Gallery - living-language-land
Scrogs
2022 12x12" shadow box Scrogs: brushwood or undergrowth; stunted or crooked bush or tree ‘Scrogs’ is a thicket – not the extensive cover of improved woodland, but more open landscape with intermittent trees and bushes. The word ‘forest’ is still used to describe the treeless Scottish uplands where deer are still stalked. ‘Scrogs’ harks back to a time before land enclosure, and looks forward to today’s industrialised forestry where trees are seen as just one more cash crop. Single species planted and harvested – the antithesis of biodiversity.
I learned that one of the many species inhabiting Scrogs land is the Hawthorn shrub, Crataegus laevis. This plant is familiar to me because it was introduced along with many others and freely crossed with our own native species here. Hawthorns are beautiful small trees that bear delicious red fruit, a delight for humans and wildlife alike. However their long sharp thorns are a deterrent in brushy areas, making them a good refuge for escape! Here the shrub is portrayed above its many layers of natural history protected and hidden by the soil.
For the full description, along with pronunciation, map and short video, click HERE.
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