The Bonsai House was opened in November 1999. It is situated next to the Japanese Garden, an inspiring addition to the Gardens' plant collections. The building was designed specifically to house and compliment the bonsai collection by combining natural elements such as rammed earth walls and bamboo.

There are approximately 300 plants in the collection, with as many as 100 on display at any one time. Many of the plants came from the collection of Sydney horticulturist, the late Len Webber. He first became interested in bonsai while stationed in Japan after World War II and developed an extensive collection at his home.

In 1985, some of his collection was acquired by Ithaca College ofTAFE in Brisbane for use as a teaching aid and was later moved to Grovely TAFE. While under the curatorship of TAFE, the staff and students added a number of plants to the collection.

The decision to move the collection to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha ensures Queensland residents and visitors have greater access to a large established collection of bonsai. This collection is being developed further to illustrate different bonsai styles and to display a range of suitable species of plants for bonsai.

REGION: QLD > Brisbane