Insects and Disease
My bonsai plants are much too precious to take chances with any sort of infection or insect infestation. As a preventative, I use an all-purpose aerosol bomb regularly, according to directions on the label. Constantly I keep a sharp eye for any signs of trouble. Thank goodness, up to now I have had no serious threats, but should they come along, there is a remedy I have used on other plants. I would dip them, container and all, in an appropriate solution, thus making sure it would penetrate every crevice and cover every surface. For outdoor bonsai and the problems most likely to beset plants while in their summer quarters, I have elsewhere discussed insects and diseases of trees and shrubs. Those general principles also apply to bonsai.
Winter Care
In areas where freezing temperatures are the rule or, as here in Connecticut, where temperatures are much lower, dwarfed potted trees and shrubs should spend the winter where the soil in the small containers will not freeze. We have a tight cold frame where we plunge the pots into the soil, then cover everything with straw and salt hay. Those who happen to have an unheated porch, one that is glassed in, but where the temperature does not go below freezing, have a good winter quarters. But, be careful, don’t let the soil in the containers dry out completely. Keep a watchful eye.
After that warning, may I offer another. Please don’t coddle plants by keeping them warm in the house or greenhouse. A cool period of complete rest is often very beneficial, or even a touch of frost.
CHAPTER 10
MINIATURE GARDENS IN THE LANDSCAPE
A picturesque surprise on a gently sloping, sunny bank could be a wind-blown mugho pine beside an outcropping rock that’s lightly draped by a sprawling cotoneaster, with colorful sempervivums clustered at the base. Or in the light shade at the base of a clump of white-barked birches, there could be a group of dwarf rhododendrons displayed against dark, humus-rich soil or a pine-needle mulch. On a patio or terrace, it could be a contemporary grouping of low, fluffy juniper, perennial lavender, and water-polished rocks.
These are miniature gardens—not complete landscaping plans for small properties, but appealing plantings that often pop up in unexpected places and bring beauty into otherwise unusable or undecorated areas. They’re gardens because, by definition, they are groups of plants that achieve an effect a single plant could not create alone. They’re miniature gardens because they occupy small space, and because most of their plants are of miniature proportions. Properly designed and executed, they’re equally effective in large grounds or small, with contemporary suburban homes, in informal settings, and even on estates with traditionally formal landscapes.
There’s a special enchantment in these miniature gardens. The eye is attracted by their modesty and restraint, and by the utterly natural way they seem to suit the scene. Each plant is seen intimately, in close-up; its character is revealed in each small detail. And in these gardens the creator can express his individuality so easily; seldom does a design even resemble the one next door.