The Art of Bonsai: Cultivating Your Appreciation

with Rebecca Ayres

Friday, April 10 | 1 – 2:30pm

BRN - Elective

Do you enjoy visiting the bonsai collection at the Arboretum but wish you had a deeper understanding of the art of bonsai? If you’d like to learn more about the cultivation and shaping of bonsai, but don’t necessarily want grow your own, this class is for you. It will cover the history of bonsai from ancient China to the Arboretum’s Bonsai Exhibition Garden. It will show the aesthetic qualities that are desirable in bonsai. While this course doesn’t cover all the detailed information you’d want for growing your own little trees, it does discuss how bonsai are started, nurtured, pruned, root-pruned, and wired. You’ll get behind-the-scenes views of the care of bonsai at the Arboretum and learn what makes the Arboretum’s bonsai display special. You’ll get some tips on where and when to see bonsai at the Arboretum and other public displays.

Rebecca Ayres is a ceramic artist and gardener. A longtime Arboretum volunteer, she is the assistant to the bonsai curator and helps with overseeing the exhibition garden, the collection and the Carolina Bonsai Expo. She is a member of the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society, where she has taught workshops and classes, and is a graduate of the Arboretum's Blue Ridge Naturalist program.

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