NABF Newsletter #5

Feature #6

The Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection

Federal Way, Washington

The Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection is located in Washington State, about 23 miles south of downtown Seattle. The Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection is one of 22 bonsai collections in the United States that are open to the public year-round. It is the only such collection that is owned and operated by a private corporation. Weyerhaeuser Company, the collection’s owner, is an international forest products company that produces live trees, logs, lumber, engineered wood products, paper, packaging materials, and wood pulp. It is one of the largest such companies in the world, and it owns or manages over 30 million acres of timberland in four countries.

The Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection was established in 1989, in conjunction with Washington State’s centennial celebration. The collection symbolizes Weyerhaeuser’s long term commitments to its customers, by honoring the art and cultures of the Pacific Rim nations where it has maintained business relationships for over 35 years; to its communities, by providing an educational and cultural resource that is open to the public free of charge; and to its forest resources, by maintaining a living collection that serves as an analogy for the careful, long-term management of trees in its commercial forest lands.

The collection is widely regarded as one of the finest in North America. As its name suggests, it contains trees from Pacific Rim nations, including Canada, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and the United States. There are 125 trees in the collection, about 60 of which are on display in the one acre viewing area, while the others are held in reserve in a “growing area” that is not open to the public. Trees are periodically rotated between the growing area and display area in order to add variety and seasonal interest to the exhibit.

The collection offers guided tours each Sunday at noon by request, or at any time by appointment for groups of ten or more. Casual visitors can take a “self-guided tour” by reading informational signs that accompany each tree. Bonsai lecture-demonstrations are offered on alternate Sundays, mid May through mid September, and a series of lectures on general gardening is presented each summer. At least one special exhibit is offered each year that focuses on a specific aspect of bonsai or related arts. Recent special exhibits include “The Art of Display”, “Nouveau Bonsai”, “Artful Environments”, and “Bonsai Goblins”.

The collection is operated by a paid staff of four that directs all aspects of operation, including general administration, collection development and maintenance, site development and maintenance, educational programs, exhibits, outreach activities, and communication/marketing. Paid staff includes a full-time curator, a full-time gardener, a part-time gardener, and a program assistant. A corps of about 25 dedicated volunteers provides essential grooming and light maintenance to keep the trees looking their best year-round.

The collection is open 5 days a week during fall/winter, and six days a week during spring/summer. Our open/closed days schedule will change on March 1, 2004, so please call or check our web site if you plan to visit after that date. You can contact us by calling (253) 924-5206, or check our website at http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/bonsai/. We hope you will schedule a visit to our collection any time your travel takes you to the west coast of the United States.

BONSAI AT PACIFIC RIM BONSAI COLLECTION

Images copyright Weyerhaeuser Company. Used by permission.

American (Eastern) Larch
Mr. John Biel
Canada
Date of origin: Est. 1900
Bonsai since: 1983

Bald Cypress
Mr. Vaughn Banting
USA
Date of origin: Est. 1968
Bonsai since: 1972

Catlin Elm
Mr. John Naka
USA
Bonsai since: 1970
Date of origin: 1970

Chinese Juniper
Mr. Kuo An Lee
Taiwan
Date of origin: 1944
Bonsai since: 1959

Firethorn
Mr. Cheen Chong Yea
Taiwan
Date of origin: 1968
Bonsai since: 1970

Fujian Tea Penjing
Mr. Qingquan Zhao
China
Date of origin: Est. of oldest tree 1982
Penjing since: 1985

Japanese Beech
Mr. Kazuhiro Ohashi
Japan
Date of origin: Est. 1953
Bonsai since: 1958

Japanese Maple
Mr. Warren Hill
USA
Date of origin: 1965
Bonsai since: 1970

Korean Yew
Mr. Su Hyung Yoo
Korea
Date of origin: Est. 1500
Bonsai since: 1986

Rocky Mountain Juniper
Mr. Robert Kataoka
USA
Date of origin: 1490 est.
Bonsai since: 1964

Staghorn Sumac
Mr. Leo Cunningham
USA
Date of origin: Est. 1967
Bonsai since: 1970

Surinam Cherry
Mr. Xueming Lu
China
Date of origin: 1961
Bonsai since: 1961