Portable and Easy Gardening: Plant Bonsai to Add Charm and Elegance to Small Garden Spaces

If you're short on time and space for gardening, try planting bonsai to bring quick and inexpensive interest to your garden space. Whether you have a tiny apartment with a miniscule outside space or you have a large patio with established vegetation, you can add bonsai to your garden to give it charm and elegance.

What are Bonsai?

Bonsai are typically small trees in decorative pots. Although bonsai is a series art form for many people, you can be a hobbyist and add just one or two specimens to your garden. True bonsai should be pruned and shaped.

What Kinds of Plants Can Be Bonsai?

Check out your local garden center for bonsai that have already been started. You will typically see plants that you recognize such as pines and azaleas. Some bonsai are evergreen and some are flowering. Choose one that you like. Check to see if there is a local bonsai club or group that you can join for information.

I highly recommend sticking with outdoor bonsai as indoor bonsai are difficult to keep alive (especially for beginners). Plus, if you have pets or kids then an indoor bonsai will be prone to destruction. Cats are particularly fond of munching on any indoor plant.

What Tools Do I Need?

Since you will need to prune and shape your bonsai, you might want to invest in a few basic bonsai tools. We use a pair of basic garden shears and a pair of concave cutters. For shaping, pick up some small wire. If you want to do advanced bonsai trimming and shaping, pick up a bonsai book or take a class from a local garden center that specializes in bonsai.

There are some online retailers that sell bonsai tool kits. These kits can range anywhere from $30 to over $200. I recommend starting with the basic tools to see if bonsai is something that you enjoy before investing too much money.

How Much Care/Maintenance Does a Bonsai Plant Require?

It depends on your goal. As someone who just wants to add some interest and a spot of elegance to your small patio garden, simply keeping the plant watered and occasional pruning is all that you need to do.

You may find that bonsai becomes a more involved hobby. Many people find bonsai are a relaxing garden activity as you don't have to bend over (think pulling weeds from bedding plants), and it doesn't require much physical strength to maintain bonsai.

How Do Bonsai Enhance My Garden?

Think of bonsai as elegant garden accents. You can build display stands to show them off. Or, set one plant on a single stand into showcase as a focal point of your garden. As the seasons change, rotate your bonsai to display them. In the spring, display a beautiful flowering cherry or quince. In the fall, display a bonsai with fiery red and orange foliage such as maples.

If you have a very small patio space, you can use bonsai to bring some nature into your living space.

Sources:

Personal experience

Bonsai Outlet

The Bonsai TreeBonsai Boy