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There is something about a tree that touches one’s very soul. This feeling probably dates back to primeval days when early humans relied upon trees for protection, warmth shelter and food. Where trees were found, there was a potential home. Throughout history, trees have played a major role in primitive religions and mystical powers have been attributed to them. This strong emotional tie still resides within all of us, and the pleasure that is to be gained from creating and keeping a miniature tree of one’s own appeals to a great many people.

The simplified image of a group of bonsai trees echoes the appearance of the copse of full-sized trees depicted opposite. In the spirit of the Group Planting Style, the grower has aimed for an effect that looks entirely natural.

In spite of all the horticultural knowledge and practical techniques you may master, bonsai is a visual discipline. It is all about forming an idealized, miniature image of a tree in an imagined natural setting. This could be a graceful lowland maple standing proudly in an open meadow, a forest of elms on a distant hill; or an ancient pine, torn and battered by mountain storms. The possibilities are endless, the horizons limited only by the scope of your own imagination. Nowadays, some artists go way beyond the accepted image of the tree and create abstract, living sculptures, with a mass of swirling deadwood interlaced with foliage. But, to those brave souls prepared to take the imaginative leap, these may be seen as credible arboreal forms.

A bonsai, of necessity, has to be an over-simplified image. A fully-grown pine tree could have around 50 branches, but on a bonsai there is obviously not enough room. Leaves or needles will be reduced in size, though they are never so small as to be in perfect proportion to the tree. In order to accommodate such subtle simplification, bonsai has its own set of aesthetic ‘rules’. These have only been developed as guides to design, they are not meant to be rigidly followed at the expense of your own artistic sense.