Faerie Gardens? I’m absolutely in love with faerie gardens. All the cute little accessories and quaint landscapes make me smile and go “awwwh.” But, guess what? Miniature landscapes are not a new idea.

Chinese “Penjing,” Vietnamese “Hòn Non Bộ,” and the more widely known Japanese “Bonsai” are ancient art forms of creating either miniature trees or landscapes on rocks, in trays or pots. The oldest living bonsai tree specimens are probably 800 years old, truly priceless works of art.

Don’t be intimidated by the history – you don’t have to be a Bonsai Master; just enjoy it as a hobby and maybe add a bonsai to your Faerie Garden. Start small, don’t invest a lot of money at first, and just see if you enjoy it. If you find yourself falling in love with bonsai, you can find a ton of information and purchase bonsai books, trees, tools, containers, and even soil from the internet.

Choosing Your Bonsai

Taking my own advice, I bought this Blue Pacific Shore Juniper (Juniperus conferta ‘Blue Pacific’) from a big box store for $7.98.

Why did I chose this little fellow? When you look for a plant to transform into a bonsai, the size of the leaves are important; you don’t want great big leaves which would be out of proportion with the small size of the tree. Tropical plants can also be trained as bonsai and grown indoors. However, most bonsai do much better living outside, in large part because of the greater humidity.

This one is going to live outside all year, so I chose a plant that is hardy in my growing zone (I’m in 6b). Junipers have been used as bonsai for thousands of years, so I’m following tradition. I wanted a nice, single trunk and finally, I just liked the way the tree was shaped. It already had a “wind-swept” look that I could enhance with trimming and shaping.

Transplanting Your Bonsai and Supplies You’ll Need

The tree needs to be well hydrated before it’s removed from its container; it’s going to undergo some major cosmetic surgery, so we’ll soak it in water while we’re prepping all our supplies.

The planting soil needs to drain well, so we’ll add some sand to our normal potting mix. Don’t just dig up some of your garden soil, trust me on this. Copper wire, scissors, small pruners, and a container are really the only other supplies you’ll need.

This new baby bonsai will live in a traditional bonsai container. The one I am using is an unglazed, shallow tray with straight sides. You’ll notice the drainage holes in the bottom, which I’ve covered with some wire screening to keep the soil from falling out (landscape fabric works, too).

You can see that the juniper’s current container is much deeper than its new home; we’ll need to trim the roots carefully so the tree can fit. The soil at the edge of the pot should be slightly lower than the pot, but we’ll plant the tree and make a small mound a little off center to create some interest.

The tree would easily topple over, if the roots aren’t secured, so I’m pulling copper wire through the wire screen and will wrap the wire around the root section and base of the tree. Normally, copper wire is used, but wire with plastic insulation will work too. Once we’re satisfied with how the tree looks in the planter, secure it in place with the wires, add soil, and water it in.

Trimming Your Bonsai

Now, we can make it look like a real bonsai! If you’ve looked for photos of bonsai online, you’ve noticed they are meticulously pruned, shaped and trimmed.

To start, remove dead and damaged branches. Pinch back any that are leggy, just like when you’re pruning a regular tree. Now, take a few moments and look at your almost-a-bonsai. You want the tree to look natural, but perhaps as if it’s had a difficult life – bent by the wind, struggling to live against the elements. Does a branch need to grow a different direction? Use wire that is stiff enough to keep a branch the way you want it but pliable enough to bend easily. Wrap the wire around the trunk if necessary. Then wind it around the branch, gently shaping it. Don’t wrap too tightly – it’s not necessary and you don’t want wire scars on a bonsai.

Finally, for the health of the tree and for the aesthetics, trim the foliage to be in balance with the amount of roots remaining; as a general rule of thumb, remove the foliage on the bottom of the branch and pinch back foliage on top. This will encourage the tree to grown in a classical bonsai manner. Once the tree recovers a bit from its “surgery”, you will want to do additional pruning and shaping. I may have overdone it on this little guy, but I wanted you to see what it would look like.

Caring for Your Bonsai

Add some moss and maybe a pebble or two to create a little landscape. Pretty much done – except for taking care of it! A bonsai is like a toddler or new puppy – it requires a LOT of attention. It likes morning sun and afternoon shade. Display it in a sheltered location which protects them from blowing over or getting drowned in too much rain. Because they are in very small pots with porous soil, you’ll need to water them once or twice a day – maybe more often in hot weather – and a good misting makes them feel happy.

To keep it small and healthy, I’ll pull it out of the pot occasionally, trim its roots, add new soil or maybe put in in a slightly larger pot and keep pruning it to improve its shape.

Remember, that my little tree will be living outside all year. How am I going to keep it alive? This fall, I will dig a hole in a sheltered spot in my garden, set the tree, pot and all in the ground, fill in the rest of the hole with soil, then heap leaves and mulch all around it. I’ll tell it a bedtime story and let it sleep there until spring, when I’ll dig it up and wash the mud off of the pot and there you go!

I doubt my baby tree will live to be 800 years old, but then who knows? Enjoy the process!