Bonsai and gardening centre in Giovinazzo
Trading since 1983 on the Giovinazzo-Bitonto provincial road, in the province of Bari. We grow and sell bonsai, the full range of equipment their cultivation requires and what it takes to furnish a terrace or a garden; we design, build and maintain outdoor spaces.
Three branches, one address
The business is divided into three branches: the bonsai centre, which covers the trees together with the full range of equipment their cultivation requires; the gardening department, for anyone furnishing and maintaining a terrace or a garden; and garden design and maintenance, which operates as a branch of its own.
Sales take place at the shop in Giovinazzo and, for more than ten years, on this site as well, translated into Italian, English, French and German. Every purchase is covered by our Satisfied or Refunded clause.
A look at the premises
For anyone who cannot call in person, moving images convey the size of the place and the breadth of the assortment better than a list.
The year we started
We have worked with bonsai since the time when their cultivation concerned a narrow circle of enthusiasts in Italy.
Where we ship
Plants travel accompanied by a plant passport when the species requires one.
The growing guides
Every species used for wedding favours has its own guide, which travels with the plant to the home of whoever receives it.
The bonsai centre
Today bonsai are the only plants we deal in: Mediterranean, Japanese and Chinese trees, prebonsai and yamadori, up to specimens carrying twenty or thirty years of cultivation. Every one-off tree is photographed individually, because no trained specimen repeats another exactly.
The Mediterranean species account for the largest part of the assortment and are the ones we have most to say about: wild olive, mastic, carob, myrtle, Phoenicean juniper, cork oak. Accustomed to summer drought and salt wind, they tolerate irregular watering and perform well on a south-facing terrace, where a Japanese maple would suffer from direct sun and dry air. Anyone starting out who lives near the coast is advised to begin here.
The same department holds the complete range of equipment, since the success of a bonsai depends on the pot and the substrate as much as on the plant. The pots run from natural stoneware to glazed ware and on to handmade pieces, with drip trays in matching sizes; the tools cover the whole spectrum, from scissors for hobbyists to professional concave cutters, along with knob cutters, carving tools and aluminium and copper wire. The substrates are those used in the Japanese tradition: akadama sieved to a 2/5 mm grade, washed pumice, volcanic lapillus, river sand, keto, sphagnum and zeolite, as well as ready-graded mixes for those who prefer not to measure their own. Japanese and liquid fertilisers complete the assortment, together with lanterns, suiseki and cultivation manuals.
Gardening
The gardening department serves anyone furnishing and maintaining a terrace or a garden, with or without bonsai: resin pots in seven lines, from smooth surfaces to finishes reproducing stone, complete with drip trays and trolleys for moving the larger formats; equipment for garden ponds; soils and fertilisers for outdoor plants; plant protection products, available in an organic line as well.
The site publishes a selection of the department, with the real measurements of every item.
Bonsai wedding favours
We produce wedding favours with small-format bonsai in ceramic pots, for weddings, christenings and graduations. These are plants grown in series: the photograph shows a specimen of the same variety and the same size, not the one that will be delivered.
For every species we use we have drawn up a cultivation guide in five languages, supplied with the plant, because whoever receives it rarely has experience of bonsai and would struggle to find reliable instructions on a wild olive fifteen centimetres tall.
Bonsai boarding
During extended absences, or when a plant needs expert hands for a season, we take it in and treat it as we treat our own: watering, feeding, treatments and repotting, when the season allows. Bookings are made by telephone or on WhatsApp, on +39 351 949 3970.
The same number serves a second purpose all year round, one that has proved more useful than we expected: in the case of yellowing leaves, a branch that fails to break bud or a doubt about the substrate, a photograph allows us to give an opinion. Assessing a bonsai from an image just taken is considerably more reliable than reconstructing it from a spoken description.
Garden design, construction and maintenance
This branch of the business is independent of the shop: we design gardens and outdoor spaces, oversee their construction and take on their maintenance in the years that follow. Mediterranean gardens, Italian formal gardens or gardens of Zen inspiration, with lighting systems, furniture and natural or artificial lawn, scaled to the space available and to the time the client intends to devote to it.
Maintenance is the least visible stage and the one that determines how well the whole holds up: pruning in the correct season, feeding, replacement of the plants that have failed to establish. We work in Puglia, since a garden is built on site, and site visits are arranged by telephone in advance.
Frequently asked questions
Can the bonsai be seen before purchase?
Yes, the centre is open to the public during the hours given below and the whole assortment can be viewed. It is also the best way to choose a specimen, because a photograph renders a tree poorly and the nebari, where the roots meet the base of the trunk, is judged by walking around the plant rather than in front of a screen.
Do you sell only bonsai?
No. Alongside the plants we hold the complete range of equipment needed to grow them, from pots and tools to substrates and fertilisers, and a gardening department with resin pots, ponds, soils, fertilisers and plant protection products.
Are bonsai kept indoors or outdoors?
It depends on the species. Mediterranean and Japanese trees are outdoor plants and stay outside all year, with whatever shelter the species needs in the cold months. Chinese trees tolerate indoor life, provided the room is very bright. The correct position is given in every botanical guide.
Is the bonsai delivered the one in the photograph?
For one-off trees, yes: Mediterranean, Japanese and Chinese bonsai, specimens, prebonsai and yamadori are photographed individually, and the tree pictured is the one we ship, with the measurements stated. For wedding favours, no, as these are grown in series: the plant delivered is of the same variety and the same size as the one photographed.
How are the plants packed?
The pot is protected to keep the root ball moist and the packaging is braced so the branches are not damaged, while larger plants travel in wooden structures on a pallet. If the parcel arrives damaged, photograph it as soon as you open it and write to us: in serious cases we arrange collection and a refund or a replacement. The detail is in the frequently asked questions about bonsai.
Do you ship abroad?
We ship throughout the European Union and to Switzerland, and the site is translated into Italian, English, French and German. Plants travel accompanied by a plant passport when the species requires one. For destinations outside these countries it is best to write to us before ordering, so that we can verify whether shipment is feasible.
Can I pay in instalments?
Yes, with ALMA, from two to twelve instalments and by credit card only. Up to four instalments there is no extra cost, because the interest stays with us; from six upwards the charge is split evenly with the customer. Minimum amounts and the other payment methods are on the dedicated page.
Do you design gardens outside Puglia?
No. Design, construction and maintenance stay in Puglia, because they are site works and call for visits in person. Sales carry no such limit: bonsai and gardening articles are shipped throughout the European Union and to Switzerland.
Where we are, and when
The premises are on the S.P. Giovinazzo-Bitonto, in Contrada Misericordia snc, 70054 Giovinazzo (BA), Italy.