Pacific Bonsai Museum

I decided it would be prudent to stay within the vicinity of Federal Way on Friday because snow was forecasted for that afternoon, and I didn't know how well Seattle handled snow.

After Jeff left for the aquatic center, I set out to find the Pacific Bonsai Museum located about 1.7 miles away. The walk took me past strip malls and then a residential area before arriving at the Weyerhauser campus where the museum was located.

The Weyerhauser campus, which is currently vacant, is a huge campus with lakes, forests, and a building with a green roof. It was a little eerie walking along the empty, snowy footpaths - it almost felt like the set of a monster/horror movie. I got to the bonsai museum soon after.

The bonsai museum was amazing. Each of the exhibits was well labeled and I learned a lot. I always thought that specialized plants were used for bonsai; I was surprised to learn that bonsai were made from actual trees - I saw pines, firs, and beeches - which are trained to stay miniature. According to the literature, the health of the tree is paramount to the bonsai practitioner. While this may be true, I couldn't help but think of this as the topiary equivalent of foot binding. I was most surprised to find a ʻōhiʻa bonsai. ʻŌhiʻa is a culturally important tree in Hawaiʻi, and it typically forms the second canopy (beneath koa) in a healthy native forest. Part of the exhibit was indoors, but the majority of the bonsai were outdoors, with each bonsai held in a sheltered space and kept warm by a little heater.

I had a very enjoyable time walking on the snow covered path that wound among the bonsai. Admission to the bonsai museum was by donation and I gladly made one as I exited.

I authored an Atlas Obscura entry for the Pacific Bonsai Museum: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pacific-bon…

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