A well-designed Bonsai garden makes your trees stand out more than anything else.

But designing one is incredibly difficult, especially because you need to find a way to display some of your best trees at eye level while keeping in mind the individual requirements of each of your trees. Some trees will need at least partial shade on the warmest days, while other trees prefer as much sun as they can get. Most professional Bonsai gardens have shade-cloth systems, with varying amounts of shadow provided, that can be used in summer. This article can help you to find inspiration and offers a few guidelines to get started; good luck.

Professional Bonsai gardens (think: Japanese Bonsai gardens) often display their most important trees centrally in the garden, placed on poles and high benches. Placing the trees at eye level makes them stand out and allows visitors to gaze at the trees while strolling around.

There is a difference between professional bonsai gardens, which display their bonsai as part of the sales area, and private collectors enjoying bonsai for pleasure. The professional has to think about displaying all bonsai for their customers to view, where the enthusiast can think more about aesthetical presentations and the best growing condition. Of course, also the daily watering and caretaking must be taken into consideration. 

Many enthusiasts seem to copy the professional way of displaying, but you could consider implementing the bonsai more as part of your garden. Still being able to care and watch your trees as you feel for it. 

Using and building poles

Using poles is one relatively straightforward method of displaying medium to larger-sized bonsai. Choosing the right material is important though. Wooden pillars, old railroad ties or tree trunks, stone slabs, and concrete pillars are possible choices to make. In my garden, I use wooden pillars set in concrete to keep them from having contact with water, because they will rot easier. At the same time, it makes the pole stand more stable on the ground. The wooden poles can be painted with fungus-protecting paint. To slow down rotting and fungus breaking down the wood. You also can use wood with natural oils defeating fungal attacks and natural hardwood. Here Larch, Oak or Thuja are excellent choices. You can add even more protection by burning the surface as the Japanese do with much woodwork.  

How the poles are constructed and the aesthetical preferences are personal choices to make.

Benches

Another way to support your bonsai in the garden is by building benches. Especially practical for small trees, like Shohin and for accents.

Benches may be movable or set in the ground. I have both types. Some for the “almost” eye-level view. Bringing up in real eye level will be too much. Remember you also have to water and lifting the can to around 175 cm will be exhausting. So be practical and level it so you easily can arrange and water. 

Movable lover benches are used for a sitting-down view and make it possible to move around and rearrange the position. For better care, it might be convenient to move Japanese maples to a more shaded area of the garden during mid-summer if needed.

Move around trees

During the season the sun shifts position (depending on where you live), and trees standing in full sun in early spring might need a more protected position at the hottest part of the summer. Therefore it is advisable to change the position of the trees during the season, so they are always getting the best light possible. Pines and most conifers will prefer full sun most of the time, so they have to be placed so they get the most of it.

Sun and dabbled light 

During the summer the sun may be too strong for tender leaves. Some trees will prefer dabbled light during the day to avoid sunburn and damage. In my garden, I have arranged the bonsai so they receive different light during the season and the day. The bonsai garden is situated amongst the large natural trees, pruned and thinned for optimal light. If this is not possible, high poles with shading nets mounted some of the year are a solution. Placing small shohin under larger bonsai also can be a solution to cope with strong summer light.

Fragile trees recently repotted, or needing more shade because of weaker roots after collection, also need special attention. Therefore I have designated some parts of the bonsai garden for this purpose that are more shaded.

Garden Tokonoma

The roof is made of wooden planks overlapping. The back and side walls are wooden boards painted with several layers of protecting outdoor painting so it will last and withstand the weather. The side wall has an open window cut out, and decorated with bamboo.

All resembling the spirit and mood of an original indoor Tokonoma. Also, an indoor Tokonoma is available here, adding another possibility to display bonsai.

Inspiration

Seek inspiration from others and find what pleases you. There are many ways to do this. For me, the pleasure lies in not having a professional sales area to present my trees because I rarely sell trees. They are placed for my own viewing experience and for guests to enjoy. The practical goes hand in hand with the aesthetical preferences. 

For inspiration, let’s take a look at some gardens where Bonsai are displayed on poles.