World Bonsai Day & the Return of the Little Trees

ONSITE | MAY 10 - 11, 2025

The return of the bonsai and landscapes to the display shelves in the Bonsai Exhibition Garden each spring is always cause for celebration! The date is chosen to ensure the tender trees, emerging from winter dormancy, are safe from temperature extremes. It's also chosen in recognition of World Bonsai Day, a worldwide celebration honoring the art of bonsai as an expression of peace and harmony in nature. Read more about World Bonsai Day here.

Members of the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society will be on hand to demonstrate techniques and answer questions while working on their own trees. The Blue Ridge Bonsai Society program will be presented on Saturday, May 10, and Sunday, May 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. 

Curator Arthur Joura will present a free demonstration on Saturday, May 10, in which one of the Arboretum’s largest and most cherished bonsai — Aunt Martha’s Magic Garden — will be repotted.

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily with the trees and landscapes of the collection on display mid-May through November. 

For more information on World Bonsai Day activities, contact blueridgebonsaisociety@gmail.com .