The beautiful tree with an enchanting palette of purples and pinks shades above isn’t some result of photoshop. It is a actual tree created by sculptor/contemporary artist Sam Van Aken, which can grow literally 40 different kinds of fruit, including cherries, plums, peaces, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. In the springtime, the tree bursts into a patchwork explosion of different pink, purple, and white blossoms, which become a stunning array of rare and unique fruits in the summer.
After he bought a New York orchard, the artist began his experiment on the hybridized fruit trees that would become the Tree of 40 Fruit. Through a process of chip grafting, he takes a sliver off a fruit tree that includes the bud, and then inserts that into an incision in the working tree. Taped into place, the branch heals and is pruned back to encourage it to grow as a normal branch on the tree. It took 6 years to complete the tree.
So far, Aken has grown 16 “Trees of 40 Fruit” which are currently spread out in museums, community centers, and private art collections around the US. To find more about this project, you can see his story on TED: