Surrealist Tree

The two surrealist fibreglass tree sculptures, created by Edward James can be found in the spring garden at the west end of the gardens.

Edward James's gardener Ivan Hicks says Edward wanted to perpetuate trees that had to be felled from disease and old age by ‘encapsulating’ the standing timber in fibreglass, thereby creating a tree that would never decay. He asked sculptor Ralph Burton to undertake the work on the two trees in 1972 and 1974. The timber has since rotted, leaving the fibreglass trees, forming surrealist tree sculptures around the original trunks.