Re: Pollards and Bog Brushes....
In my humble, it depends on the effect you are after.
This isn't pollarding, its simply loppin-n-toppin. Maybe, over time, something good will come of it, probably not.
In the UK, street trees are more likely to simply be felled and replaced by some overpriced oversized sapling that either sucumbs to summer drought or Friday night hoodlums.
A genuine, proper style pollard will see it all come and go, and probably outlast it all.
There is some good stuff (IMO) on this link (other pollard posts are available - terms and conditions apply - the value of street trees may go up as well as down - you home is at risk if you don't maintrain a tree whos roots its secured upon (in clay areas)).
http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/picture-forum/5149-way-they-pollard-limes-glasgow.html
The photo on Post 1 of that link (TCDartmoor) isn't of what I would call a pollards. These are incompleted 50% dismantles.
However cut to page 5, post 41 (JHancock) now this is what I call pollarding. Its not a natural tree shape, but its not pretending to be.
There is not a lot in the western word that isn't managed to a certain extent. I don't think its butchery, I like it, but I understand some don't because they like the illusion that trees in developed locations are 'natural'.
Of course, on the continent, they do it with a whole different style. I am sure that they aren't all wandering around wringing their hand wondering if they should self flagellate.
Page 6, post 54 (SBlair) has some cracking Italian examples. Look at the shapes - Mega Bonsi - there is no way these shapes are achieved by a grunt with a saw, this is years on careful and attentive pruning. They are a bit more worthy of a photo than the bog standard 10% thinning here 30% reduction there rubbish. These are worth driving to see!
Page 6, Post 55 (RRule) Has another fine european mainland example.
Page 7, Post 63 (JJ Gairn) Has more fantastic knuckles.
If you kick around provincial towns and villages, you come across allsorts, much of the pollarding is done by old boys who have been doing it, unpaid in many cases, for years. In the village where I used to live, all the trees in the square and the churchyard were pollarded on a rolling 5 year cycle, and the arisings used on the Nov 5th bonfire night fire. That was a tradition that went back further than anyone can remember. The trees looked fantastic, and they looked just the same in photos from 20years back, 40 years back, 60 years back.
Are we really so arrogant as to think we now whats for the best, when this kind of activity has been conducted (one way or another) over hundreds of years?
where has my cider all gone......