Bonsai: A Patient Art

by Susumu Nakamura, Ivan Watters, Terry Ann R. Neff

With fresh, elegant photography, this stunning volume presents more than sixty living bonsai masterpieces from the renowned collection of the Chicago Botanic Garden. Each patiently nurtured tree is presented at the peak of its seasonal beauty; each embodies the quiet energy and beauty of the art of bonsai.

In an engaging opening essay, the book introduces the practice and philosophy of bonsai, its spiritual resonance, and its horticultural sophistication. Then alongside each tree’s portrait, is a short, thoughtful discussion of the species and style of the tree as well as its individual history and character. Readers will cherish this superbly conceived and designed book while gaining a new appreciation for the living masterpieces that inspired it.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

166 pages, Hardcover

First published February 26, 2013

Reviews

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful book!! The pictures are crazy, high quality, beautiful! The book present the basic informations about bonsai and then presented some of the Chicago Botanical Garden with full pages pictures and a short description. Simple in the concept but a must have if you love bonsai!!

[Rich Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve wanted to learn more about bonsai, and I luckily came across this collection of photographs and descriptions of dozens of bonsai in the Chicago Botanic Garden collection, one of my favorite places.

This book was everything I was looking for. It had a brief overview of the classifications of bonsai. It had a wealth of beautiful examples, including some images of trees in bloom and bare paired side-by-side. It had rich descriptions of each and what makes them good examples of a style or unique. It has inspired me to give it a shot this summer.