Great Escape: Tiny World

On scorchers like Tuesday, everyone yearns to escape the heat and seeks out customary relief in swimming pools, water parks, and blockbusters showing at air-conditioned theaters. I want to recommend an entirely different escape — one into tiny worlds of wonder and mystery.

There is a powerful magic in contemplating small and exquisite treasures. Think of Alice wistfully gazing at the lushly beautiful garden that she couldn’t enter — because the door was too small. And so goes her adventure in Wonderland.

The National Gallery is another beautiful garden, but it is one that you can visit without the help of a bottle labeled “Drink Me.” The 440-acre enclave in Northeast Washington, D.C., established in 1927 as part of the Agricultural Research Service, is a “living museum” of flowers, plants and shrubs, and it promises cool relief on a hot day.

But the Arboretum’s most distinctive and unusual exhibit is the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. Even Alice would have been awestruck at the intricately formed miniature trees, including a Japanese white pine that dates from 1625. Lovingly tended and pruned, bonsai trees can last for centuries in their controlled ceramic pot environment. With family in town, and a father who is a bonsai hobbyist, this museum visit seemed like the perfect weekend activity.

We entered the museum through a Japanese strolling garden, whose winding pathways and artfully arranged tableaux of plantings and stones prepared our minds to encounter the miniature trees and landscapes. Though the museum was full of summer tourists, their talk was serene and their pace was unhurried as we strolled through the museum’s many pavilions: Chinese, Japanese, North American, and international.

Some of the trees were arranged in perfect mountain landscapes and wooded copses. My personal favorite was a Gingko tree, with its distinctive silvery fan-shaped leaves.

Some of the international bonsai practitioners for creating these miniature trees and landscapes — have gone global — have pushed the boundaries of the craft to create distinctive works of art that reflect a diversity of experiences and influences. I was especially impressed by a wooded landscape of beeches that looked like an asparagus forest or a sci-fi film set.

Even on a hot summer day, in the waning late afternoon light, it seemed like the perfect miniature people who inhabited these perfect worlds had briefly stepped away and would return momentarily. We left the bonsai museum refreshed and renewed, ready to step back into the full-sized reality of a mid-July day.

The National Bonsai Museum is open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the summer. It is closed on federal holidays in November through February. For crafty and DIY types, the Arbor House Gift Shop has a collection of bonsai books and supplies to get you started in this fascinating art form.

This story has been corrected. An earlier version incorrectly provided information about bonsai and the National Arboretum's location. We regret the error.