San Antonio Botanical Garden Hosts Bonsai Weekend with Exhibits and Workshops

Bonsai Weekend is running at the San Antonio Botanical Garden through Sunday, Feb. 1, drawing visitors for close-up displays, workshops and lectures that aim to boost practical skills across the local bonsai community. The garden’s event pages list hours of Friday, Jan. 30 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 31 and Sunday, Feb. 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The weekend includes a dedicated program, “The Art and History of Bonsai,” scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; the session carries a fee of $25 general and $20 for members, and the listing notes plainly, “Registration closes when filled.” The earlier 9:00 a.m. start time for that session sits ahead of the public Saturday hours, indicating it is a separate, pre-opening program that requires separate sign-up. The garden also lists a “Bonsai Workshop with Matt Turner” and a lecture titled “A New Home for Bonsai at Longwood Gardens - Lecture by Matt Turner,” giving attendees access to instruction and curator-level perspective from a named presenter.

The weekend is set amid a broader slate of programming at the garden, which promotes the large-scale immersive exhibit Otherwild. The garden describes Otherwild as inviting visitors “into a vibrant world where wonder takes root and the sky comes alive.” That exhibit, by artist Patrick Shearn and Poetic Kinetics, shares the garden’s calendar with community classes and events ranging from Crochet Club to family programming. The San Antonio Botanical Garden markets its venues as well, noting that “From corporate meetings to weddings, nature sets the scene for an unforgettable event. With seven venues across 39 acres, the garden offers stunning backdrops, flexible indoor and outdoor spaces, and personalized support to bring every gathering to life.”

Practical details for attendees are mixed on the site. The garden’s seasonal hours are listed as November–February 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, and members information and account tools are available through the ticketing portal. Some pages contain a ticketing line that reads “Total: $0.00 Go to Cart Checkout,” and a separate pages’ boilerplate shows “Nothing scheduled for this period. Check back soon for upcoming events!” These snippets appear on the garden site alongside active event listings and suggest display or portal quirks rather than changes to the Bonsai Weekend schedule.

If you plan to attend a workshop or a paid session, register promptly; capacity and the “Registration closes when filled.” notice indicate limited seats. For casual visitors, the weekend offers a chance to see bonsai up close, hear Matt Turner’s lecture offerings, and experience Otherwild within the garden’s larger seasonal program. Sign up for the garden’s newsletter to stay in the loop about schedule updates and membership benefits.