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Three Friends of Winter

Bonsai Silhouette Show
Friday, January 29, through Sunday, January 31, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Family Activities and
Lunar New Year Flower Market
Saturday, January 30,
and Sunday, January 31, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lectures
Saturday, January 30,
and Sunday, January 31, 2 p.m.

To celebrate the winter season in the Japanese tradition, the Chicago Botanic Garden highlights the Three Friends of Winter (pine, apricot, 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. Ivan Watters, curator of the Garden's Bonsai Collection, will lecture on Saturday at 2 p.m., and Tim Priest will speak about the art of suiseki on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Family activities include creating scrolls that reflect bonsai silhouette shapes and, of course, the Three Friends of Winter, by using shades of black ink in the sumi-e tradition. Traditional Japanese and winter stories from around the world will be shared by Anne Shimojima at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and there will be a suminagashi (Japanese marbleized paper) demonstration by Pam Martinez at noon on those days as well.

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, heavenly bamboo, and other house plants.