Few art collections breathe and grow autonomously; Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s bonsai collection has for 100 years. To highlight this milestone anniversary, the institution and its C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum have launched an expanded offering, added accessible signage, and arranged commemorative activations.
“New Yorkers can gain so much from understanding bonsai. I suppose it’s a bit like taking time to smell the roses,” says the Garden’s Horticulture Director, Shauna Moore, who sees the peculiar trees as an invitation to slow down in the midst of the city’s never-ending bustle. “This patience and quiet contemplation can feel elusive in our metropolis, making bonsai a gateway to a kind of peace.”
When bonsai first landed in the U.S.—as a postwar keepsake from returning GIs—there were few resources for American gardeners. So, they “came to BBG for guidance, community, or even to donate their specimens,” Moore explains. While most Americans still didn’t know what a bonsai tree was, Brooklyn Botanic Garden launched some of the first classes that taught growers how to keep the small plants alive and thriving.
