If you're in the middle of designing your landscape, you are likely looking at various methods of lining your walkway. If you're having a hard time making up your mind and if you want to help with the process, you can do something different and choose cascading bonsais to line the area. This guide explains the steps needed to compete the job and provide a unique looking walkway.

Step 1: Purchase Your Supplies

Go to the local nursery and choose your bonsais. They should be big enough to sit outdoors along the walk, but not so big that you won't be able to see the walk. Choose plants that come in pots that match your walkway.

Other items you need include copper wire, tape measure and small pruning shears.

Step 2: Set the Bonsais Along the Walkway

Line the pots along the driveway. Use the tape measure to make sure that they are an even distance apart to provide a uniform look.

Step 3: Choose the Direction of the Cascade

A cascading bonsai is one where the longest portion of the plant grows to one side and down, past the pot. Bonsais have a natural triangle shape with one long branch and two shorter branches. Turn the pot to the direction in which you want the longest branch to grow.

Step 4: Wire the Triangle

Wrap the wire around the tree in a triangle shape. If the longest branch is straight up and you couldn't turn the pot in the right direction, make sure that the longest portion of the wire is on the branch you want longer than the others.

Step 5: Clip the Branches

Use the small pruning shears to clip off the unneeded branches that are outside of the triangle area. Clip as little as possible on the branch you want to provide the cascading effect (the longest portion of the triangle). Keep in mind that the longest branch may not end up being the longest branch anymore. Once you have the desired shape, remove the wire.

Clip off only as much as you need to create the cascading effect. Bonsais look like trees in the wind and the cascade shaping enhances this appearance.

To keep it looking this way, clip off extra growth that is not in the triangle area as soon as you see it. You don't need to rewire the trees each time, only if there is so much growth that you can no longer see the cascading effect.

Plant bonsais directly into the ground if you don't wish to have pots lining your walkway. Plant flowers between the plants to add a pop of color. Check with your landscape designer to see if there are other designs that you can do with your bonsai. For more information, contact a company like Glynn Young's Landscaping & Nursery Center.