Larch - collected Feb 2001

February 2001 - Larch is an abundant species in this area and this example was found growing out of a bank. Because of this, the growth is all on one side but as soon as I saw it growing at 45 degrees I envisaged the windswept beauty it will hopefully become. I resisted the urge to wire this tree immediately preferring to allow it time to recover fully. It was planted in a colander as a trial and this proved a healthy container.

December 2001

The tree has been growing with much vigour all year and once the needles have dropped it is time to go to work. I have been looking at this tree all year and the preferred front was this one because the other side is a little bland in terms of roots and bark. This tree will demand a flexible approach to styling and as such I have only briefly considered the roots in terms of design. I intend to plant the tree at an angle in a windswept style and as such the roots will be a secondary consideration. You'll see what I mean later. For me the main focal point is the relationship between the trunk and first branch. I have had this branch tied down all year in order to lower it as much as possible because it must be horizontal at least at the point where it leaves the trunk and this as much as anything will determine the angle of the trunk.

Moving up the tree the obvious problems are dealt with first. The branch growing out and across from the front of the trunk is removed.

The top proved entertaining in that the branches that at first appeared to be the best placed to be useful appeared too thick in relation to the trunk. It had to go but how do we replace it?

The good old rule of thumb about the apex leaning toward the viewer came in useful again because in tilting the trunk forwards it bought one of the front branches low enough to replace the thick branch and it raised one of the back branches into a position where it could be shaped into a nice apex to replace the original apex that also proved too thick to use

The original trunk is serving a useful purpose as an anchoring point for straining wires for both the apex and the first branch so rather than work on the jin at this point I will wait until next year to give the branches a chance to set in position. Larch can be extremely difficult to persuade to stay in place especially large branches and so the longer the wire can remain the better.

SUMMER 2005