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Originally Posted by bisco_bonsai
Just wondering what you guys think out there, what in your opinion is most important to bring to the table when starting bonsai: a background in horticulture or a background in art? Asked another way, is it easier to learn the art of bonsai, or to learn the horticulture (techniques) of bonsai. Just a general question which I think will provide some interesting results!
All the best,
JDL
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If I may, I'd like to widen the field a bit; I propose that the most important thing to "bring to the table" is patience, followed perhaps very closely by a desire to bring forth from the tree not what one might desire of the tree, but what the tree has as its capacity for showing the beauty, strength, and mystery of nature.
It is obvious that bonsai may not successfully be practiced upon a dead tree--it is the very fact that the tree is living that makes bonsai so powerful an art form. Therefore, working knowledge of arboriculture is necessary. As for the art, well, "if it aint got no 'eart, then it aint got no life, neither", I once heard said, and when it comes to bonsai, this ultimately proves to be true, too.
The easiest path? Why, to decide that bonsai is for the masochists among us and take up bridge.
Best regards,
Cato