Website design By BotEap.comAxel Erlandson and his Circus Trees have fascinated people since the 1940s. Axel was very quiet about his techniques for shaping trees. When he was asked, he said “Oh, I talk to them”. There has been much conjecture as to how he shaped more than 70 trees into wondrous shapes. These trees would become a roadside attraction called the Tree Circus, the trees are generally known today as the Circus trees. Some of his trees acquired individual names such as telephone booth, knot tree, cathedral, diamond, picture frame, needle and thread, basket tree, and many more.

Website design By BotEap.comFinding out how he did it.

Website design By BotEap.comAxel seemed to like working on a large scale using timber trees such as sycamore and elderberry. Later in life he tried several other tree species.

Website design By BotEap.comThe old photos reveal the complicated framework that Axel built to guide growth, the photographs reveal some of its mysteries. Looking closely, a series of small-scale wooden blocks can be seen to guide growth around bends. In one of the photos, he reveals the construction of a new frame that is added to an existing design to further guide the tree when it grows so large. He also used wooden spacers to support the design until the trees could stand on their own.

Website design By BotEap.comAxel practiced a gradual modeling technique. In his (Wilma Erlandson’s) daughter’s book ‘My father “talked to the trees”‘, she wrote: “When the stems of the trees were very young and flexible, he shaped them into the desired shape.” Wilma also talks about the role of framing in the process of shaping the trees. Instead of forcing the trees into position as she has been advised by a tree shaper, Wilma talks about the framework that supports the trees. She quotes from ‘My father “talked to the trees”‘ “Then they were held in place by a frame for several years until they were strong enough to stand on their own.”

Website design By BotEap.comModern tree shapers that use a gradual modeling technique are GrownUp Furniture and Pooktre. There is a guide on how to shape trees on Dr. Chris Cattle’s GrownUp Furniture website.

Website design By BotEap.comhttp://www.grown-furniture.co.uk/how-to-grow.html

Website design By BotEap.comWhere are the trees right now?

Website design By BotEap.comAlthough outside of the life of Circus Trees, there has been a lot of media attention on them. They have appeared a dozen times in Ripley, believe it or not. They have continued to appear in media around the world. Axel never trained an apprentice, this meant that as he grew older and more frail, he couldn’t take care of the trees for him. After years of trying to sell his trees, he negotiated to sell them in 1963. It was only a year later that he died at the age of seventy-nine.

Website design By BotEap.comAfter Axel’s death, the trees had a series of owners. Disney tried to buy them, but lost interest when he found out how much the owner wanted for them. During this time the trees slowly died from neglect. Robert Hogan bought the land where the trees lived in 1977, to develop. Joseph Cahill, a landscaper, gave Hogan $12,000 for the trees and was given two and a half years to remove them.

Website design By BotEap.comAround this time, a young architect, Mark Primack, did his best to ensure the survival of the remaining Circus Trees. Mark received an art grant to draw and immortalize them as they were. He entered the property without permission to care for and water the trees. He became an ardent advocate for saving the Axel trees. His campaign to have the trees recognized as a historical or cultural resource failed. Mark remains interested in the Circus Trees and the potential they represent. He is considered the leading authority on Axel Erlandson trees in the world today. There are some pictures of Axel’s trees on Mark’s website.

Website design By BotEap.comFinally, in 1984, Michael Bonfante stepped forward to purchase the trees for a horticultural amusement park. He moved 24 trees to the new location in Gilroy, which was called Bonfante Gardens Theme Park. Where they are happily flourishing and open to the public today. Bonfante Gardens later changed its name to Gilroy Gardens.

Website design By BotEap.comWilma Erlandson’s book My Father “Talked to Trees” is available at Gilroy Gardens.

Website design By BotEap.comTo see photos of the Axel trees, go to this site http://www.markprimack.com/pages/tree_circus/tree_circus.html

Website design By BotEap.comHistory of the Axel N Erlandson tree circus and some other interesting trees.