A New Way to Create Miniature Landscapes

Indoor gardening enthusiasts and Bonsai growers will find this book absolutely fascinating! Hon Non Bo is an art form that has been practiced in Viet Nam for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the nation’s long history of war resulted in many documents being destroyed so we have no recorded history of exactly when this plant art form developed or a historical record of people who helped to develop it.

I picked this book up because I liked the idea of combining beautiful rock forms with bonsai-type plantings. I really appreciated the authors starting the book with a brief explanation of how Vietnamese words are properly pronounced. Unfortunately, I was unable to apply the correct markings to some words in this book’s title (Hon Non Bo). I took special note that the same group of letters with differing pronunciation marks results in words with totally different meanings.

The authors begin the book with an introduction to Vietnamese landscapes and scenery. This was necessary because this particular plant and rock art form tries to mimic what is seen in nature. The art form celebrates the Vietnamese’s worship of rocks. Their landscapes are built using the Japanese philosophy of Heaven-Man-Earth as applied in training bonsai. According to this book, Heaven represents the area above the earth, man represents the craftsman who creates the landscape and Earth represents the natural world. As you read the first two chapters, you gain an important understanding of Vietnamese history and see many fine examples of Hon Non Bo. I was surprised to see that some were large enough to be displayed outside as a permanent installation while others are created on low trays which can easily be moved about. Chapter 3 delves deeper into the art form and explains some of the themes used in the art form.

The beautiful pictures will no doubt make you want to try creating one of these scenes for your own enjoyment. Chapter 4 takes you step by step through the process. It may be difficult for those of us in the West to find the appropriate stones to use though. A cursory glance through the book may lead to a misunderstanding of exactly what makes a Hon Non Bo scene. I appreciated the authors’ discussion of how Hon Non Bo is different from bonsai, suiseki, and penjing. They sum up Hon Non Bo by stating:

Hon Non Bo, then, generally represent a complete mountain scene, most often an island mountain scene, in a shallow concrete container with water to represent the sea. Bonsai is half design and half horticulture. Hon Non Bo require the artist to be a sculptor as well as a designer and grower. [page 84]

The remainder of the book details how to create these beautiful landscapes, avoid common errors, the use of trees and novelty items like boats, homes, etc. A chapter is also dedicated to necessary tools to create the concrete trays and maintain the landscape when it is finished.

Since I have no background that let me know if this book was good, I shared it with a Vietnamese man in my neighborhood who frequently discusses gardening and plants with me. He was quite excited when he saw a book about this topic published in America! Although spoken English is quite difficult for him, he told me about attending conventions in Vietnam to witness the many displays of this art. He really lit up to just see the pictures in the book because they so obviously reminded him of his homeland. I gathered from our conversation that this book was accurate in explaining the art form and how to create it. The one negative comment he made dealt with some illustrations being poor examples of the landscapes.

Who Should Buy This Book?

I strongly suggest you purchase this book if you want to be challenged to think about displaying your plant collection in a unique manner. You will want this book if you are bored with just growing indoor plants, or if you want to create an outdoor display that will astonish your neighbors. Applying the principles taught here will help you create something truly unique.

This is one of those books that makes you think about growing plants in alternative ways. Hmmmm, I wonder if I could create a scene depicting the Rockies, Big Horn, or Grand Teton mountain ranges. Perhaps we could create an Americanized version of Hon Non Bo. Like I said, this book makes you think!

Even if you don’t want to try something different, I can guarantee you having this book resting on your coffee table will give you and your Vietnamese neighbors and friends something to talk about.