Chicago Botanic Garden

for immediate release

"Three Friends of Winter" Show Highlights Beauty of Bonsai in Winter

Bonsai Silhouette Show and Family Activities
January 29 through 31, 2010

 

Media Only:
Melissa Schuler
(847) 835-6829, direct
mschuler@chicagobotanic.org

GLENCOE, Ill. (December 16, 2009)—To celebrate the winter season the Chicago Botanic Garden presents “Three Friends of Winter,” a silhouette bonsai show from Friday, Jan. 29 through Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on all three days.

This popular silhouette bonsai show features deciduous trees from the Garden’s priceless Bonsai Collection and select trees from exceptional private bonsai collections in the Chicago area in their dormant phase, which highlights their branch structure. Each bonsai will be exhibited in an artistic setting with an accent object such as suiseki, incense burner, statuary, or pottery on contemporary-design cottonwood benches made from trees felled within the Garden.

In Japanese tradition, the "Three Friends of Winter" are pine, bamboo and apricot. Pine symbolizes endurance and longevity; bamboo symbolizes strength and flexibility and apricot symbolizes purity of character. Each of the three plants will be incorporated into a Japanese garden created in Burnstein Hall, using the natural light from the skylight.

Throughout the weekend, the Lunar New Year Flower Market offers visitors a wonderful way to celebrate the lunar new year, encouraging prosperity and good luck, with flowering plants for sale such as orchids, tropical plants, and heavenly bamboo. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Family activities will include creating scrolls with images that reflect bonsai shape and, of course, the Three Friends of Winter, by using shades of black in the sumi-e tradition. Anne Shimojima will share traditional Japanese and winter stories from around the world at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. There will also be a suminagashi (Japanese marbleized paper) demonstration by Pam Martinez at noon on those days. Activity hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Ivan Watters, curator of the Garden’s Bonsai Collection, will give a talk entitled “The Skinny on Bonsai: What It’s Really All About,” on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Tim Priest will speak about the art of suiseki on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Admission to the Chicago Botanic Garden is free. Select event fees apply. Parking is $20 per car; free for Garden members. For information about Garden programs and events, call (847) 835-5440, or visit www.chicagobotanic.org.

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Editors, please note: The Chicago Botanic Garden's newsroom is online at www.chicagobotanic.org/pr. For digital images, contact Julie McCaffrey at (847) 835-8213 or at jmccaffrey@chicagobotanic.org.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, one of the treasures of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, is a 385-acre living plant museum featuring 24 distinct display gardens surrounded by lakes, as well as a prairie and woodlands. With events, programs and activities for all ages, the Garden is open every day of the year. Admission is free; select event fees apply. Parking is $20 per car; free for Garden members. The Garden is located at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Ill. Visit www.chicagobotanic.org, or call (847) 835-5440 for seasonal hours, images of the Garden and commuter transportation information.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society. It opened to the public in 1972 and is home to the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, offering a broad array of adult classes in plant science, landscape design and gardening arts. Through the Division of Plant Science and Conservation, Garden scientists work on plant conservation, research and environmental initiatives that have global impact. The Center for Teaching and Learning brings the wonder of nature and plants to children, teens and teachers. The Garden's Horticultural Therapy and Community Gardening programs provide nationally recognized community outreach and service programs. A program of the Chicago Botanic Garden, Windy City Harvest is an organic vegetable and plant production enterprise that provides instruction in sustainable horticulture and urban agriculture to residents of Chicago’s North Lawndale and West Side neighborhoods.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a member of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). The Chicago Botanic Garden is also host to Botanic Gardens Conservation International-U.S., and a member of the Center for Plant Conservation. In 2006, the Chicago Botanic Garden received the Award for Garden Excellence, given yearly by the APGA and Horticulture magazine to a public garden that exemplifies the highest standards of horticultural practices and has shown a commitment to supporting and demonstrating best gardening practices.