trees form a smiley face along oregon's douglas fir forest

every fall a hillside along oregon’s highway 18 greets passersby with a massive smiley face formed by trees. the design, created by hampton lumber in 2011, features a mix of douglas fir and larch planted during a reforestation of the area. the larch trees have been organized in such way that during autumn, their needles turn yellow, creating the body of the face while the douglas fir makes up the eyes and mouth.

images via street art utopia

‘after harvest, our foresters design and implement plans to ensure regrowth of a healthy forest,’ said kristin at hampton lumber to simple floors. ‘depending on the location and environment, seedlings of several different tree species are often planted. the idea for the smiley face started with david hampton and our former timberland manager, dennis creel. when we harvested the site, we knew the area was highly visible to people traveling down highway 18 so david and dennis saw an opportunity to have a little fun.’

‘they used a rope to measure the circle out and the eyes and mouth were triangulated from that point,’ kristin continued. ‘douglas fir was planted for the eyes and mouth and the rest of the face was filled out with larch. both species will eventually be turned into lumber at our sawmills in willamina and tillamook. let’s just say smiley face designs are not the most efficient reforestation methods out there. with planning and planting it took about a week to finish.’

the massive smiley face made of trees will be visible every fall for the next thirty to fifty years.

project info:

name: trees form smiley face

location: oregon, USA

company: hampton lumber