Inspiration Part II

This tree, at the entrance to the Japanese pavillion, is a 200-year old Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) in the slanting style.

So, part two of Inspiration at the Arboretum will concentrate on the beautiful little trees at the National Arboretum. The trees at the arboretum comprise the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, the largest of it's kind in North America. The collection was started with a gift of 57 bonsai from the Japanese imperial family to the United States on the occasion of our bicentennial. It has since had many additions, and has seperate sections for Japanese, Chinese, North American, and tropical Bonsai.

Bonsai is the art of growing trees in pots or trays, with an emphasis on keeping trees in miniature through careful training and pruning (of both branches and roots). The emphasis is on creating an aesthetic shape and the illusion of age.

We've all heard of Bonsai, but what about Penjing? Well, Penjing came first, and is in fact, the Chinese version of Bonsai. The only significant difference, so far as I know, is that Bonsai tends to concentrate on the appearance of great age in a specimen that is not neccesarily old, and is much smaller than it probably would be under natural conditions, while Penjing concentrates more on creating a miniature landscape including these trees.

Why do I love Bonsai? Well, Bonsai is a neat mix of horticulture and art. It appeals to me because I love small plants and intricate, artistic detail. The only thing I do that comes close in my gardening is attempting to create miniature alpine landscapes in my troughs. Bonsai requires a great deal of time and patience, neither of which I have in great supply. Anyway, on with the show...


Blue Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica) in the informal upright style.

I believe this is also a Blue Atlas Cedar. It is in the cascade style, which is typified by the main trunk of the tree extending below the pot. Semi-cascade style has a similar lateral trunk, but the trunk does not extend below the bottom of the pot.


This is another cedar. I can't remember the species. This is a great example of a forest or grove style planting, with lots of jin (dead branches and tips) & sharimiki (dead trunk sections).

Ok, this one I totally failed to identify the genus of the trees. But I really like the fact that they're planted on a big slab of rock. It's inspiring, and makes me think of one of a book by George Schenk that I got last year called "Gardening on Pavement, Tables, and Hard Surfaces". It's an uninspired title, to say the least, but has great ideas, and great pictures.


Here are more trees planted on rock slabs, this time giving the appearance of rocky, wooded islands. The trees are Maples. I believe they are Trident Maples (Acer buergerianum).

A gingko tree (Gingko biloba) in twin-trunk style.

This tree is a Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora 'Miyajima') in the formal upright style that has been in training since 1626. 1626!! If that doesn't excite you, how about the fact that this tree also survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb in 1945. I'm suitably impressed.


I really like the curves on this informal upright tree. Its a trident maple (Acer buergerianum) that has been in training since 1880.

This specimen is a mixed grove of Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora), Japanese Hornbeam (Carpinus laxiflora) and Japanese Beech (Fagus crenata).

A grove or forest-style planting of maples. I believe these are Japanese maples (Acer palmatum).

Well, that about does it for me. If you'd like to see more, USNA has a virtual tour with some nice pictures and a lot of information on their webpage. The website bonsaisite.com has a lot more information as well.