Nature never fails to fascinate, and among her tricks is the timeless art of Bonsai. The ancient horticultural art form popular today is actually an adaptation of the original Chinese art of Penjing, which also has to do with the fine art of shaping miniaturized trees.
Spectacular displays of the ancient art will be on display as the California Bonsai Society presents its 64th annual show, Saturday and Sunday, March 19–20, at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
According to The New York Times, “the term ‘Bonsai,’ should be reserved for plants that are grown in shallow containers following the precise tenets of bonsai pruning and training, resulting in an artful miniature replica of a full-grown tree in nature.”
In the most restrictive sense, “bonsai” refers to miniaturized, container-grown trees adhering to Japanese tradition and principles. The art of Bonsai focuses on long-term cultivation and shaping of one or more small trees growing in a container.
As the Huntington notes, “Bonsai trees come from many sources. Some trees, such as the California junipers and oaks, are collected from nature. Some, like pomegranates, are collected from urban landscapes. Many come from plant nurseries. The bonsai displayed at The Huntington have been donated or acquired from private bonsai hobbyists, primarily but not exclusively from Southern California.
“The trees in the Huntington collection, which includes the Golden State Bonsai Federation collection, represent some of the finest and oldest examples of bonsai in the United States,” according to the museum and gardens.
Dozens of beautiful specimens created by bonsai masters will be presented.along with those in the permanent display in the Japanese Garden’s Bonsai Courts.
64th Annual Bonsai Show, Brody Botanical Center, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens | 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA. March 19-20. Sat., March 19, 2022. 10 a.m.–5 p..
