[photo credit: The Huntington]
“Meet a Gardener: The Art of Penjing” features resident penjing artist and Chinese Garden gardener Che Zhao Sheng, who has worked on many of the roughly 60 penjing in the collection over decades in Southern California.
During the program, Che leads short guided walkthroughs of the penjing collection, introducing different penjing styles and explaining how penjing differs from Japanese bonsai.
He also offers a Penjing Fundamentals Demonstration, sharing basic care techniques such as how to design a tree, prune, repot, and wire branches into expressive forms.
Guests can join any of the scheduled walkthroughs and demonstrations within the two-and-a-half-hour window.
Set in a premier courtyard that frames views over Liu Fang Yuan and toward the San Gabriel Mountains, the event is presented as part of The Huntington’s regular public programming and is free with general admission.
It gives visitors a chance to see how a traditional Chinese art has taken root in a Southern California garden.
“Meet a Gardener: The Art of Penjing” will run on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California. For more information, call (626) 405-2100 or visit https://www.huntington.org/event/meet-gardener-art-penjing. Ticket prices: General admission typically ranges from about $25 to $29 for adults, with discounted rates for seniors, students, and children, and free admission for children under a certain age; event admission is free with general admission.
