http://www.bonsai.ie Take time to grow with us Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:49:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Japanese Tea Ceremony is one of the most elegant and exacting traditions of Japan.  It is no wonder that a style of Japanese gardens has been devoted to this cherished ritual. The Chianwa style of garden is specifically built for holding tea ceremonies.  Pathways and stepping stones lead guests to ... http://www.bonsai.ie/how-tea-in-a-garden-changed-japan/ Caring for delicately scented Japanese orchids is a bit different than for most other garden flowers. They are epiphytes, which mean that rather than growing in soil, their roots are exposed to the air. In the wild orchids grow on other plants, using them for mechanical support. Orchids are not ... http://www.bonsai.ie/caring-for-your-orchid/ Combining the Traditional Japanese Garden with Tropical Plants creates a beautiful retreat. Japanese gardens are elegant, deceivingly simplistic and aesthetically pleasing. The subtle shifts in colour and form tend to calm the spirit, taking us away from the busy pace of the modern world. This can even be at a ... http://www.bonsai.ie/orchids-and-japanese-gardening/ Feb, first month of spring, first month of new growth in a new year. The Snowdrops are flowering and the daffs are pushing through. The snows on my hilly backdrop are clearing, it is still cold outside with that sharp Irish dampness that does its best not to heal your ... http://www.bonsai.ie/february-bonsai-news/ Japanese Gardens have been a treasured art form in Japan for centuries, and are very much influenced by the ancient and intricate garden designs of China. The exacting tradition, linked to the related and equally disciplined arts of calligraphy and Japanese ink brush painting, is historically passed down from sensei, or ... http://www.bonsai.ie/japanese-gardens-tranquility-personified/ Serissas make excellent bonsai with the right care and shaping. They are an evergreen shrub native to China, Japan, and Indochina (Southeast Asia) where it may be found growing in the woods and wet fields. The serissa foetida has small oval leaves which are slightly larger than the serissa japonica's. It ... http://www.bonsai.ie/serissa-bonsai/ Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds Growing your own Japanese Maple from seed is a very rewarding experience. What could be better than to watch a seed sprout and become a little twig, then grow to be a beautiful tree? The secret to starting you own tree from seeds, is something called ... http://www.bonsai.ie/japanese-maples-from-seeds/ By their very nature Zen gardens encourage you to use your imagination.  Using carefully placed rocks and stones and open spaces filled with sand or gravel these gardens tend to capture the eye and the mind and hold both. Soon one can see the waves undulating in the sand ponds ... http://www.bonsai.ie/zen-gardens-imagination-in-the-making/ With the growing popularity of keeping bonsai and perfecting its art form over the past decade, many people may own or want to own a bonsai. Many people see beautiful pictures of bonsai that have been shaped and pruned into works of art. They themselves want to have a tree ... http://www.bonsai.ie/pruning-techniques/ In the heart of London amidst the fast paced lifestyle that just goes with living in a major city, a haven of tranquillity sits on the roof of a house of healing. The Great Ormond Street Hospital in the Bloomsbury district of London offers patients and others who happen to ... http://www.bonsai.ie/kaiyu-shiki/