Small, carefully pruned trees are fascinating. I went to the National Arboretum when I lived in the Washington DC area, so I had to see what was on display here in Tacoma. The Pacific Bonsai Museum is mostly open air, with a few sensitive examples in a greenhouse. They leave the trees out year-round and have skilled bonsai arborists trim them according to their creators’ expectations.

I learned that there are different schools of thought on bonsai, from growing trees and shrubs from seeds, to working with dying plants, even stumps, and painstakingly reviving them. Then there’s cultural differences that vary between nations. However, bonsai began in China where it’s called “penjing”. It means tray scenery. The museum had their displays arranged by country of origin. I didn’t take notes and my photography is spotty. Still, here are some beautiful examples of bonsai.

The Bonsai Museum is in Federal Way, Washington, and is supported by Weyerhaeuser, the lumber company; it’s located on a large campus they built and then sold to someone. It is free and there is no apparent security, except from the Rhododendron Garden next door. I guess vandalism hasn’t been a problem; who would want to destroy such beautiful antiques?

This is a wisteria. If you’ve ever dealt with this out-of-control vine (I have), you will be amazed that this old example (note the size of the trunk) is so tidy yet produces the distinctive flowers. The specimens on display ranged in age from the late nineteenth century to the seventies.

This is part of the Japan exhibit. I think these are all trees, probably juniper–a favorite among bonsai artists.

As an example of what good hands these fragile trees are in, this specimen was created by a past director of the museum. It was my favorite. I like the idea of rejuvenation from near death.

European Olive, in training since 1969, from Italy.

You can see the difference between the trees/shrubs grown from seeds or youth (and those that are saved from the dust heap) in this recovered specimen. I love the intermingling of dead (white) wood and living tissue.

This German artist created a forest, but the individual “trees” were falling over so there are wires holding it together. I imagine there are a lot of failures in practicing bonsai.

This successful “forest” is by an Australian. Note the “rocks” at the base; they are actually dead knobs from a large stump. Also note the very shallow pan: this is truly penjing–tray scenery–and not a potted plant.

The Rhododendron Garden

We crossed the gravel plaza and paid a visit to the Rhododendron Garden. The casual stroll through every imaginable color flower was worth the price of admission, even on a chilly spring day in the Pacific Northwest.

I’ve commented about “nurse logs” before. Here they are part of the landscaping.

I love the flowers peaking out of one end of this log while a bush is struggling to escape from the other end.

Rhododendron is one of the most common groups of plants, native to every continent although most of them originate from SE Asia. They do well in the Himalayas–not so much here in the PNW.

This caught my eye as we left the museum/garden…

What the hell is growing out of the top? I’d love to see what kind of flowers this tall shrub will produce later this spring…