What if the original forest, with its original focal specimen, suddenly became the smaller trees? I’m thinking that the big tree will look best not out front, which is typical, but rather as a towering specimen that pushes the forest perspective in what would be the opposite direction from normal practice. We try to create the impression of depth in our forest plantings by having larger trees placed toward the front of the container. This is the most common way of doing things, and it works great. But who’s to say you can’t reverse that, under the right circumstances, and end up with a forest planting that works visually and artistically.

I’m thinking I’m going to do this soon. The question is, Would you?

Stay tuned for updates.