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More than a pruning manual, Hobson's guide encompasses the cultural implications of niwaki, an artistic custom integral to the gardening legacy of Japan. -- Alice Joyce Booklist 20070401 Of as much interest as the practical cutting points are the bits of history and lore woven into the chapters that stress the spiritual underpinnings of this ancient art. -- Marianne Binetti Seattle Post-Intelligencer 20070518 Any gardener would be fascinated, not only by the pruning and training techniques, but the background information about Japanese culture which the author weaves throughout the book. -- Karen Helfert Washington Gardener 20070701 Has wonderful illustrations and very specific directions that should prove useful to anyone who has garden subjects that need pruning. -- Linda Brazill Capital Times (Madison) 20070728 More marriages have gotten in trouble over the 'correct' way to prune shrubs than probably any other gardening task. We can't save your relationship, but we [can] suggest Niwaki - Pruning, Training, and Shaping Trees in the Japanese Way. -- Jill Sell Cleveland Plain Dealer 20070728 Easily the best book in English on this pristine type of pruning. ... Anyone who appreciates plants and Japanese culture will find more than they could have imagined in this unique book. -- Clear Englebert West Hawaii Today 20071202 Detailed drawings of the pruning methods, as well as numerous photos of Japanese examples, make this an eminently practical guide. SciTech Book News 20071201 Definitely has what it takes to impress serious garden nerds, [but] there's also plenty here for the rest of us. ... Niwaki is [Hobson's] first book; let's hope it's not his last. -- Josephine Bridges Asian Reporter 20091117
Product Description
Over the years, Japanese gardeners have fine-tuned a distinctive set of pruning techniques that coax out the essential characters of their garden trees, or niwaki. In this highly practical book, Western gardeners are encouraged to draw upon the techniques and sculpt their own garden trees to unique effect. After discussing the principles that underpin the techniques, the author offers in-depth guidelines for shaping pines, azaleas, conifers, broadleaved evergreens, bamboos, and deciduous trees. Complete with abundant photographs, personal anecdotes and a wealth of advice, this unprecedented resource will inspire gardeners everywhere to transform their own trees into niwaki.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Japanese word "niwaki" literally means "garden tree" and Jake Hobson's survey of the subject fills a gap in the existing literature. Hobson describes the importance of landscape in Japanese culture and how Japanese gardeners and (perhaps more importantly) nurserymen abstract features of the landscape and reproduce those features in the garden.
He also supplies a brief overview of the essential elements common to all Japanese art forms: assymetry, simplicity, austere sublimity, naturalness, subtle profundity, freedom from attachment and tranquillity. Hobson shows, with the aid of some beautiful photographs, how these features inform Japanese use of trees within the garden.
Much space is devoted to detailed descriptions of the techniques employed and species of trees and shrubs used.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who wanted to impart a Japanese feel to his or her own garden.
He also supplies a brief overview of the essential elements common to all Japanese art forms: assymetry, simplicity, austere sublimity, naturalness, subtle profundity, freedom from attachment and tranquillity. Hobson shows, with the aid of some beautiful photographs, how these features inform Japanese use of trees within the garden.
Much space is devoted to detailed descriptions of the techniques employed and species of trees and shrubs used.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who wanted to impart a Japanese feel to his or her own garden.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is book is quite simply superb. I bought it yesterday and finished it in one sitting by bedtime. Jake writes with authority, having learned his skills in a nursery in Japan, and delivers a fascinating yet practical account of the importance of the pruned landscape in Japanese gardens. Niwaki literally means "garden tree" and is, in effect, the garden-planted equivalent of bonsai. Japanese terms are helpfully explained and it was intriguing to read that the term "cloud pruning" is really no more than western marketing-speak: there IS no Japanese equivalent! Similarly, the expensive pruned Ilex crenata bushes that we see down the garden centre with a several thousand pound price tag are infrequently used in Japan (there are more interesting plants to use) but essentially designed for the export market (shades of all that Imari porcelain made in the 19th c for the European market, I think). The book is lavishly illustrated with many high-quality colour photos and lots of drawings to show how to undertake the various pruning techniques. There are sections on the evolution of niwaki, the distinctions between formal garden and pruning in a temple garden versus a smaller domestic garden, a whole chapter on pruning pines, and chapters on pruning deciduous trees such as acers and evergreens such as cammelias. What I particularly like is Jake's philosophy; few people in the UK are going to create a true Japanese garden, so better to adopt and adapt Japanese elements to our garden settings and the range of plants that grow best in our gardens. For a start, our gardens may already be full of suitable plants of Japanese origins such as azaleas, rhodos, acers etc. All they need is a sympathetic clipping. Also, as he points out, we already have a great tradition of shaping trees in the forms of our fruit trees and topiary, so it's a small step to developing a Japanese pruning approach to plants such as box or yew in our gardens.
A good companion for this book would be "Garden Plants of Japan" by Ran Levy-Yamamori and Gerard Taaffe. This 400+ page encyclopedia of trees, shrubs, grasses and climbers has little on Niwaki techinique, but is well illustrated and describes which species or cultivars are suitable for pruning, hardiness etc.
A good companion for this book would be "Garden Plants of Japan" by Ran Levy-Yamamori and Gerard Taaffe. This 400+ page encyclopedia of trees, shrubs, grasses and climbers has little on Niwaki techinique, but is well illustrated and describes which species or cultivars are suitable for pruning, hardiness etc.
Format:Hardcover
I am so very glad that I purchased this book! The word beauty got an added meaning for me.It gives you everything you need to know about prunning trees the japanese way, the type of prunning for different trees and is very beautifully illustrated. You must have this if you really want to create a japanese garden.It is more than a book, it soothes my soul because it shows me beautiful things
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
niwaki
what a great book. good pictures and very informative and useful information. this book is full of instructions on how to prune and train garden trees into a japanese style. Read more
Published 9 months ago by robin
Fab
At last - the book I've been looking for although I didn't know it until I got it. This is how I've tried to work, it is excellent and full of interesting info about Japan as well... Read more
Published 15 months ago by B. Smith
Essential reading
Highly recommended,if not essential reading, for anyone making or maintaining a Japanese garden. Trimming and training trees and bushes in the garden is central to giving it that... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Anonymous
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