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A bonsai garden is the picture of peace and tranquility. The time and dedication that goes into the trimming of each small piece of branch to allow the tree to blossom into a unique shape is a natural art form to behold.

The hobby of growing and shaping bonsai trees has gained in popularity in recent years. Some enjoy the relaxation it brings. Others like to watch the trees as they continue to grow into a new shape. Creating a center of peace, such as this, in your backyard is easier than you think.

In order to create your bonsai garden, you are going to need to start with bonsai trees, outdoor planters, and a plan. You don’t want all the trees side by side, you want to space the outdoor planters out, so you can walk to each tree and appreciate it, but not feel crowded by other trees. You may want to walk around your garden space a few times to get a good feel for where the trees should sit. You want to make sure where they are allows for a natural view of the trees with no distractions.

When selecting the outdoor planters for your bonsai tree, you need to keep in mind the overall impact it is supposed to have, little to none. The outdoor planters are not what you are trying to show off. They are simply the vessels that are supporting the bonsai trees that you are raising. That means the outdoor planters you choose should not be showy or over the top. Instead they should be natural looking pieces that add to the overall effect of the tree in them.

In addition to the outdoor planters you may want to add other items to your bonsai garden to complete the image of serenity.

Water is a very calming force, and can also have that effect in your garden. You can bring this extra calming impact to your bonsai garden by putting a fountain in between your outdoor planters. There are many completely built fountains on the market that you can put in place, with little to no fuss, plug in and let them flow. Want something a little bigger? What about a small Koi pond in the middle of your garden? If you are very creative and want a weekend project to really add some oomph to your bonsai garden, you could create your own babbling brook that runs through the garden space. This will involve all the elements of a pond building kit, plus some creative additions.

A final touch to your bonsai garden may be to add another style of garden to it. You can install a small Zen rock garden. The rakes and rocks are easy enough to buy and you can create a frame out of a few pieces of wood. Fill with very find white sand, place the rocks, and take your time creating an energetic design in the surface, as your days stresses melt away.
Jennifer Akre, owner of numerous online specialty shops, shares her insight on how to create more space outside your home by using decorative teak planters, charming planter boxes and sturdy teak garden planters.

The Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, is one of the most ideal choices for a tree in a small garden, backyard or patio. It is also fairly modest in its water needs and so is particularly suitable for dry and Mediterranean gardens. It has an attractive form, delicate leaf texture and as a deciduous plant, looks good when out of leaf, not least due to its reddish pealing bark.

It is usually chosen however because of its amazing flower display in the summer months; Crape Myrtle blooms being one of the highlights of the gardening calendar. While being impressed by flower display alone is normally a bad reason for choosing a particular tree species, in the case of Lagerstroemia, by virtue of its small size and non-aggressive roots, an exception can be made. In fact the flower color is so significant that uniquely perhaps among trees, it determines the pruning method to be adopted.

Pruning to shape trees almost always involves removing whole branches at their base, rather than shortening them, as with shrubs and bushes. This is so in order to maintain the natural shape and flow of the tree. Conversely, the branches of flowering shrubs like roses are shortened, to induce better and more prolific flowering. It should be remembered that roses are not generally grown for their form and habit, but virtually exclusively for their blooms. It follows therefore, that while we may be interested in enhancing the floral effect of the Crape Myrtle by means of pruning branches short, care must be taken not to ruin the form of the tree in the process. How can this be achieved?

*Firstly, branches should not be cut back too radically. It’s best to clip up to a third of the length of the branches. The clipping prevents the limb from shooting on as a long thin branch, encourages lateral growth and as mentioned before, superior blooms. On the other hand, cutting too far down on the branch, is liable to adversely affect the shape of the tree, particularly in the winter when it is bare of leaves.

*It is not necessary to prune/shorten each and every branch. As with all trees, removing excessive material at one session is liable to damage the energy level of the plant, thereby affecting its overall vitality and rendering it more susceptible to pests and disease.

*As pruning is carried out in the winter when the tree is out of leaf, it’s quite easy to discern where the previous season’s pruning cuts were made. It’s possible therefore to alternate between cutting limbs that were untouched a year ago, while leaving alone those that were pruned. In this way, a balance is struck between flower production on the one hand and the general health of the tree on the other.

*Lagerstroemia indica tends to sprout new shoots from its base but it’s not necessary to religiously remove each one. On the contrary, as the trunks are relatively thin in diameter, Crape Myrtle actually looks better grown as a multi-stemmed tree. Furthermore, as persistent pruning tends to weaken branches in the long run, younger stems can be earmarked to replace older ones which over the years have lost their vitality.
My name is Jonathan Ya’akobi.

I’ve been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984. I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners. I also teach horticulture to students on training courses. I’d love to help you get the very best from your garden, so you’re welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com

Have you ever noticed that the best gardens nearly always have some trees or shrubs incorporated into the garden design? There are many reasons why trees are so popular but the most important to me is their incredible diversity of appearance, growth pattern, fragrance and, of course their many uses. Trees and shrubs can be grown to form mixed hedging which can be grown to create a privacy screen or as a windbreak but I really enjoy using specimen trees to add a focal point to the gardens I design.

When designing gardens for smaller spaces the choice of suitable trees reduces as the available space reduces. While a small space may be able to support a large species of tree it may make everything else look out of proportion. The most important thing to remember is that the larger the tree the larger the space required and that small tree purchased from your local nursery may look fantastic now, and maybe for a few more years, but eventually the tree will become far too big and may even cause damage to nearby buildings. There are many ways in which large trees can cause damage to your house but the most obvious is that the roots of trees can cause serious, and even fatal, damage to foundations. It is for this reason that you take very great care when choosing trees for small spaces.

If you have a small yard, backyard or garden in which you want to grow trees and shrubs it is of the upmost importance that you pay attention to your surroundings. You should make a careful note of any overhead wires or cables as well as overhanging roofs or anything else that may extend across your small space at height. While this may seem obvious it is amazing how many people purchase trees without first discovering how tall they grow when mature. Luckily there are many species of trees and shrubs which do not grow beyond 20 foot in height and I would suggest that this is the tallest tree you should consider for any small space.

You will also need to consider your neighbors, planting trees along your garden wall or fence might seem like a good idea but if they grow to a height or create an overhang that annoys those next door you could find yourself heading for very serious, and possibly very expensive, trouble. As soon as you have a basic garden design why not pop over and pay them a visit and show them your design and ask if they have a problem, explaining that it will be a few years before they reach any size (assuming that you are buying young trees). You never know, they might be planning something similar themselves and, if they are, you would not want to plant your trees too close to theirs. In such cases you could maybe suggest a shared cost or plan both gardens so that each tree is planted alternately on one side of the fence then the other (which is basically sharing the cost anyway. Maybe you could even lower the garden wall or fence and create a hedge to partition the gardens.

If you are choosing trees for a very small space then you will, obviously, need to stick to growing very small trees such as dwarf conifers. If you are going to be buying dwarf conifers check that they are a truly dwarf conifer and not a small very slow growing conifer, if you are not sure ask a member of the staff at the nursery from which you are purchasing them. There are many trees that only grow small but in small spaces you will want to pick the most interesting and most beautiful species as placing a plain tree in such a small place is wasted space. Even in the smallest yard a quality specimen tree can bring the place to life and add that certain something that makes your garden something really special.

Here is a short list of trees suitable for small spaces:

Serbian spruce (Picea omorika) grows in a narrow upright fashion
Coralbark maple (Acer palmatum ‘Sanfo Kaku’, syn. ‘Senkaki) has interesting and decorative bark
Coralbark dogwood (Cornus seicea ‘Cardinal’) another tree with great bark
The Dwarf Korean Lilac (Syringa meyeri Pablibin) gorgeously fragrant blooms
Flowering crab apple Malus ‘Sentinel’
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum cultivars)

Of course there are many other trees which are suitable for use in small spaces those above are just an introduction to some of the more beautiful that you will discover as you further investigate this wonderful subject.
If you are looking to discover more about trees for small spaces visit http://www.landscapinginfo4u.com/trees/trees-for-small-spaces.php

As we all know growing up a bonsai is an art, the focus is not only the main product in this case plant but also the surrounding which makes the central thing look even better. You should remember that pot is not only a frame of a bonsai it is part of the whole thing.

There are many types of bonsai pots. The most usual ones are ceramic bonsai pots and mica bonsai pots, they can be found in many shapes: rectangular, oval, rounded, octagon, dished and probably the best looking separated water-land pot. The best pots are all hand made and are made by the ancient Chinese standards. When you are choosing the right color for your pot you should also be aware of the fact that the color of leafs changes and so does the visual connection between pot and the tree.

So what looks good in summer months may not look appealing in winter months. Usual width or diameter of a pot should be similar to the area that is taken by the branches. This does not totally apply to water-land pots where pots should be wider. Water-land pots are the most unusual but probably the best looking ones. These pots are divided in the middle and on the one side filled with soil and on the other with water.

The good thing beside looking really good is that water part of the pot will provide extra humidity which can be really good for some species, not so much for the others. You should also always be careful when you are supplying water, because if water part of the pot is overfilled it may spill to soil, causing it to be wet, which may also not be good for a bonsai.