Niwaki: A Guide to Pruning and Shaping Trees in Japanese Style

This is an excellent book and really useful if you're interested in pruning trees and (some) other plants in the Japanese style. It contains loads of really good diagrammes, that show step by step how to achieve each look, and give you the confidence to try them, even if you've got no experience, like me. Also, I have a couple of bonsai trees, which I bought last year, and have so far not pruned them at all, as I found all the bonsai books I've bought so far didn't really explain even maintenance pruning very well, and provided hardly any pictures that actually demonstrate the details. Even with online videos, it's sometimes hard to see exactly what they're doing, when they show you pruning methods and I was reluctant to do it wrong.. A lot of the methods used in niwaki can also be applied to bonsais, and this book is the first I've come across that properly explains and shows how to treat pines (and other trees) to achieve those beautiful foliage pads that bonsais and niwaki both have in common. This book explains and demonstrates the mysteries of candle pinching for pines, which seems to be pretty much exactly the same procedure for bonsais and niwaki. Both have in common that they seek to produce the effect of a mature of tree on a smaller scale. The author is at pains to point out that niwaki and bonsai are completely different, as bonsais are in pots and niwaki mainly in the ground (although can also be grown in pots), but the pruning methods used have a lot of similarities and some of the techniques are identical, or very similar, so I found this also very helpful to understand the pruning methods for different bonsai species, too - both formative and maintenance pruning. The book also includes lots of lovely pictures of various Japanese gardens, both large and small, and provides a wealth of interesting background on Japanese gardening, and to some extent, Japanese culture, too. But while there's plenty of theory, so to speak, there's also plenty of practical information that will enable you to re-produce the techniques described. Think this book is well worth the very reasonable price (although it's gone up about £3 since I bought it), but it's still a very good price, considering the quality of content, and would definitely recommend...
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Interesting, well researched and laid out book. I’m sure will be a useful resource as it has Japanese culture, history of Niwaki and lovely photos and diagrams guiding in the art.
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Enjoyed reading this book. Pictures easy to follow and descriptive, instructions clear and good ideas to get from.
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Really nice book. Lots of information in here - so you need to read it multiple times. I only give it 4 stars since the photos are not great and often very small. This is a shame since you need to see the detail and its a missed opportunity since the subject matter is so beautiful.
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Finally a book that gives you clear instructions. Thank you!
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love the book -it offers so much information to our own trees and shrubs and gives a lift to pruning its helped in pruning my fruit trees
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I am so very glad that I purchased this book! The word beauty got an added meaning for me.It gives you everything you need to know about prunning trees the japanese way, the type of prunning for different trees and is very beautifully illustrated. You must have this if you really want to create a japanese garden.It is more than a book, it soothes my soul because it shows me beautiful things
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Excellent and inspiring book. With clear diagrams on the techniques and beautiful photos. We started pruning our trees straight away and are extremely pleased with the results
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I love this book, my ex took my first copy, had to get another
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I really enjoy this book. Great reference material, nice pictures, very useful.
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A nice description of history of niwaki and how to make one of your own.
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Love this book!
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Hands down the best, most informative book on Japanese topiary that I have read. This would be a wonderful gift for anyone interested in Japanese pruning. Detailed and thorough. A pleasure to read.
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