Bonsai for Beginners

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.

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.

"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.

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.