[Crowbob]

There is a common misconception regarding the term bonsai. Most people think bonsai means ‘small’. Truth is bonsai does not have to be small. Miniature Bonsai was developed for gardeners who did not have the luxury of outdoor gardening space. Bonsai, both conifer and deciduous must be placed outdoors in winter in order to set and maintain their growth cycles. Hence, the bonsai pots.

Westerners use the term topiary meaning to form shapes, such as animals, etc. usually with boxwood (which deer LOVE). The English are expert topiariists*. Formal Italian gardens use a lot of stone, masonry and concrete. Many European estates with large expanses of garden landscapes will have installed faux ancient, decrepit-looking structures or building to mimic ruins. They are called ‘follies’ because they have no real function other than for decoration. Many an heir has bankrupted himself creating these elaborate structures. Hence the term, folly.


*methinks a made-up word, this is.