A bonsai display, like any garden, is a reflection of how one views the world as well as ones life within it. Some are chaotic and crowded, with no real angle to view any one particular tree. Others are arranged with a curious attention to balance, color, light and form, often having the largest, most spectacular tree at the back of the display, with all the other trees below and in front, so as to carry the eye towards the show stopper.....the art piece of the collection.
Here are a few pictures of a small handful of famous Bonsai from Japan, as well as Shitakusa (Literally means "Undergrass"), the Japanese art of displaying very small plantings (Grasses, moss, bulbs, dwarf perennials, etc) to contrast with a Bonsai tree or a display of Bonsai trees. Shitakusa are often planted in unusual or special pots, on driftwood, shells, and even on rocks. Sometimes they are used to reflect or contrast with a particular season, and sometimes they are meant to reflect the dynamism of a mountain cliff, or the serenity of a coastal meadow.
This is what a twenty year old lawn will look like when you leave it for six months during construction. The picture below was taken one year later. The old lawn was ripped out down to 6 inches and new soil brought in......60 yards to be exact. The type of grass used is called Kentucky blue grass, and it was installed over a compacted mixture of fish compost, forestry sand, baked loam and top soil. Below is what a lawn should look like.....
