Brooklyn Botanic Garden — Art of Bonsai — Brooklyn, NY learning

What it is

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Art of Bonsai is a curriculum/schedule-first continuing-education workshop series in Brooklyn, New York. Official class pages: a single-session interactive bonsai design class where participants work with unstyled bonsai material specially grown for BBG, learn design thinking and hands-on shaping techniques, and leave with care/maintenance skills plus their own tree (all supplies provided). Instructor credited on published sections: Julian Velasco. Related Garden context includes the C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum / Bonsai Collection Centennial programming (tours and exhibits on separate visit/event pages). This listing is Learning — not a retail nursery shop and not a membership club.

Who it’s for

New York City–area adults who want a ticketed BBG continuing-education bonsai workshop: beginners and intermediates designing and shaping a tree from unstyled material, taking home a finished class tree, and learning long-term care. Member and nonmember dollar rates (plus materials) are printed on each Art of Bonsai class page. Garden visitors interested in the bonsai collection may also use published Garden hours/admission, but this card is for the adult class pages, not for walk-up tree sales.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party botanic-garden education catalog with printed session dates, member/nonmember tuition, materials fee, instructor credit, and Brooklyn Garden location — curriculum and schedule first, not a shop blur. (Candidate notes: National Bonsai Foundation site states operations concluded end of 2025; NYBG lists Bonsai for Beginners on the Spring Classes 2026 hub with a June 14 date and Enrole materials note, but full session tuition was not printed on the Enrole course page at this check.)

Class identity / instructor (Art of Bonsai pages — checked 2026-09-21): interactive design/shaping workshop; unstyled material grown for BBG; supplies provided; take-home tree; instructor Julian Velasco on published sections. Filed under Continuing Education / Gardening Classes.
Fall sections + tuition (Art of Bonsai fall 2025 page — checked today): single sessions Saturday, November 22, 2025, 12:00–3:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 20, 2025, 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Cost $149 ($141 members); includes $70 materials fee. Status at check: Registration Closed / waitlist only. Fall registration open note on that page: Monday August 4, 2025, 9:00 a.m.
Summer sections + tuition (Art of Bonsai page — checked today): single sessions Saturday, June 28, 2025, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 23, 2025, 12:00–3:00 p.m. Cost $72 ($65 members), plus $70 materials fee. Status at check: Registration Closed / waitlist only.
Garden context / address (Directions / Hours & Admission — checked today): entrances 455 Flatbush Avenue and 990 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11225 (Eastern Parkway entrance temporarily closed on the check-date notice). September seasonal hours example on the hours page: Tuesday–Thursday 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.; Friday–Sunday 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; closed Mondays — confirm live hours/admission before visiting. Adult ticket samples on the same hours page: Adults $22 box office / $23.67 online; members free.

Tuition, session dates, materials fees, and Garden hours above are what the official Brooklyn Botanic Garden pages showed on the check date. Catalog seats and prices change. Use the live Art of Bonsai and Continuing Education Classes pages before treating any figure as fixed — published 2025 sections were closed at check; confirm the next CE season openings on the live catalog.

Official URL

Art of Bonsai (class page): https://www.bbg.org/classes/art_of_bonsai

Art of Bonsai (fall sections): https://www.bbg.org/classes/art_of_bonsai_fall_2025
Continuing Education Classes hub: https://www.bbg.org/learn/continuing_education_classes
Hours & Admission / Directions: https://www.bbg.org/visit/directions
Brooklyn Botanic Garden home: https://www.bbg.org/

Location

Class meetings: Brooklyn Botanic Garden continuing-education venues on Garden grounds, Brooklyn, NY 11225 (public entrances printed as 455 Flatbush Avenue and 990 Washington Avenue on the hours/directions page checked 2026-09-21). Confirm classroom location on the registration confirmation and live class page. Garden open hours and admission change by season — use the live Hours & Admission page.

This is a botanic-garden education / class-series address. Do not treat it as a retail bonsai nursery shop or as a membership club meeting hall. Category remains Learning (curriculum/schedule-first), even though the Garden also maintains public gardens and a bonsai museum/collection context.

Notes

Category is Learning. First-party adult class series with printed schedule, member/nonmember tuition, materials fee, and instructor — not a nursery and not a club. Distinct from Bonsai Boy (Nurseries) and Phoenix Bonsai Society (Clubs).
Fall 2025 Art of Bonsai $149/$141 (includes $70 materials), summer 2025 $72/$65 plus $70 materials, Julian Velasco instructor credit, and Flatbush / Washington Avenue entrances are transcribed from official BBG pages checked on 2026-09-21 and may change. Published sections were registration-closed at check; confirm next openings on the live CE catalog.
Pics optional for this Monday card; no listing image saved beside this file. Default learning card art is used.
Not affiliated with Bonsai Plaza.
No Bonsai Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.

FAQ

Q: What does Art of Bonsai cost, and what is included? A: Official class pages (checked 2026-09-21): fall sections list $149 ($141 members) including a $70 materials fee; summer sections list $72 ($65 members) plus a $70 materials fee. Supplies are provided; each participant leaves with a bonsai tree. Confirm live seats and the next season’s prices on https://www.bbg.org/classes/art_of_bonsai and the fall URL above.

Q: When are the published sessions? A: Fall 2025 page: Saturday Nov 22, 2025, 12–3 p.m. and Saturday Dec 20, 2025, 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Summer page: Saturday Jun 28, 2025, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. and Saturday Aug 23, 2025, 12–3 p.m. Both were Registration Closed / waitlist at check. Watch Continuing Education Classes for the next open registration window: https://www.bbg.org/learn/continuing_education_classes

Q: Is this a nursery or a club? A: Neither for Bonsai Plaza category purposes. Brooklyn Botanic Garden publishes curriculum/schedule-first adult class pages, so the card is Learning. Tree/pot retail with shop prices belongs under Nurseries (e.g. Bonsai Boy). First-party club meeting schedules belong under Clubs (e.g. Phoenix Bonsai Society). Garden membership discounts on class tickets are pricing context, not a reclassification into Clubs.