Four Seasons of Bonsai

This book is not a "how-to" book about growing bonsai. As other reviewers have stated, the text accompanying the pictures is spare, sometimes hard to follow, and not all of the plants pictured are easy to find or grow well in much of the U.S. Nevertheless, this is the wisest book about bonsai that I know of. Why? Murata-san approaches the concept of bonsai as applying to almost any plant, including common weeds, grasses, rare orchids, and fruit trees. By taking a plant, matching it to a container, and giving it care, you can see the plant in a whole new perspective; the common becomes uncommon, nature takes on a fresh beauty. The book is divided into seasons because Murata emphasizes how bonsai reflect the changing seasons, and should be viewed in that way, rather than just as show plants to be displayed only when they're at their flowering or foliage peak, and then forgotten the rest of the year. If you want to learn how to grow and train bonsai, buy another book. If you want to deepen your appreciation of bonsai, buy this one.

Full of examples of excellent bonsais, the results of techniques which are almost lost in the present profit-basis world of bonsai. This book is an accumulation of true masterpieces which an amateur can never attain.Those who criticize this book for the lack of explanation are making the same mistake as saying "no explanation of how to paint!" looking at the book of Leonardo da Vinci--crying for the moon; besides, bonsais in this book are grown for tens of, sometimes hundreds of years. So it would be impossible to explain what time does to the plants.In front of this book, all I have to do is to sigh for my lack of skills. But I believe this is an agony by which all creators are haunted.

Full of examples of excellent bonsais, the results of techniques which are almost lost in the present profit-basis world of bonsai. This book is an accumulation of true masterpieces which an amateur can never attain.Those who criticize this book for the lack of explanation are making the same mistake as saying "no explanation of how to paint!" looking at the book of Leonardo da Vinci; besides, bonsais in this book are grown for tens of, sometimes hundreds of years. So it would be impossible to explain what time does to the plants.In front of this book, all I have to do is to sigh for my lack of skills. But I believe this is an agony by which all creators are haunted.

Has the most beautiful pictures of bonsai I have seen published. Many unusual bonsai subjects in addition to the traditional trees. Plants are presented in a beautiful fassion. I wish there were more such books showing other plants treated in this fasion. It would have been nice if there was also more cultural information to go along with the pictures. Plants are grown to perfection.