If you love houseplants or Japanese ... of their prickly needles. The 'Blue Star' and 'Dream Joy' cultivars of flaky juniper (Juniperus squamata) are good candidates for bonsai-making.

This bonsai was started more than 70 years ago, when Japanese American bonsai artist John Naka cut the top off a mature juniper tree and planted it in a pot. Over the next two decades, he ...