Weeping Green Beech,
Leafless for Winter
"The cruel Moon hangs out of reach
Up above the shadowy beech."
-Robert Graves
(1895-1985)
(1895-1985)
Granny Artemis told me, "A really skillful & artistic photographer might've taken that one on purpose!"
Meaning, of course, for me, it was an accident.
Dusk's light reflects off a white wall, casting the lower branches of this weeping green beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula') into sharp silhouette.
This first photo was a random shot standing at eye-level in winter 2000. The thorny branches on the wall are from of an old rose. The grassy silhouette beneath is lavender.Many of this variety of beech have, as ours has, one long sideways-reaching limb, like a rag-draped beggar's arm, with all the other limbs weeping downward, or starting at an upward angle & quickly drooping.
One of our key considerations in selecting deciduous trees is how they will look in winter without their leaves. Most trees that are called 'Pendula,' or weeping, merely hang their limbs downward, but various weeping beeches appear "tortured" into unusual shapes, lending them the highest winter interest.
When in full leaf they disguise their strangeness somewhat, or if still odd, look like hunchbacks reaching out with crippled arms draped in torn green garments or ravaged lace. It is only in winter that every unusual twist & turn of trunks & branches, & the cloudy-mottled bark, stand out with such stark contrasts. Later portraits taken in winter can be viewed on the Weeping Beech Page along the Winter Bark Garden Walk.
The second photo is the same tree from a different angle. Its one long "arm" is reaching backward. The berries of a self-planted Franchet's cotoneaster are visible behind the beech. As we have multiples of this cotoneaster here & there, this one was eventually removed & replaced with a fragrant winter honeysuckle.
Weeping Green Beech in Spring
& go along the Garden Walk of Autumn Trees for
Weeping Green Beech in autumn
& for the edible fruit, see the
Beechnuts Page.