Axel N Erlandson

Axel Erlandson and his Circus Trees have Intrigued people since the 1940s. Axel was very secretive about his methods of shaping trees. When asked he would say "Oh I talk to them". There has been much speculation as to how he shaped over 70 trees into fantastic shapes. These trees would become a roadside attraction and was called the Tree circus, the trees are commonly known today as the Circus trees. Some of his trees gained individual names like telephone booth, knot tree, cathedral, diamond, picture frame, needle and thread, basket tree and many more.

Axel seemed to enjoy working on a large-scale using timber trees like sycamore and box Elder. Later in life he trialled many others tree species.

Old photographs show the elaborate framework Axel build to guide the growth, the photos reveal some of his secrets. By looking closely one can see a series of small wooden blocks to guide the growth around curves. In one of the photos, he is building new framing for a existing design to further guide the tree when it grows that far. He also used timber spacers to maintain the design until the trees could support themselves.

Axel used a gradual shaping method. In his daughter's book (Wilma Erlandson) 'My Father "Talked to Trees"' she wrote "When the stems of the trees were very young and flexible he shaped them as desired." Wilma also talks about the role of the framework in the process of shaping the trees. Rather than forcing the trees into place as one author has suggested, Wilma talks about the framing supporting the trees. Quote from 'My Father "Talked to Trees"' "They were then held in place by framework for several years until they were strong enough to stand on their own."

Modern Tree shapers who use a gradual method of shaping are GrownUp Furniture and Pooktre. On the web site GrownUp Furniture by Dr Chris Cattle there is a how to guide about shaping trees. http://www.grown-furniture.co.uk/how-to-grow.html

Though out the life of the Circus Trees there has been much media attention about them. They have appeared 12 times in Ripley's believe it or not. They continue to appear in media around the world.

Axel never took on an apprentice, this meant that as he grew older and frailer he was unable to attend and care for his trees. After many years of trying to sell his trees he managed to sell them in 1963. It was only a year later that he died at the age of 79.

After Axel's death the trees had a series of owners. Disney tried to buy them but loss interest when they found out how much the owner wanted for them. During this time the trees were slowly dying from neglect. Robert Hogan purchased the land the trees where living on in 1977, for development. Joseph Cahill, a landscape designer, paid Hogan $12,000 for the trees and was given two and a half years to move them.

About this time a young architect Mark Primack went to great lengths to ensure the survival of the remaining Circus Trees. Mark received an arts grant to draw and record them as they were. He went onto the property without permission to tend and water the trees. He became an impassioned advocate for saving Axel's Trees. Efforts to have the trees declared historical or a cultural resource failed. Mark continues to have an interest in the Circus Trees and the potential they represent. He is considered the Leading authority on Axel Erlandson's Trees in the world today. On Mark's web site there are some photos of Axel's trees

Finally, in 1984, Michael Bonfante come forward to buy the trees for a horticultural amusement park. He moved 24 trees to the new location called Bonfante Gardens Theme Park in Gilroy. Where they are happily growing and open to the public today. Bonfante Gardens later changed their name to Gilroy Gardens.

Wilma Erlandson's book My Father "Talked to trees" is available at Gilroy Gardens.