Visit to US National Arboretum Bonsai Collection

Hello all,

I went to view the US National Arboretum's collection today, and it was a blast.

I took many photos (too many to upload) that you can view at my blog : http://naturalbonsai.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/us-national-arboretum-visit/

To view a larger image just click on the photo. The trees I photographed were a few out of many trees the Arboretum has. If you are ever in Washington D.C. it is a must see.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Andrew

I was there a few years ago in AUGUST on a day when the actual temperature went over 100 F. The heat and humidity were soo bad I got sick, and I am a native of Florida.

I really enjoy our national capital but even the politicians leave town in August.

Billy points out a problem I noticed on my last visit, a few months ago. The scope of the collection is limited due to the climate. And the walls around the pavilions make it worse. No larches, no firs, few pines & other northern trees. The collection ideally should be where it can be representative of the entire country. It would be nice if the Arboretum could annex the Pacific Rim Collection, but the National Bonsai Foundation can barely afford to do what they do now.
Iris

bonsaisr wrote:Billy points out a problem I noticed on my last visit, a few months ago. The scope of the collection is limited due to the climate. And the walls around the pavilions make it worse. No larches, no firs, few pines & other northern trees. The collection ideally should be where it can be representative of the entire country. It would be nice if the Arboretum could annex the Pacific Rim Collection, but the National Bonsai Foundation can barely afford to do what they do now.
Iris

The USA is too big to have one spot be representative of the whole country.

Did you notice the Trees of the States portion of the arboretum? It's not part of the bonsai exhibit.

Rob Kempinski wrote:
The USA is too big to have one spot be representative of the whole country.

Some of us were discussing this, & we came to the same conclusion. Bonsai from the Deep South, Puerto Rico, & Hawaii could be accommodated in a glasshouse (as long as we're spending that nonexistent money), but we need an additional location in one of the northern states for the cold growers. As long as we're dreaming, how about the Arnold Arboretum?
Iris

I enjoyed your photos. Thanks for sharing them!
Regards,Todd

Thanks for sharing your trip with us, Andrew. I especially liked the detail shots of the trunks of some of the trees. Always interesting to see how each photographer depicts the trees and of course seeing recent shots of familiar trees

Andrew, great job and great blog! Keep snapping and add more description, too. I'm looking forward to following it. ( I linked to it a bonsaikc.com)