greenery from which they most often work. A frm grasp of
the fundamentals is of paramount to enhancing your ability
to identify usable and non-usable elements of the plant
material. Once you have that, the ability to “see” becomes
gradually clearer with more and more practice.
For this exercise, we have selected a Dwarf Japa-
nese Garden Juniper (Juniperus procumbens nana). We
have done so because, junipers are particularly good
specimens for beginners to practice on and because they
are extremely vigorous growers with fexible branches and
trunks. They like full sun, but will grow happily in a wide
variety of locations and conditions. They also have the
added advantage of being a bit “forgiving” when newcom-
ers make mistakes.
Since you are learning, we assume you will be mak-
ing a few mistakes along the way. Its good to have plant
material which is willing to work with you. Junipers (par-