Arborsculpture: Solutions for a Small Planet [Paperback]

Richard Reames (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Arborsmith Studios; 1ST edition (2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964728087
• ISBN-13: 978-0964728080
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #993,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arborsculpture: Solutions for a Small Planet, December 12, 2005

By 

Sheri Ann Richerson "ExoticGardening.com" (Marion, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arborsculpture: Solutions for a Small Planet (Paperback)

Arborsculpture may well be the book on horticulture that gets your creative juices flowing. Author Richard Reames believes that trees hold the key to stabilizing the climate and, as he shows, this vital element of the environment can also be sculpted into a work of art.
Numerous photographs, submitted by many different photographers, illustrate the many creative ideas. Trees have been formed into outdoor furniture that is functional , such as gazebos, fences, and trellises, or odd constructs, such as trees growing with what look like antique bicycles or guns through their trunks.
Reames includes step-by-step instructions and clear explanations of the techniques of grafting, notching, and rubbing (notching is making a small notch above a dormant bud to encourage it to grow; rubbing is a form of pruning - the newly emerging bud is rubbed off by hand.) He says that once the trunk and branches are shaped, they keep their form and become stronger as the diameters increase.
In addition, Reames includes chapters on the history of arboriculture. Arborsculpture has been practiced since 1908 at least, all around the world. The huge tree sculptures of one influential arborsculptor, Axel N. Erlandson, are displayed at Bonfante Gardens in California.
The book Arborsculpture is a work of art in itself. The techniques themselves are simple and it is easy to start with a sapling. The trick is to faithfully shape the young tree for several years and to continue to prune it carefully after the framework is established. The examples presented by Reames are inspiring and you may soon find yourself outdoors creating your own arborsculpture.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Historical/trivia reference, May 31, 2009

By 

Rickoshay - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Arborsculpture: Solutions for a Small Planet (Paperback)

This book gives lots of background history and trivia and is interesting in that sense, butI was hoping for more DIY-type information source. There are precious few pages that discuss methods.It is printed in a small b/w format so it's not that valuable for coffee table type that you can read and see beautiful pictures, yet they are interesting in a museum sort of way. The price seems a bit high for what it offers.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and inspiring, August 11, 2005

By 

Woods'song (McArthur, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arborsculpture: Solutions for a Small Planet (Paperback)

This book inspired me to try some arborsculpturing of my own, and I don't plant anything! If you've not heard about this field of arborsculpture, then you must check this book out! Thorough and well-documented, lots of pictures for us non-growing folk, and the auther has a great way of explaining the intricacies. He has been all over the world researching this subject, which is obvious once you read a little of the book. No where else could you get such a wealth of info on the subject, and it's all in one place. Guaranteed to make you want to try it yourself.