Brooklyn Botonical Garden

I just recently moved to New York City and had to go to the BBG. New York City living does not cater very well to bonsai but I am fighting the good fight. I have a couple on the fire escape and some ficus inside. Anyways, this exhibit was AMAZING and it filled my bonsai buckets. I thought I'd share.

Thanks for sharing your visit with us.

I am curious as to where the BBG got the information shown in the first photo. Per Kazuki Yamanaka's article, "The Shimpaku Juniper: Its Secret History," on the World Bonsai Friendship Federation's web site, "Chapter IV. Famous Collector, Tahei Suzuki," http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/shimpaku/shim4.shtml , states that Tahei Suzuki was born in 1865, and per "Chapter V. Collecting Team of Tahei
and His Brother Fukuji," http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/shimpaku/shim5.shtml , "In 1910, Tahei reportedly collected the famous Shimpaku later known as 'Fudo,'"

For images of Fudo alive, please see http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/KMurata.html#Fudo (and down a little ways).

Otherwise, your photos show a healthy and remarkable selection of specimens spanning the twentieth century. Please see http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/Days/DaysMay.html , May 5, and http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/Days/DaysAug.html , Aug 3 for some background on the two men to whom these trees most owe their existence today in the BBG's Steinhardt Conservatory, http://www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_bonsai.html .

Robert J. Baran
Bonsai Researcher and Historian

Did you happen go visit the BBG's garden shop? And if you did, were the BBG's three booklets on bonsai still for sale. I've scoured the BBG website and it seems that only the indoor booklet is still in print. They had two others -- one a "basic" booklet and another on so-called "Advanced Techniques." Neither stilol seems to be in print.

Thanks for posting these. I'd heard from somewhere that the BBG's collection had suffered from neglect, but there's no sign of that here.

Thanks for posting.

I beg to differ, Jim. There do appear to be one or two things that need sorting out. The moss proliferating in most pots, and on the pine trunk in particular, definitely needs removing. If it isn't, the outer bark rots and creates an appearance of inverse taper.

Nice photo report. Thanx.

Hmmm. Living where I do, I guess I seldom notice moss. Yeah. Getting it off trunks is a must. But, looking back over them, that pine seems to be the only one where that's a big problem.

Our club visited the BBG a year & a half ago. The entire garden, not just the bonsai collection, was in a terrible state. Most of the members of bonsai clubs in the NYC area are too old to volunteer or have died off or moved away. Money is not available. Last I heard, the bonsai collection had only one half-time curator. I understand they hired a new person, & the collection has improved. In addition to the moss & algae on some of the trunks, the arborvitae does not look healthy. When I was there, I noticed several labeling errors.
Iris

I went to the BBG in 1984 on an art club school field trip. I was in the eighth grade.

Got to aggree with Kev i`m afraid a lot of the trees look in poor shape, many of them are in need of some drastic pruning and some need a complete restyle. Shame, cause there looks to be enormous potential there.

Ian.

The BBG holds a dear place in my heart. I saw and fell in love with bonsai there some 45 years ago.
Good to see the collection is still there after all these years.
Jerry

For those who don't know the story, about the same time John Naka (of blessed memory) was introducing non-Japanese Americans out west to bonsai, Yuji Yoshimura (of blessed memory) was doing the same thing in the East. Some time in the early Fifties, he established a bonsai class at BBG for the wives of diplomats. Bill Valavanis has a photograph.
Iris