Check out the ‘Root Bridges of India’ to bend your perception of what trees can do, or be induced to do. Having air- spade excavated a number of trees to see the previously unseen subterranean parts in detail, tree roots fascinate me. They remain flexible while underground but will convert into normal bark covered wood if exposed to air and sun in the right way and remain supremely rot resistant. Below are some examples of trees that germinated on a rotted stump or pile of soil; as the stump fully rotted away or the soil eroded away, the tree was left hanging up in the air to create these amazing forms.

I’ve started to play with this phenomenon at our tree farm to see what is possible if some deliberate effort is applied to this tree adaptability. Yellow Birch is a leading species for this flexibility, but I think the Plane Tree and various Arborvitae are also good candidates. Stay tuned for some tree sculpture. . . possibly appearing in a few years.