Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’
Blue Atlas Cedar
Oakland, CA
October, 2013
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This is the central tree in an established formal Japanese garden, planted in the 1960s by a Japanese garden and Bonsai artist. The current owners of the house have been careful to keep the garden well tended and have me come about three times a year for a full day of pruning.
These photos are from my second pruning of the tree. The first time I pruned it, it had evidently been three or four years since it had been seen to last. I focused first on keeping the height down. This is a tree that would easily be four times its current height if left to its own devices, so careful planning of the apex is very important. I also spent a large amount of time thinning it out and giving it a more airy quality. I had left the ends of the branches untouched and spiky, looking more like its natural character.
Upon my second visit the client showed me a very old newspaper article showcasing the garden with several black and white photos. One of the photos was of this Cedar and I noticed the pruner had given the entire canopy a much more rounded appearance. Since this garden is more about keeping up someone else’s vision than it is about expressing my own, I reworked the tips to round everything off and make it much more like its original appearance.
One of my favorite aspects of this tree is the way the fall colors of the Japanese Maple trees behind it show through the gaps between the branches, playing with the solid blue-grey of the Cedar needles.
These photos are from my second pruning of the tree. The first time I pruned it, it had evidently been three or four years since it had been seen to last. I focused first on keeping the height down. This is a tree that would easily be four times its current height if left to its own devices, so careful planning of the apex is very important. I also spent a large amount of time thinning it out and giving it a more airy quality. I had left the ends of the branches untouched and spiky, looking more like its natural character.
Upon my second visit the client showed me a very old newspaper article showcasing the garden with several black and white photos. One of the photos was of this Cedar and I noticed the pruner had given the entire canopy a much more rounded appearance. Since this garden is more about keeping up someone else’s vision than it is about expressing my own, I reworked the tips to round everything off and make it much more like its original appearance.
One of my favorite aspects of this tree is the way the fall colors of the Japanese Maple trees behind it show through the gaps between the branches, playing with the solid blue-grey of the Cedar needles.
