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Axel Erlandson (1884-1964) was an American arborist who specialized in arborsculpture.

Erlandson was born the son of Swedish immigrants. He raised beans and other crops in Central California near Turlock. There, inspired by observing a natural inosculation in his hedgerow he began to shape trees. He would create designs on paper first and then plant in the specified patterns; pruning, grafting and bending them. This began as a hobby for the amusement of himself and his family.

In 1945, Erlandson's daughter and wife took a trip to the ocean near Santa Cruz. There they saw people lined up to pay to see such oddities as tilted buildings at the Mystery Spot. They returned home and mentioned (off hand) that Axel's trees could draw people who would pay to see them if they were on a well-traveled tourist route. Axel jumped on the idea and bought a small parcel of land in Scotts Valley, California on the main road between the Santa Clara Valley and the ocean; and started the process of transplanting the best of his trees to their new home. The Tree Circus opened in the spring of 1947.

The "Basket Tree"

To create the famous "Basket Tree", Erlandson planted six sycamore trees in a circle, topped them all at one foot, then approach-grafted them together to form the diamond patterns. For the first 2.5 meters (8') he left an opening at the top. This specimen is one of Erlandson's most balanced symbiotic creations.

Erlandson shaped his trees for over 40 years. When asked how he got his trees to grow like this, he would reply, "I talk to them."

In 1963, Erlandson sold the property and died the following year. The new owners, Larry and Peggy Thompson named the place "The Lost World." They had large fiberglass dinosaurs made to attract the attention of the passing traffic, installed a stream, and prepared to expand the attraction to several times it's original size.

Unfortunately, Larry Thompson died before The Lost World could open. Peggy Thompson, left to raise three small children, managed to open the park successfully for a few years. She then tried to sell and the new owners defaulted. Subsequent lease owners went in and out of business.

In 1985, Michael Bonfante, owner of Nob Hill Foods and a tree nursery in Gilroy, California, bought the trees and transplanted most of them to his amusement park, Bonfante Gardens, in Gilroy.

In 1995, architect Mark Primack, Erlandson's biographer, prepared one dead sculpture ("The Telephone Booth Tree") to be cut and sent to Baltimore, Maryland for permanent display at the American Visionary Art Museum.

• Reames, Richard. The Tree Circus of Axel Erlandson (English). Retrieved on December 29, 2006.