Su Chin Ee. Creating Bonsai Landscapes. Storey Books. 2003.

Su Chin EE states: "My work has been considered controversial because I approach my landscapes from the point of view of a painter. I concentrate on delicate variations of color, shading, and light, using the vegetation to add tone and bring the scene to life. When I create a miniature landscape, I intend it to be a means of transporting myself to an imaginary place of mountains and water. …. I also incorporate positive and negative elements, using the Chinese principles of Tao and the balance of yin and yang to give perfect harmony to my creations: old with new, masculine with feminine, and light with shade." (Page 7)

I chose to review this book because I am fascinated with bonsai and penjin. Su Chin Ee claims that her creations are a combination of the two. I don't consider myself educated enough in these arts to determine how well she accomplishes her goals. However, I can tell you that I enjoyed looking at her landscape creations.

The book was divided into two sections: "Before You Start" and "The Landscapes." The first section pictured the materials necessary to complete the landscapes. A short explanation was given for each item. This information included plants, containers, soils and planting medias, and landscaping tools. Sidebars containing more detailed information on using an item were presented. She explains her special techniques for creating rocks, bonsai pads, planting pockets, and even painting backgrounds. This section exposed me to the idea of creating my own fake rocks for alpine plantings.

Eighteen landscapes are described in detail. With each landscape plan, she starts by giving you the name in both English and Chinese characters. There is a brief description of what the landscape represents. The "setting up" section tells you exactly what tools you will need. A "Constructing the landscape" portion illustrates how to create the basic rocks used to create the scene. She then gives you a "Planting plan" with a written description, care directions, and a picture with the plants numbered and identified. Here she also discusses how to create the bonsai style used in the landscape. "The scenery" section describes and illustrates each plant used in the landscape. She often explains why she uses a specific plant. A two page colored illustration portrays the final result.

The book concludes with a plant directory. Here you will learn more details about the plant's care not presented earlier in the landscape descriptions. I appreciated seeing the complete "collection" of plants she uses in one location. I couldn't help noting that several would do well in alpine trough gardens too. Of course, this is my bias for planting troughs and other miniature containers showing through.

Conclusion

I gained a little understanding of the "why" behind some of the author's planting choices. A bonsai enthusiast will find this book valuable as a tool to develop another way of using miniaturized trees and shrubs. Her project directions were thorough and easy to understand. The writing style was appropriate for a book of this type.