Principles of Bonsai Design

Thomas J.

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The book Principles of Bonsai Design by David De Groot is back at Stone Lantern in hardback cover. It was hard to find recently but is now available. I have this book and as far as I'm concerned it beats any other book on bonsai out there unless you're just looking for pictures of trees. This should be a prerequisite for any beginner starting out in bonsai, maybe we wouldn't see an over abundance of sticks in a pot and rather a more disciplined approach and much better pleasing to the eye trees.

Screen Shot 2019-07-19 at 11.33.25 AM.png
 

AlainK

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The golden ratio is an irrational number that is a solution to the quadratic equation x²-x-1=0, with a value of:


phi.png

But not all bonsai have to fit in a norm to be beautiful.

... as if there were such a thing as "intelligent design". There's none, Man is the sole responsible for what's happening to him/her.

This is not a "perfect" cage :

birdcagefinal2_original.jpg
 
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Smoke

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I suppose this is your take on showing absurdity with absurdity....

or glauming on by you yourself beating a dead horse??????

Whats the point...I been here since 2006. It's what we're known for. Get over it.
 
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I suppose this is your take on showing absurdity with absurdity....

or glauming on by you yourself beating a dead horse??????

Whats the point...I been here since 2006. It's what we're known for. Get over it.

I'm just the kind of guy who feels like someone can have enough after a well deserved beatdown, the gif was a lighthearted way of saying that.
 

Smoke

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I'm just the kind of guy who feels like someone can have enough after a well deserved beatdown, the gif was a lighthearted way of saying that.
ohh no...you gotta beat them into submission. This is a tough crowd and no matter how plain you make it, some really STUPID questions arise. It's like CNN around here. Bonsai is not rocket science.

The science part
Put in soil, any soil...really!
Water as needed, probably daily, sometimes twice a day, figure it out....

The art part
Buy best plant possible...
Learn how to make a bonsai...
Prune when needed...

Thats it.....All the rest is bullshit.

Case in point...I post this.....DSC_00121.JPG

Nobody says anything.

This thread...already up to 10 posts....all bullshit. No body wants to talk about real bonsai cause no body knows anything about it. Everybody knows about bullshit!!!
 

wireme

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ohh no...you gotta beat them into submission. This is a tough crowd and no matter how plain you make it, some really STUPID questions arise. It's like CNN around here. Bonsai is not rocket science.

The science part
Put in soil, any soil...really!
Water as needed, probably daily, sometimes twice a day, figure it out....

The art part
Buy best plant possible...
Learn how to make a bonsai...
Prune when needed...

Thats it.....All the rest is bullshit.

Case in point...I post this.....View attachment 253012

Nobody says anything.

This thread...already up to 10 posts....all bullshit. No body wants to talk about real bonsai cause no body knows anything about it. Everybody knows about bullshit!!!

At least your wheelbarrow got a compliment so that’s something eh?
 

Thomas J.

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always love to have a well made book.

Yeah with it being a hard cover it should be a good one, the one I have is a soft cover and a bit cheaper in price because of that. :)
 

Crawforde

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Hey I might be out of line, but I was wondering...
Has anyone read the book?
Did you find it useful?
I don’t color inside the lines, but it might help having a good idea where they are?
I was thinking maybe bonsai is like jazz, if you know and understand the rules, you can break them and make art.
From that point of view, does anyone who has read it think this is worth the shelf space?
 

substratum

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I purchased the book from ABS's website, and have scanned it a couple of times. I'm not qualified to critic it, beyond saying it is nicely made.
 

Bonsai Nut

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Hey I might be out of line, but I was wondering...
Has anyone read the book?
Did you find it useful?

Yes. It is one of my top five favorite bonsai books. As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing out there that comes close to covering much of the material.

Make sure you order "Principles of Bonsai Design" and not the similarly titled "Basic Bonsai Design" by the same author. The later is an earlier book that just begins to cover some of the material he covers in much greater depth in "Principles".
 
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Forsoothe!

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ohh no...you gotta beat them into submission. This is a tough crowd and no matter how plain you make it, some really STUPID questions arise. It's like CNN around here. Bonsai is not rocket science.

The science part
Put in soil, any soil...really!
Water as needed, probably daily, sometimes twice a day, figure it out....

The art part
Buy best plant possible...
Learn how to make a bonsai...
Prune when needed...

Thats it.....All the rest is bullshit.

Case in point...I post this.....View attachment 253012

Nobody says anything.

This thread...already up to 10 posts....all bullshit. No body wants to talk about real bonsai cause no body knows anything about it. Everybody knows about bullshit!!!
Nobody wants to bare their soul and have the Big Shooters say, "Nah, that's not right, stupid". So very little light-hearted banter can proceed. But, hey... online you can feel just fine trying to embarrass anyone you like. So it precludes learning what other people do or think.
 
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