National Arboretum, Washington, DC

One pouring Sunday during my trip, the weekend when my old college friend, Nora, joined us, there was a bonsai show at the National Arboretum on New York Avenue NE.  I know that millions of tourists go to Washington DC and never see the arboretum, and many may not even know there is one.

There very much is, and there are two more besides this enormous green space in northeast DC.  I had not been for years and years.  Maybe a rainy day might not be the most accommodating, but what else is there to do when it comes down cats and dogs?  I learned that the term is pronounced “bonesigh”, which is more than I ever knew before, although there is a bonsai collection just 10 miles north of me here and I visit often.

a splendid antique tree that is about 14" tall

This is one lovely example of the art, and although it is splendid and masterful, it is not the prize of the collection even so.  That would be an evergreen tree that has been in training since about 1626.  It was inherited from someone and was begun in Japan.  There is much to enjoy at the National Arboretum and if you have the time, you will probably have the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens all to yourself.  I used to go there on impossibly hot days in June and July.  It’s like a different planet set down in an unpromising neighborhood and reached by a parkway most people don’t know except for getting quickly out of town.

Washington is not just politics, not just museum buildings and history, and not just trashy kiosks selling cheap souvenir junk.  It is also home to beautiful nature and beautiful works of man on nature.  Get there or be square.