The California Bonsai Society will present its 53rd annual show on Saturday and Sunday, March 27–28, at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. More than 100 beautiful specimens will be on display, skillfully created by bonsai masters. Hours for the show are from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days in Friends’ Hall.
Included in the two-day show will be miniature elms, ginkgos, maples, and other deciduous trees in early leaf; flowering plants such as wisteria and bougainvillea; classic Japanese black pine and California juniper specimens; and beautiful examples of nontraditional bonsai styles. Special displays, educational materials, and demonstrations of bonsai techniques will be offered throughout the weekend.
In addition to seeing the trees on view in the show, visitors can take a short stroll across the grounds to the Japanese Garden area, where The Huntington’s own bonsai collection is showcased in the newly expanded Zillgitt Bonsai Court. Some 70 miniature trees are displayed in a wooded area shaded by majestic pines, oaks, and deodars, with a small creek flowing through the landscape.
From its ancient origins in China and Japan, the art of creating miniature bonsai trees has grown in popularity to become an international hobby. Today, bonsai reflects the nationalities, philosophies, and regional plants of enthusiasts worldwide.
The word bonsai literally means a tree planted in a pot. The chosen specimen can be reclaimed from nature—a gnarled and half-dead stump coaxed into bearing new life. Trees can also be grown from seeds or cuttings. Japanese black pine, maple, and juniper are popular choices, but non-traditional plants are also used. Over a period of years or decades, the trees are painstakingly pruned to stimulate growth and trained with wire to shape branches and trunks. The goal is to achieve naturalistic or stylized beauty on a small scale. Given proper care, bonsai can live for hundreds of years.
Perhaps one explanation for the growing appeal of bonsai is that it’s an art form that can’t be experienced in a hurry. It may well be the perfect antidote for the fast pace of modern life.
Known as penjing in China, miniature trees can be found in Chinese scroll art, poetry, and even mythology dating as far back as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-221 A.D.). Tomb paintings from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) portray attendants carrying potted trees. Buddhist monks from China introduced miniature trees to Japan sometime around the 13th century. There the art form became highly formalized, reaching its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries. Bonsai gained worldwide exposure—and fashionable acclaim—at the Paris World Exposition in 1900. Today, bonsai is enjoyed by devotees around the world who lend their own cultural interpretations, as well as their native trees, to the enrichment of the art form.
Admission to the bonsai show is free. For those wishing to stay and see the gardens, general admission is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, $10 for students (12–18), $6 for youth (5-11), and free for children under 5. Members are admitted free.
For additional information call (626) 405-2100 or go to www.huntington.org
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