Oh and Bark Too

On a sunny, somewhat blustery day in winter, here's to some good-looking bark to lay eyes on. I'm kind of in love with the bark of a good Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia), big or small. (Below, a Bonsai version seen at Longwood Gardens. Man, if you really like a certain tree, does it ever blow you mind to see it as a Bonsai) There's something about that bark that makes me want to lay hands on it.

East

Leaves on a Japanese Maple in June, Brooklyn Botanic Japanese Garden

Thinking about the east right now as everyone is and Japan, a place I've never been but feel connected to because of years lived in Hawai'i, where its influence is heavy, and family. I've just been thinking about the amazing plants that come from this land and this culture and their influence in horticulture all over the world. Over at Brooklyn Botanic, they are currently celebrating Graceful Perseverance in the Bonsai Museum, the trees that survive in extreme environments and very soon in the spring, Hanami, the viewing of the cherry blossoms. I like that title, Graceful Perseverance, and the idea contained in it: celebrating people and plants that come through the years of hardship by adapting to a challenging environment with incredible grace, strength,art and beauty.































Bonsai Museum, Brooklyn Botanic

Rainy Day Work

Under the tables with Patrick in the Bonsai greenhouse, weeding the gravel. Not a bad view on a rainy windy day. Brooklyn Botanic's Bonsai collection is vast and impressive to observe behind the scenes. Weeding can be monotonous, like anything that has to be done over and over again, but it's also pretty satisfying when completed on any given day and necessary. You can look back over your shoulder and see just where you've been.

Touring

You really feel like you've gone somewhere else entirely when you enter the Bonsai Museum at Brooklyn Botanic. Not another planet exactly, but definitely transported. We took a tour with Julian today.

Something larger than life

and something smaller.



The first picture is actually looking up at a Bonsai from the vantage point of weeding under the tables, which I was doing this afternoon. The second really doesn't exaggerate the size of the hibiscus. If anything, it understates it. That hibiscus is the size of a dinner plate.