Every Year Or Two,

I have a different project,

 for instance growing insectivorous plants or mosses, cactus, plants grown from bulbs, orchids, you get the picture, one year many years ago I decided on bonsai, so it was with interest I looked at these pictures, taken by photographer Stephen Voss who took these pictures at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington D.C., and appear in his book In Training,

this Japanese White Pine, has been in training as it is called since 1625 and has a unique history, it is nearly 400 years old but age is not the only extraordinary feature about this bonsai, it also survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing, although the explosion zone was less than two miles away, the bonsai was kept in a nursery with high walls that protected it from the blast, it had been cared for by bonsai master Masaru Yamaki, who donated it to the Museum in 1976, its history only became known when Yamaki’s grandsons visited the Museum in 2001,

a Sargent Juniper, training date unknown,

Chinese Juniper, in training since 1953, and allegedly one of the most famous bonsai trees in the world, it is almost as old as me! in any event the book is available here, and no I am not on commission, I just like looking at bonsai.