This guy bent 70 trees into ladders and bird cages
Axel Erlandson, a bean farmer, creatively bent 70 trees into unique shapes, including ladders and bird cages. His artistic tree experiments combined nature and art, resulting in stunning designs. Today, 25 of the original 'Circus Trees' can be seen at Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in California.
- ▪Axel Erlandson experimented with tree shaping and grafting to create artistic designs.
- ▪He successfully bent 70 trees into various shapes, including ladders and honeycombs.
- ▪25 of the original 'Circus Trees' are still alive and displayed at Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park.
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| Original publisher | Boing Boing |
| Canonical URL | https://boingboing.net/2026/05/25/this-guy-bent-70-trees-into-ladders-and-bird-cages.html |
| Publication time | Mon, 25 May 2026 17:57:19 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-25T18:12:39.753Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-25T18:12:39.753Z |
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This guy bent 70 trees into ladders and bird cages Popkin 10:57 am Mon May 25, 2026 Some say the name for Crooked Forest of Poland comes from its trees, which are crooked. (boreas.tr/shutterstock.com) This collection of photos shows the magical tree experiments of Axel Erlandson. A bean farmer by trade, Erlandson noticed how two sycamore trees naturally grew together and began experimenting, training and grafting trees into all sorts of stunning shapes, combining nature and art. I want to live inside one of them. From lostfoundartny: In all, Erlandson coaxed 70 trees into shapes like ladders, honeycombs, zig zags, and bird cages. Of the original 70 "Circus Trees," 25 are still alive and on display at Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy, California.
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