dwarfed Potted Trees: The Bonsai of Japan (Plants and Gardens, Vol. 9, No. 3).

5 comments about Bonsai for Beginners.

1. Bonsai for Beginners is a superb book written by someone that obviously knows their subject. Unlike many other Bonsai books, this book shows you through many examples methods of achieving excellent results from this `art'. The photographs are simply amazing and I have never seen so many in a Bonsai book before. There are close on approaching 450 in this volume and while there is a lot of text, the text is easy to read and follow. In fact, I found myself sitting down and reading what I thought was a reference book. The quality of the writing is almost novel in its structure and very riveting. If you want to know how to make Bonsai then this is, without any doubt, the book for you. As you develop your Bonsai skills, you go to some of the slightly more advanced sections such as taking a cascade style, where the Bonsai foliage is cascading down over the pot and below the table and turning it upside down to make a wonderful informal upright tree shape. You really have to see this to appreciate it. The core of this book is its excellent series of step-by-step photographs covering all the techniques such as potting, pruning and root pruning, subjects that usually scare the pants of many a beginner. Scattered throughout the book are many wonderful examples of Bonsai from Craig Coussins own collection and prize specimens from a number of other Bonsai collections.

   Craig Coussins shows you in a clear and concise way all the techniques that fill you with confidence to try these techniques for yourselves. Not only a `best buy' but also a truly necessary purchase if you are interested in Bonsai.




2. "Now and again in Bonsai, or indeed any other art form, comes along someone who not only knows how to do this art but also, and more importantly, knows how to teach this art."

   Bonsai for Beginners is much more that a simple beginners book. It takes you form the beginners points of reference up to intermediate standard in Bonsai. I am a beginner to intermediate grower and I was astonished at the breadth of information in this truly wonderful book. It is the most lavishly illustrated book on the subject that I have seen and I was riveted to the pages as it is a very easy to follow text. The step by step is practical in every sense and the subject matter made me want to go out and try them immediately.
   Now and again in Bonsai, or indeed any other art form, comes along someone who not only knows how to do this art but also, and more importantly, knows how to teach this art. Craig Coussins is such a person and I would heartily recommend his writing to anyone that truly wishes to understand the subject.




3. I found this book to be somewhat disappointing at best. The positive reviews that other people wrote were misleading. This book should certainly not receive 5 out of 5 stars! I myself am a beginner to bonsai, and found this book to be quite unacceptable in terms of actually instructing the beginner. In fact, after purchasing this book I was immediately inclined to go purchase another book that had more explicit instructions for different bonsai.

   First off, this book contained detailed information on only a few species of trees. In general, the information presented is put out in such away that it implies all deciduous trees and all coniferous trees should be treated the same way. It doesn't even mention tropical trees, which is what I have found beginners should really be focusing on in terms of learning the basic skills required to care for a tree with a dormancy period.

   Second, this book contains information that is in no way aimed towards a beginner in bonsai. The different case studies in this book include planting established bonsai in forest-like groups, performing extremely severe pruning on established trees, grafting, etc. None if this stuff is at all basic, and therefore should not be included in a book that is sopposedly geared towards beginners

   Finally, this book contains information that is very poorly presented. There are certain sections of parts of the book which don't even explain what they are talking about. Coussins will explain basic procedures to complicated processes of which the reasoning for performing the procedure is not even explained. Basically, I don't even know what he is doing and why; he will explain the process, briefly, despite this. Additionally, he does not even discuss the immersion method of watering, which is the most convenient method of watering indoor plants. This is indicative of his complete lack of thouroughness on writing about bonsai.

   This book does contain some great pictures, and SOME basic procedures to basic principles. However, Coussins leaves out a great deal of necessary information, and includes information that is in no way necessary; i found a good deal of this book to be completely useless to me as a beginner in bonsai. I could not recommend this book to anyone who is beginning bonsai.




4. This book is excellent when it comes to giving beginners to Intermediate growers information on basic techniques. I am a Bonsai grower of nearly ten years and I wanted to review this book after reading some of the other reviews. Its clear that Craig Coussins has worked to keep such information at the introduction level and he succeeds extremely well. His section on watering, for example, does not cover bad, old fashioned techniques such as full pot immersion, which, on most trees, disturb the soil and cause damage to the fine feeder roots that need to develop in a Bonsai. He discusses proper soil requirements for most types of Bonsai. And their various needs. In a simple way and not a complicated way, unless you find such things complicated of course. He uses clear and well-tried techniques to explain the best way forward. He can not cover all species in such a book of course, after all who can, but he goes a long way towards this by explaining the general techniques for most popular species in many climates. His understanding of techniques can be applied to both indoor and outdoor trees and he discusses that in some detail. His second book, Totally Bonsai is very much a beginner's book and works well, in addition to Bonsai for Beginners which is designed to take the beginner from start to intermediate standard. Apart from being a reference book it is also a very will planned book and easy to follow and easy to read. I can not wait for his next book, Bonsai School, that he mentions on his web site.



5. I found this book a wonderful read. Excellent information, not too lengthy in detail but concise and intelligent. No information overload. Just the very thing to get a beginner interested in starting Bonsai. Sound techniques and a very friendly read throughout.The sections are well laid out and in my opinion, the book acts like a teacher of Bonsai was just behind me when I am working on my Bonsai. I have been keeping Bonsai for two years now and this was exactly the kind of book I was looking for-a book to take me from the elements to intermediate. I have seen this excellent teacher twice now and I have been inmpressed with his teaching abilities. This is clear in his writing. Succinct, to the point and no faffle! This beautifully illustrated book must obviously make one or two other Bonsai writers very jealous.

No comments about Bonsai Masterclass.