Axel Erlandson trees. Axel Erlandson and his unusual trees

Axel Erlandson was born in 1884. He was the offspring of Swedish immigrants who settled in Canada and lived by growing legumes and grains.

They say that this particular occupation, more precisely, the bizarre appearance of intertwining flexible stems inspired Erlandson to experiment with trees.

Footage from the early years of the Tree Circus from the Erlandsons' home archives (photo from arborsmith.com).

And really: if they can bend and intertwine herbaceous plants, then why not do the same with trees? In general, this idea seemed to him quite fascinating, and for many years Axel became interested in tests with trees, the trunks of which, during growth, with the help of special devices, appropriated a variety of shapes.

Pioneer arborsculptor Axel Erlandson under a tree where four trunks merge into one (photo from arborsmith.com).

For a very long time, this remained one of his family's favorite hobbies - until the time when his wife and daughter went on a trip in 1945, during which they realized that people were so attracted by the sight of all sorts of oddities that they were ready to give funds, if only just look at them.

Returning home, they immediately said that their bent trees could be a more profitable spectacle.

Axel was instantly ignited by this thought, bought a small area of ​​land in California and began to transplant the best trees from own garden- it would take a very long time to grow - and already in 1947 he opened this extraordinary garden for viewing. It was decided to choose a title for it, too unusual - "Tree Circus" (Tree Circus).

At one point, arborsculptor Dr. Chris Cattle was asked by students, "How can creative energy be contained in furniture?" And he answered them like this ... (photo from the websites arborsmith.com and growingvillage.com).

This passion - and the garden near the house, and the Circus - Erlandson intended 40 years. He made simply outstanding statues from living trees. When asked how he grew such masterpieces, he often answered something like: "I just asked them about it."

The use of arborsculptures can be found anywhere (photo from the website arborsmith.com).

But in 1963, Erlandson sold the Circus and died a year later.

The green statues were so amazing that they could not be lost. Soon the Circus had new owners - Larry and Peggy Thompson (Larry, Peggy Thompson).

They decided that the place should be the same attraction as before, and changed it quite a bit: gave it a new name - "Lost World" (Lost World) - and placed fiberglass dinosaurs that were supposed to draw attention to the amazing park .

Various armchairs, chairs, seats - a separate issue (photo from growingvillage.com).

But, unfortunately, Lari soon died, even before the "Lost World" opened to the guests, and Peggy, who was left with 3 children, had to manage the park herself for a couple of years.

She was successful in this for a couple of years, but soon she wanted to realize the park. The problem suddenly turned out to be that for some reason the client was not in any way.

Ficus house on the Okinawa Peninsula. Apparently erected without any building materials (photo from arborsmith.com).

The biggest difficulties for the park appeared in 1984, when serious disputes began about whether this area can be considered a historical monument. Differently " Lost world threatened to be destroyed by bulldozers.

The elegance of some works is unrealistic not to be taken aback (photo from growingvillage.com).

In 1985, Michael Bonfante, owner of the Nob Hill Foods grocery chain, purchased and transplanted several trees for his own amusement park in the California town of Gilroy.

On the this moment statues from trees, or arborsculptures (from the Latin "arbor" - a tree), are created, mainly, in the same ways that Axel Erlandson used.

For example, trees are bent, pruned, grafted, combined several times during planting or by grafting.

Dancing people. I wonder what kind of monsters they reincarnated into when the tree grows in a couple of years (photo from growingvillage.com).

In some ways, arborsculptures can resemble bonsai - because of the same methods, for example, twisting or trimming.

But if you continue to associate further, you can see that wood products have nothing to do with the art of artistic garden shearing, because pruning forms only foliage. And statues from trees are, first, a change in the shape of the trunk.

At the moment, one of the most recognizable arborsculptors is Richard Reams. In general terms, what he does is the same as what his predecessors did. Unless his designs look much more diverse.

Peace sign ("Pacific", in other words). According to arborsculptor Richard Reems, this is the strangest statue he has ever been commissioned for (photo from arborsmith.com).

The main idea, which is controlled by Richard, sounds something like this: "Imagine for yourself the world in which you would like to live, and make it yourself." This is how the most wonderful art surprises turn out - right up to the houses from growing trees.

Therefore, arborsculptural compositions more quickly resemble a trellis - plantings, which as a result of the same operations - splicing, bending, trimming - are transformed into a continuous living woody lattice covered with foliage.

The most exciting thing is that tree compositions do not require any ingenious tools, no special technologies. And why the arborsculptural trend in art and design did not appear in the deepest antiquity - this question remains a mystery...

Once in the park, where living trees grow into each other, tied into knots and take on the most incredible forms, you really think that you are in some kind of lost world. But there is nothing fantastic here - it's just that artists have worked here who can do anything with trees.

Axel Erlandson was born in 1884. He was the son of Swedish immigrants who settled in Canada and lived by growing legumes and grains.

They say that it was this activity, or rather, the intricate appearance of intertwining flexible stems, that inspired Erlandson to experiment with trees.

Footage from the early years of the Tree Circus from the Erlandson family archive (photo from arborsmith.com).

Indeed: if herbaceous plants can bend and intertwine, then why not do the same with trees? In general, this idea seemed quite interesting to him, and for many years Axel was carried away by experiments with trees, the trunks of which, during growth, with the help of special devices, gave the most different forms.

Pioneer arborsculptor Axel Erlandson under a tree whose four trunks merge into one (photo from arborsmith.com).

For a very long time, this remained one of his family's favorite hobbies - until his wife and daughter went on a trip in 1945, during which they realized that people are so attracted to the sight of all sorts of oddities that they are ready to give money, just to just look at them.

Upon returning home, they immediately said that their bent trees could be an equally profitable spectacle.

Axel immediately got excited about this idea, bought a small area of ​​land in California and began to transplant the best trees from his garden on it - it would take too long to grow - and already in 1947 he opened this unusual garden for viewing. It was decided to choose a name for it, also non-standard - "Tree Circus" (Tree Circus).

Arbor sculptor Dr. Chris Cattle was once asked by students, "How can creative energy be contained in furniture?" And he answered them like this... (photo from arborsmith.com and growingvillage.com).

Erlandson devoted 40 years to this passion - both the garden near the house and the Circus. He created simply outstanding sculptures from living trees. When asked how he grew such masterpieces, he often answered something like: "I just asked them about it."

The use of arborsculptures can be found anywhere (photo from arborsmith.com).

But in 1963, Erlandson sold the Circus and died a year later.

The green sculptures were so amazing that they could not be lost. Soon the Circus had new owners - Larry and Peggy Thompson (Larry, Peggy Thompson).

They decided that the place should be the same attraction as before, and changed it quite a bit: they gave it a new name - "The Lost World" (Lost World) - and placed fiberglass dinosaurs that were supposed to draw attention to the amazing park.

A variety of armchairs, chairs, seats is a separate issue (photo from growingvillage.com).

But, unfortunately, Larry died soon after, even before The Lost World opened to visitors, and Peggy, left with three children, had to manage the park herself for several years.

She successfully managed this for several years, but soon she wanted to sell the park. The problem suddenly turned out to be that the buyer for some reason was not in any way.

Ficus house on the island of Okinawa. Of course, it was erected without any building materials (photo from arborsmith.com).

The biggest problems for the park appeared in 1984, when serious disputes began about whether this area can be considered a historical monument. Otherwise, the "Lost World" was threatened with destruction by bulldozers.

It is impossible not to be surprised at the elegance of some of the pieces (photo from growingvillage.com).

In 1985, Michael Bonfante, owner of the Nob Hill Foods grocery chain, purchased and replanted several trees for his amusement park in Gilroy, California.

Now sculptures from trees, or arborsculptures (from the Latin "arbor" - a tree), are created, basically, by the same methods that Axel Erlandson used.

For example, trees are bent, pruned, grafted, combined several at once when planting or by grafting.

Dancing people. I wonder what kind of monsters they will turn into when the tree grows in a few years (photo from growingvillage.com).

In some ways, arborsculptures can resemble bonsai due to the same methods, such as twisting or trimming.

But, if we continue to compare further, we can see that wood products have nothing to do with the art of artistic cutting of gardens, because cutting forms only foliage. And tree sculptures are, first of all, a change in the shape of the trunk.

Now one of the most famous arborsculptors is Richard Reams. In general terms, what he does is the same as what his predecessors did. Unless his designs look much more diverse.

The symbol of the world ("Pacific", in other words). According to arborsculptor Richard Reems, this is the strangest sculpture he has ever commissioned (photo from arborsmith.com).

The main idea that Richard is guided by is something like this: "Imagine the world in which you would like to live, and make it yourself." This is how the most delightful art surprises turn out - up to houses from growing trees.

Therefore, arborsculptural compositions rather resemble a trellis - plantings, which, as a result of the same operations - splicing, bending, trimming, turn into a continuous living tree lattice covered with foliage.

The most interesting thing is that tree compositions do not require any ingenious equipment, no special technologies. And why the arborsculptural trend in art and design did not appear in ancient times - this question remains a mystery...

The more you look at the whimsical trees grown by Axel Erlandson, the more you admire his creations.

In the city of Gilroy, California, miracles are being created, but not culinary ones, although every corner is saturated with the smell of garlic. In the self-proclaimed Garlic Capital of the World, this has long been accustomed to. Other miracles that grow out of the earth are knocked out of the usual order of things, and hundreds of thousands of tourists come to see them here, in the center of California, and these miracles are trees.

They decorate the entrance to the Bonfante Garden theme park. Ten living exhibits with lush spreading crowns, at the sight of which one takes one's breath away from surprise.

One of the trees for a pretzel-shaped trunk in the form of two eights, one running along, the other across and intersecting in the middle, was called the Four-ringed. The other is the elegant Basket Tree, a sycamore tree a little less than 15 meters high, the trunk of which is formed, intertwined with amazing symmetry, by six young trees.

Collectively they are known as "Circus Trees", and around them there is an atmosphere of mystery and universal admiration. Planted over 70 years ago by a farmer and surveyor Axel Erlandson on a dusty, windswept farm in California, they are now the centerpiece of a park owned by former supermarket chain owner Michael Bonfante.

They amaze with their appearance, which contradicts all the laws of nature. Few can say with certainty what methods were used Erlandson, and no one was able to repeat his creations on such a scale. Yes, and it is unlikely that it will ever succeed.

Erlandson did not mention to anyone how he managed to grow such trees. “He didn’t tell me or my mother anything. He was afraid we would spill his secrets,” says his daughter, 73-year-old Wilma Erlandson. “And when children pestered him with questions, he answered: “I talk to them.”

The most amazing thing is that no one ever taught him this. Erlandson was born in 1884, the son of Swedish immigrants. His parents settled in Minnesota when he was about two years old. He had an irrepressible curiosity and was an unusually creative person, although he had only four classes of education. “He published his poetry in the local newspaper, taught himself to play the violin and, as a teenager, made a working model of a threshing machine,” says Mark Primak, author of an unpublished biography Erlandson.

Loop in a loop. - Eight is the magic number for this tree.

In 1902 Erlandson moved to California. It was there, caring for the protective forest belt he had planted, that he noticed one amazing thing: if two branches of one tree for a long time touch, eventually they will grow together. As an experiment, he planted four sycamores in a square at a distance of 180 centimeters from one another and, bending them slightly towards each other, took and grafted the trees together. So the Four-legged giant was born, resembling a huge spider.

On this Erlandson did not stop and by the mid-50s, having moved to Scotts Valley, he could already boast of 70 trees. Horticultural knowledge, the accuracy of a topographer and the creative energy of the artist made up that motley palette of skills that allowed him, twisting, splitting and grafting trees, to make spirals, then hearts, then all sorts of other puzzling structures out of them.

Every incision made for grafting Erlandson he wrapped it with a cloth ribbon, hiding from prying eyes what and how he conjured there. In addition, the wounds on the trees healed, leaving no trace of his manipulations.

However, with all his skill, the secret is far from being exhausted by a set of knowledge and tools alone. Like people who have been given the ability to handle animals, says Bonfante, Erlandson had a special approach to trees. "They felt Axel's soul and responded to him with the same love."

In 1947, hoping to earn extra money from his passion, the 63-year-old Erlandson opened on the way from Santa Cruz to San Francisco, where the traditional tourist route ran, an attraction called the Garden Circus. Of course, there were visitors, but it did not cause much excitement. By the time Erlandson sold his lands in 1963, 24,361 people had visited the circus, earning the owner a "massive" profit of six thousand dollars.

A year later, Axel was gone, and the park was forgotten. Having lost the caring hands of the owner, most of the trees died.

Bonfante conceived his park in 1983. Hearing about the plight of the trees, he was inspired by the idea to breathe new life into them. “I knew enough about gardening to understand what this man had achieved,” he says, “and it just seemed fantastic to me.”

A year later, he moved 25 surviving Axel trees to his park, located at a distance of 75 kilometers, where for 15 years they, like dancing bears and aerialists, were preparing to go out to the public, with the only difference being that they had domes over their heads. did not have.

In the Garden of Bonfante, more people saw Erlandson's trees in a week than in all 16 years of the existence of the Garden Circus. But no matter how much they puzzled over how he did it, they could not find an answer to this question. Why myself Axel Erlandson would only be happy.

Sometimes, watching crooked growing trees, it seems that there is nothing difficult to make them grow as you want, but of course there is a limit to everything. But one person decided to go further and realize absolutely fantastic patterns from living trees...

Erlandson began his first experiments in 1919. Having spent all his youth on a farm, he was always amazed at the ability of nature to create complex structures from branches and stems. At first, he used the usual gardening methods of pruning and grafting shoots to "push" them to grow in the right direction. Some compositions were created thanks to the fusion of two or more trunks pressed against each other, such as, for example, an elegant tree-arch (it is also a "two-legged tree"). Over time, skill grew, new methods of work appeared.

He experimented with birches, ash trees, elms, weeping willows, creating loops, hearts, spiral staircases, zigzags, rings, bird cages, towers, photo frames, etc. from their trunks.

He soon realized that his trees were popular and decided to create Tree Circus.

Erlandson did not reveal the secret of his technology to anyone, carefully protecting the “recipe” for grafting he made trees from spies.

However, when Axel was asked about the secrets of his trees, he only laughed it off: “I just ask them about it.” The most beloved “pets” in Erlandson’s garden were plane trees - it turned out to be easy to work with them, giving shape at an early stage.

Shortly after returning from a trip abroad, Axel Erlandson thought about creating a large garden-museum. By 1947, he moved several dozen already grown compositions to a purchased site in the town of Scotts Valley. By that time, most of the exhibits were already several decades old, and their creator was in no hurry to plant new ones, because there was practically no chance to complete work on them. The museum was named "Tree Circus" and immediately attracted crowds of curious tourists from all over the country.

Arbosculpture is a form of creativity that takes many years and requires great sophistication, but it is surprisingly durable and harmless both for environment as well as for the material. Trees do not experience any discomfort and continue to grow, even if they are "tied" into a knot.

The green crowns of Erlandson's living sculptures are the most the best of that proof.

After the death of the owner in 1964, they tried to turn the tree circus into another tourist attraction called "The Lost World". But plastic dinosaurs against the backdrop of unusual trees only irritated visitors, and soon this idea was forgotten. The living sculptures themselves continue to stand, and, obviously, they feel great. Arbosculpture has gained new fans, and now Erlandson's garden is not the only one of its kind. But take away from this unique place no one can tell his story.