The Happy Bonsai Handbook: Essential Advice and Easy Techniques for Bonsai Beginners and Beyond

The ultimate handbook to choosing and caring for your bonsai, from expert Adam McCallion (@notionbonsai).

​Unlock the secrets to beautifully balanced bonsai with this comprehensive guide. Organized into six chapters, this handbook serves as an indispensable companion for newbie and experienced bonsai enthusiasts alike.

For beginners, Adam shares his heartbreak over the death of his first bonsai, and explains how it spurred him on to ensure the same thing never happened again - plus his top tip for beginners buying their first tree. For more knowledgeable fans, Adam shares tips and techniques to take tree styling to the next level, and ideas for different trees to try growing next.

The Happy Bonsai Handbook provides concise and expert solutions, backed up with practical tips, personalized advice, and stunning photography. Illustrations and step-by-step photographic sequences will also ease readers on their journey to becoming successful bonsai parents.

Adam McCallion copies the style of his well-loved instructional videos to deliver information in a simplified, upbeat and easy-to-follow manner. This book will be turned to again and again by a bonsai fan as their collection grows and develops. Whether seeking to revive an inherited specimen or to grow a tree from scratch, this book is your ultimate guide to enjoying the mini-tree lifestyle.

Author: Ilex,Adam McCallion
Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
Published: 11/11/2025
Pages: 176
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 8.70h x 6.50w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781840919912

About the Author
Adam McCallion is a bonsai artist from Derry, Northern Ireland, and is the face behind TikTok's Notion Bonsai. He began his bonsai journey in 2019, and has dedicated himself to mastering the art of bonsai, forever seeking new techniques and knowledge to refine his skills. He has worked with some top bonsai artists and horticulturalists from across the globe and now has an online store where he sells trees, bonsai tools and accessories. Adam believes that the best way to learn anything is to teach, and now coaches bonsai craft in person through local workshops and through online consultations where followers ask questions about their individual trees, general care and future design options. Adam also teaches bonsai through his Notion Bonsai instructional videos on TikTok with almost 50k followers, Instagram with 13k followers, and YouTube where he has over 65k subscribers.

Adam was gifted his first tree for his 21st birthday, a sweet plum from his partner Daryl. Unfortunately, this tree died due to Adam's lack of knowledge at the time, but this blessing in disguise led him to want to understand why, and his interest in Bonsai grew from there. Through his videos, he teaches bonsai in a way that is simple, fun, and easy to understand while still covering more advanced techniques that can help bonsai enthusiasts take their trees to the next level.