I went for a stomp about in the twilight, still freezing, and came across this row of pollarded trees near the Guildhall with a half moon with a frosted ring hanging in the sky above a bright planet. The practice of pollarding is often criticised because it makes the trees look ugly but it dates from medieval times when trees were pollarded for livestock food or for fence posts. Nowadays, it’s usually to keep them to a reasonable height in an urban environment. I like the look of them, especially in winter without their leaves.
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I like the sketches. Also very interesting about pollarding – I hadn’t realised that it went that far back.
Thank you – I didn’t realise it before either – quite a history
Really captures how cold it is, nice drawing.
Thank you – I’m enjoying getting out in the cold.
I have such pollarded trees near me too! It’s quite an art form! They are done a little more closely clumped and always look so neat.
Love how I can feel the winter’s night air in these drawings, brrrr!
It’s quite a challenge to capture the chill 🙂
Rosie, thanks so much – I didn’t know the name for this kind of pruning. I thought it was just something that city workers did to keep the trees from the power lines, and perhaps it is. Sometimes they only do one side of the tree. Looks very weird till the leaves come in.
I really like the look of them – very striking 🙂