Certainly no discussion of Japanese gardening would be complete without a mention of the bonsai.
Strictly speaking, a bonsai is simply a shrub or tree that is dwarfed and painstakingly shaped by clipping, pruning and pinching. The art form appeared over a thousand years ago in China, and was later adopted by the Japanese.
Bonsai as an art form has evolved over time, and taken on new cultural flavors as it has gained popularity throughout the world. But the traditional plant choices for the Japanese are pines, azaleas and maples.
Traditionally they are quite tiny and grown in containers - the word means “tray planting” in Japanese. However you’ll often see larger specimens in garden beds, like the island beauty from the Japanese Friendship Garden, 
pictured.
For some reason I find it especially astonishing to see the little guys blossom, and lose their deciduous leaves. It’s kind of a “no duh,” but I guess it really drives home that this is an actual tree, going through the cycle of nature in miniature.
Speaking of little guys - the 2009 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show will have a “Bonsai for Kids” program on the Sprout Stage, featuring Tim Kong.
Check out Flora’s guest columnist from last February - a Junior Bonsai Warrior- and his take on the bonsai exhibit at the ‘08 Northwest Flower & Garden Show.
Technically, bonsai, translated from two Japanese characters means “tree in pot” thus landscape trees such as the one pictured in this article are not bonsai. The term in Japanese for sculpted landscape trees is Niwaki (see the excellent book of that title from Timber Press)
Also, given that the original bonsai were collected from the mountains and put into containers, “tiny” is not really a good description. Although there are tiny bonsai, and they are currently quite popular in Japan, 3-4 foot tall trees are also common. Go to China and you will see 6-7 foot tall bonsai.
Comment by Eric Schrader — November 24, 2008 @ 1:49 pm