Pacific Bonsai Museum

On a typical Seattle morning we set out in the overcast skies and light rain to walk along the Seattle waterfront and admire the Sculpture Garden which is overseen by the Seattle Museum of Art.

From the conveniently placed walking bridge over the train tracks on a rainy Sunday morning

View from the waterfront Seattle Sculpture Garden

The walk through the garden was short but our goal was achieved.  We needed to avoid the baseball and football games which were taking place in stadiums downtown.   The price of Uber was 300% higher during the time before the games so we needed to wait a little for all the Sports Fans to get to where they were going.  Personally I thought looking at Bonsai in the rain at the Pacific Bonsai Museum was a better choice for a Sunday afternoon.  

Pacific Bonsai Museum

In 1989 Weyerhaeuser Corporation opened the Bonsai collection as a symbol of the company connecting people and it's forest resources.  In 2013 they donated the entire property and collection to a newly formed non-profit, The Pacific Bonsai Museum  The Museum has the mission of connecting people to nature through the living art of bonsai.

Located about 25 miles South of downtown Seattle, the collection is nicely nestled in a conifer woods.  As we arrived in a seemingly remote location we were unsure if we would be able to get an Uber ride back to the city.

The museum grounds were designed by the architectural firm Hoshide Wanzer and consist of an open maze of neutral walls that form effective backdrops for the plants.  Contained within the maze are a collection of 150 bonsai specimens from all over the world.

For our visit the museum was featuring a recurring theme of "Principles of Design".  Attractive posters featured design elements such as Movement, Shape, Rhythm, Form and Proportion.

Principles of Design Poster featuring "Shape"

Favorites

With 150 bonsai specimens to choose from it can be hard to find a favorite.  I found a few that appealed to me.  Of course each person has a different perspective and idea of which plant is a favorite.  In the greenhouse just before the outdoor collection is this Banyan.  The artist found this plant growing under a wall where it was beginning to damage it.  The plant was cut away from the wall but interestingly new roots began to form.  Artist Rong Yiao Xie placed a section of the tree on it's side and trained sprouts from the live roots into individual trees.

Chinese Banyan bonsai since 1985 

The following Coast Redwood by Toichi Domito has been under bonsai since 1967.  I like it because it looks like a real Redwood that should be growing in a forest of Redwoods.

Coast Redwood bonsai since 1967

Another favorite in a section of trees that suggest Movement is this Tucker Oak.  The leaves are Holly like but the species is Oak.

Tucker Oak bonsai since 1940

The landscaping surrounding the maze walls of the Bonsai garden are landscaped to reflect the bonsai specimens they contain.  An example of the beautiful complementary landscaping is here:

As we leave the garden there was this very large bonsai, over 6 feet tall, a Trident Maple.

Trident Maple