We are deeply thankful for our devoted community — you and everyone else who appreciates the art of bonsai and supports the National Bonsai Foundation. You make sure we can preserve the hundreds of amazing trees at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum on the grounds of the U.S. National Arboretum. And you help us protect the legacy and promote the future of bonsai across the country and around the world.
Here are some of the accomplishments we achieved together this year:
We expanded and enhanced the National Bonsai Apprenticeship, increasing the stipend and the scope of this intensive training program.
We helped the museum earn the top honor for "Best Place to Take an Out-of-Towner" from the City Paper’s Best of DC competition – for the fifth year in a row!
We wrote an inspiring letter to the editor in The New Yorker in response to a provocative piece on the culture of bonsai training.
We helped highlight initiatives from our friends at the Potomac Bonsai Association, American Bonsai Society, and Friends of the National Arboretum.
We published Cultivated Stones, a catalog book with stunning photos and a compelling essay that details the recent gift of Chinese scholars’ rocks from noted expert and collector Kemin Hu.
These are just some of the ways that your support helps us advance the arts of bonsai, penjing, and viewing stones.
During the pandemic, we worked hard to keep our opportunities open even as our doors were closed. When the museum reopened last year, we renewed our dedication to safely keeping it that way. And throughout it all, you helped us maintain the most comprehensive living arts gallery of its kind.
Thank you for everything you do to support us and the art of bonsai. Happy New Year!