---John Y. Naka

Beginner Buds: How To Get Started Creating Bonsai!

1. INTRODUCTION

I started doing bonsai four years ago, but the bud of desire was there when I was 26. I know this because I discovered a copy of Sunset Magazine's Bonsai in a box in the garage dated 1978. From 1978 until 2001, it laid in waiting, slowly stratifying until the seedling of my creativity emerged and reached skyward on its odyssey.

Fig 1 - Sunset Magazine's Bonsai (bottom)

I now have the latest revised edition of Bonsai, which, appropriately, is a great beginner text, and I have four years of experience in getting it together. I am not anywhere near an expert sensei. I cannot teach bonsai principles. I consider myself a bonsai novice, but I am qualified to tell you, the reader, how to get started. I did it myself and you can follow this guide and get going organizing yourself and begin to acquire bonsai skills and know how, too.

Whatever brought you this far should be treasured as the key to an enjoyable journey, and that’s what it’s about for most of us. Whether it was because of a close friend’s interest, a bonsai gift received for your birthday or a stroll at a garden show, that little tree you first saw, called to you. It caught your imagination and tugged at you heartstrings and now you’d like to create beautiful bonsai too!

Why do people answer this calling? Some are looking for a hobby to fill their free time.  Some people like gardening and the relaxation it affords.  Some see the artistic elements in bonsai design and want to pursue it.  Others are attracted to the Far Eastern cultural influence in the hobby.  For whatever reason, most people enjoy more than one aspect of bonsai and it often becomes compelling and addictive for them!