Three Friends of Winter

Three Friends of Winter
President's Circle Bonsai Silhouette Show Preview Party
Friday, January 25, 5:30 – 8 p.m.

Bonsai Silhouette Show
Friday, January 25, through Sunday, January 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Family Activities
Saturday, January 26, and Sunday, January 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lectures at 2 p.m.
Saturday, January 26: Ivan Watters
Sunday, January 27: Tim Priest

To celebrate the winter season in the Japanese tradition, the Chicago Botanic Garden highlights the Three Friends of Winter (pine, plum, and bamboo), which in Japan endure cold weather and are symbols of flourishing under adverse conditions.

The popular silhouette bonsai show features deciduous trees from the Garden’s 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 with an accent object such as suiseki, incense burner, statuary, or pottery on contemporary-design cottonwood benches made from trees felled within the Garden. The Three Friends of Winter are incorporated into a Japanese garden (tsubo-niwa) within the exhibit.

On Saturday, join the Garden's bonsai collection curator Ivan Watters in the lecture "Bonsai: A Patient Art—Writing, Managing, and Editing." On Sunday, Tim Priest will present "Bonsai: A Patient Art—the Photography." Both lectures highlight the new book Bonsai: A Patient Art, which is available now in the Garden Shop.

Weekend family activities include creating scrolls featuring the Three Friends of Winter and bonsai silhouette shapes by using shades of black ink in the sumi-e tradition. Learn about the symbolism of pine, plum and bamboo and how the scrolls are used not only decoratively but also to tell a story.

President's Circle members can take part in the Bonsai Silhouette Show Preview Party on Friday evening, which includes an informal tour of the Bonsai Silhouette Show, hors d'oeuvres, Japanese music, and a presentation by Kris Jarantoski, executive vice president and director of the Chicago Botanic Garden. For more information on joining the President's Circle or registering for the Bonsai Silhouette Show Preview Party, please call (847) 835-6925.

Three Friends of Winter is generously supported by the Astellas USA Foundation.