NABF Newsletter #4

Feature #4

Bonsai and Penjing Collection and Display at the University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens

By Connie Bailie

The University of Michigan, Matthaei Botanical Garden’s bonsai and penjing collection started in 1977 when Mrs. M. Seever donated her deceased husband’s collection to the University of Michigan. Dr. M. Seever was first introduced to bonsai when he traveled to Japan during his research and teaching years as a faculty member of the Dept. of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan. He was also a founding member of the Ann Arbor Bonsai Society.

The collection now has nearly 50 trees and is made up from donations from various personal collections and individuals. Most recently some especially high-quality specimens were acquired from Mr. Howard Wright of Waterford, MI. In the collection we have 33 winter hardy trees that are placed in a cold frame from November to April. The rest are tropical, subtropical, and hardy trees not needing a winter chill period to resume growth in the spring. These are grown year round in one of five back-up greenhouses in the botanical gardens building complex.

To display examples of this outstanding collection as well as invitational trees from local experts a new public display has been constructed in the Warm Temperate House of our public conservatory. The warm temperate area has the general theme of people, plants, and cultures and has representatives of a number of Asian cultures as well as cultures of the Mediterranean Region.

The collection had a rocky beginning. At the time of acquiring the Seever’s collection staff here were not familiar with bonsai culture and styling. In 1984 the Ann Arbor Bonsai Society was asked to give advice and map out the needs and styling program of the trees.

Since then the AABS has had an enormous influence on this collection by supplying volunteers, monetary donations, and expert advice. During the first years Hester Hill, an AABS member and daughter of a missionary raised in China, was the principal force in keeping the collection alive and seeing to its styling direction. Pat Hopkinson, a horticulturist hired at this time also had training in bonsai and saw to the collection's horticultural needs. Later, Jack Wikle was hired as a bonsai consultant and volunteer leader for several years. Along with such expert help there have been numerous talented AABS members helping to keep the collection alive and well. For the past 10 years I’ve had the honor of seeing to the culture of the collection and lead several devoted and talented volunteers (mostly members from the AABS) in the care and styling of the collection.

We invite you to visit the Matthaei Botanical Gardens’ conservatory to view our trees. Our conservatory is open year round and contains plants from tropical, warm temperate, and arid regions. Our grounds are open from 8:00 am till sunset year round and feature eight public gardens. Visit our web site at www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg to find directions, hours and days we are open, entrance fees to the indoor conservatory, and descriptions of our collections and gardens.