Hemlock On Rock : Revisit
This hemlock composition is from 2016. The design challenge was to imitate a tree not dangling off a cliff, as we tend to do with semi-cascade, but rather rising from a ravine slope, low on a cliff. We used a lace rock cavity which stabilized well in an upright position, suggesting the cliff wall. Starting with […]
Windy Mountain Hemlock Styling
This Mountain Hemlock, Tsuga mertensiana, came from Vancouver Island, BC, courtesy of collector Anton Nijhuis. My impression of wind-influenced trees is that the foliage pads are slender when seen from the side. Also, there is usually some air between the branches. We used that idea in our styling of this tree. The raw Mountain Hemlock, […]
Minimalist Hemlock Styling~
This mountain hemlock clump, Tsuga mertensiana, was featured in a styling post some years ago, and after a recent reworking felt ready for a revisit. Since the styling it’s been placed on a Corian slab, and moss has taken over. This one seems to slow down visitors. With some curiosity, I’ve watched some literally come […]
Revisit: Mountain Hemlock Branch
A few years have passed since this hemlock was styled, and it seemed a ripe moment for an update on its progress. It was collected by Anton Nijhuis, and is unusual being a naturally rooted branch off a larger tree. The first styling was in December 2014 when former apprentice Bobby Curttright was here, and he […]
Revisit: Twin Trunk Hemlock on a Nylon Board—
The last post about a Hemlock suggested that I might as well start a series on revisits from past work to see if they’ve gotten worse with time, stayed the same, or improved. Today we revisit one of the weirder things we’ve done here, putting a tree on a plastic cutting board… At the finish […]
History of a Mountain Hemlock-
Years ago a student brought this Mountain Hemlock into a Seasonal session. We styled it in the fall of 2012, and it later made an appearance at the Artisans Cup and is now spending the year at the Portland Japanese Garden display. Please check it out if you drop through Portland, Oregon this year- Here’s […]
Potting up a Hemlock-
Some of you may remember the restyling of this large, old Mountain Hemlock, Tsuga mertensiana, a few years ago. This spring the wooden box it was living in was replaced with a low ceramic rectangle. The following is a photo essay of this final step in the progression- This was the hemlock in December 2014, before the […]
Ancient Mountain Hemlock-
Merely eye-candy at this point, this huge Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) has never been worked on…but it’s a marvel to look at. The tree was collected by Anton Nijhuis. It’s the oldest hemlock I’ve ever seen in a pot. Thinking of styling it this fall, and will definitely do a post about it if we do…
Very Tall Hemlock Clump Styled
This photo essay ends with a couple of movies… They’re too short for popcorn, but long enough to sit down for. Mountain Hemlock before branch removal or wiring. Here are some pre-work branch close-ups: Last week this Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) was styled with pruning and wiring. It’s an unusual front, as the apexes all […]
Very Large Mtn. Hemlock Clump-
This is one of those trees I’ve had in my yard a long time, and never done a follow-up post about. For one thing, it’s so large it’s hard to photograph. For another, I just didn’t get around to it. All of the trunks come from one base; it’s one tree. The snows are so […]
Michael Hagedorn 