How to follow the principles of bonsai to bring nature closer to your life.
Bonsai is a tool for personal development
Keeping a bonsai tree teaches you to care for a living thing in strange circumstances. These tiny trees live outside of their normal habitat, and they rely on you for their every need. You have to learn to recognize signs of distress and regular seasonal changes. Being responsible for a living thing cultivates a sense of connection to the world and can help you to stay in sync with natural cycles.
Bonsai nature to cultivate a stewardship ethic
By using bonsai methods, you can bring nature into your life. Instead of a meadow, have a miniature meadow. Learn its needs and keep its growth slow and manageable. You can have a tiny version of an iconic American landscape that you get to care for and enjoy.
There will be challenges. You will make mistakes. But there are thousands of books, websites, forums, and gardening groups around the nation that can help you to learn and grow from your challenges and mistakes. Practicing how to deal with difficulty is the surest way to become more confident and compassionate.
Bonsai nature to beautify your neighborhood
Imagine how much a miniature wetland, forest, or prairie would add to the beauty of your neighborhood. You and all your neighbors would have a front row seat to the inner workings of American nature throughout the seasons. The kids in your neighborhood would get to learn about the cycles of nature and the science of ecology, just by playing nearby.
Native ecosystems don’t have to be far away from your house in a park. Bring them home in miniature to keep them manageable, and enjoy full-size benefits. No matter what your yard looks like, there is a native ecosystem hiding underneath. You can bonsai nature as it emerges from under your grass. When you bonsai nature, you benefit from improving your mental health, enjoying better air quality, seeing birds and butterflies, and connecting to the Earth.
How to bonsai nature
I hope practitioners of bonsai will forgive me if I depart from traditional methods while applying the bonsai philosophy to this unorthodox situation. The steps to bonsai nature in your lawn are simple, but there is depth to each one. Let’s start with the basics:
Step 1: Determine what kind of ecosystem you can bonsai
The ecosystem that will thrive in your yard depends on the conditions where you live. And while it’s true that you can bonsai trees from California or Japan in Tennessee and New York, it’s a good idea to start with native species. You can safely assume whether you are creating a meadow, a wetland, or a forest, that native plants will have a better chance of success in your yard than those from other USDA hardiness zones, or even other continents. Plus, plants from other continents can sometimes escape into the natural landscape, becoming problematic for local ecology. It’s best to just stick with native plant species.
So, look around your town or state and find what kind of ecosystems look good to you. If you have a very wet yard, look at wetlands or lake shores. Those with a dry yard should look at hillsides and ridges. And if your yard is shady, look underneath the forest canopy. But if it is sunny, look for open fields and meadows.
Step 2: Make a plan
Your bonsai ecosystem should sit on a specific part of your lawn. Determine where the boundaries should be, and how you will keep those boundaries. Mowing the edges of a mini-meadow works fine, but a tiny wetland may need a fence or pavers around it since it could become too muddy to mow.
Will your ecosystem mature in its first year? It could take two or three years for the plants to fill out and achieve the intended look. How will you keep weeds out while it matures? Some ecosystems will benefit from weeds that pop up, while others will need more guidance and protection.
You may need to remove the grass from your lawn to give your ecosystem the right look and the best conditions. What methods can you use, and how will you prevent erosion while waiting for your native plants to mature? Unlawn can help you make a plan if you aren’t sure how to get started.
Step 3: Start your ecosystem
You can finally get your hands dirty! Planting some native plants is quick and easy, but you need to know what species will work in your yard and will achieve the look you want. If you’ve already considered that in the planning stage, then you just need to buy seeds or seedlings and put them in the ground.
For most types of bonsai ecosystems, its best to remove all the grass before beginning. In the case of a mini-meadow, grass can sometimes be left alone. And in very shady areas, the grass will eventually die out if native shade-happy plants are added.
During the first year, your ecosystem is at its most vulnerable. You may need to water it until the plants are well established. And you’ll need to watch out for weeds, especially invasive plants.
Step 4: Maintain and enhance
As your plants reach maturity, you can borrow more heavily from real bonsai techniques. You should shape the ecosystem to your liking. Prune branches, stomp on ugly or misshapen plants to make more room for the healthier individuals. Your hand should guide the development of your ecosystem through small, surgical interventions.
As your ecosystem fills out, you can enhance its beauty and ecological value by adding new plant species and even smaller micro-habitats. Add a log or a stone. You can even grow mushrooms or add small pollinator hotels. The more diverse your bonsai ecosystem becomes, the more you’ll benefit from it (and nature will too)!
Bonsai nature for yourself, your neighbors, and your planet
It’s easier than you think to bring more nature into your yard and into your life. Supporting local biodiversity can help to heal the Earth, and can help kids understand the changing world that they will grow up in. Start small, and add more as you feel comfortable. Before long, your house may be known as the habitat house!