Friday, April 16, 2010

Bonsai Garden

A few of you asked for some pictures of actual plants from the National Bonsai museum at the National Arboretum rather than the architecture. I'm happy to oblige but I'm sorry to say I don't know much about them (other than they were pretty amazing)! The twisted and gnarled trunk of this tree caught my eye. I love the shiny leaves as well for their contrast.
This trunk seemed to be forming a Trojan hourse: doesn't it look like a statue? Amazing.One more sculptural tree trunk. Keep in mind these bonsai are generally around 12-24" tall.
A weeping coniferous bonsai.
My absolute favorites were the ones which formed miniature forests.
This grouping was the most successful: moss as grass and tiny pebbles as a path. You can just imagine a gnome walking through at any moment!
Not all of the plants were in miniature. At the entrance to the bonsai garden was this huge flowering vine. I think the bees were enjoying it as much as we were!
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10 comments:

  1. pve designApril 16, 2010 at 7:15 AM

    Incredible!

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  2. Scott FazziniApril 16, 2010 at 8:24 AM

    I LOVE the Nat'l Arboretum! It's beautiful all year round. I haven't seen it yet for Spring -eek!

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  3. BlueApril 16, 2010 at 9:12 AM

    Exquisite! I had the same feeling of inhabitants or journeyers when I first saw the miniature forests a few years ago.

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  4. JanetApril 16, 2010 at 10:58 AM

    Well, I would say those are about as architectural as plants come...

    xo

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  5. KarenaApril 16, 2010 at 11:43 AM

    Stefan, Amazing little works of art!

    Karena
    Art by Karena

    ReplyDelete
  6. DavidApril 16, 2010 at 11:55 AM

    My grandfather was a landscaper, and would occasionally train bonsai. I plan to do the same when I'm an old retired guy.

    Thanks for the tour, these are beautiful.

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  7. UnknownApril 16, 2010 at 12:37 PM

    Absolutely gorgeous - oh how I would be able to see these. I am totally in love with bonsais!

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  8. business planApril 19, 2010 at 8:44 AM

    They are gorgeous. I can't take my eyes of those cute bonsais.

    ReplyDelete
  9. enriqueApril 19, 2010 at 8:40 PM

    I still have yet to develop the patience needed for bonsai. I tried many springs ago without any actual outcome because I did not put a lot of effort into the project. I am asking Santa for a bottle of patience under the tree this Christmas.

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  10. AnonymousNovember 25, 2010 at 12:36 PM

    Bonsai look so beautiful because of the materials and the age. I’m a Computer Engineer from the Philippines and living here as a foreigner. Since 2003 I'm making Bonsai. The price of each tree depends on how beautiful the bonsai materials and of course the years of training. Here are my sites for more information about Philippine Bonsai.
    www.wildbonsai.com
    www.bantigue.com
    By the way Philippine Bonsai won World Bonsai Contest 2006. Here is the like.
    http://www.bonsai-bci.com/WorldBonsai06/WBC06_01.pdf

    ReplyDelete

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