And now we come to the Garden in a City stumpery. When I started writing the first post about stumps, this was only a gleam in my eye, as they say. I’ve been fretting for several years about the two large trees in the back garden. They provide a wonderful dappled sunlight throughout the day, around which the character of the back garden has been built.
Both were planted when the house was built, in 1940, and are exactly the kind of fast-growing but short-lived (for a tree) trees favored by contractors. Anchoring a small bed to the back right of the yard is a silver maple, which has long since lost to its shape due to trimming of dead branches.
In the far left corner of the yard is a Siberian elm, still with some graceful limbs, but gradually losing them. Jason used this corner as a wildlife refuge, and left piles of sticks and branches and leaves there. I suppose that is where the possums live, and maybe a few of the many rabbits that inhabit our yard.
Here Addie and I are enjoying a gentle summer day, and there’s my son Daniel, having a work-from-home day on my patio. That’s the pagoda dogwood just beside him, and a bit further to the right, the Siberian elm. The back corner is maybe 16′ square.
A few years ago, I was standing by the back gate when a huge branch, six or seven inches in diameter, fell out of the silver maple with no warning. So while I am in no hurry to get rid of these trees, I have a clear understanding of why they shouldn’t be kept too long. Of course, when they go, that will be the end of the dappled light. One corner of my brain has been worried about falling branches (two have fallen from the neighbor’s trees in the past few years) and another corner has been fretting about the future of dappled sunlight, shady-loving plants, and our wonderful backyard haven.
After Jason was gone, there was no one to share the worry and the planning, and even more reason, it seemed, to fear change in the garden. The problem-solving part of my brain knew that I needed a new vision for the backyard, something that I could be excited about and look forward to, in order to counterbalance the worry.
But I did not have that vision until I saw the two stumperies this past summer. Of course, I am in no rush to cut down the trees, and the arborist who did the trimming this year thinks they have a few good years left. For awhile, I thought my vision was mainly for daydreams.
Before the arborists came out this fall to perform the latest amputation, I mentioned my new idea to Kasey, the head of Vivant Gardens. She was quite enthusiastic about the idea of a stumpery.
The tree limb in question was long and sinuous, and I pictured it lying out of sight along the back fence, awaiting further developments. Ha! I had no ability to comprehend the size of a tree limb thirty feet above my head. It was too big to come down in one piece, and the sinuous part was too long to be safely moved into the back corner.
Before it was cut, it hung over my neighbors’ yard, and they called it the dragon. You can see why it felt menacing!
Sooner than I anticipated, this looks like the beginnings of a stumpery! The arborists and I made sure the long log was well-positioned so that it would not shift and possibly hurt Addie (or anyone else).
It looks pretty good in the winter, too, and you can see that plenty of small animals are finding passage into the back corner. Now I just need to ask the arborists to keep an eye out for an actual stump for me, a nice big octopus. I’m pondering ferns and mosses in the meanwhile.
I’ll keep you posted as the situation develops. What do you think?
gardeninacity 
Looks good. I like the use of limbs and interesting natural wood in a garden. Planted with ferns, you can’t get a more natural effect.
I’m with Eliza. I, too, like the use of limbs in the garden. Also, I love the bubble picture of darling Addie.
Oh you have a good start there with that big log. So smart of you to think to keep it. I have a good sized shady section by the back fence with flower beds around three big trees there. The last several years I have kept back fallen branches, not too big around and these with some good sized ones set a long the ground level, started a little fence like thing against a bed of ivy which borders the fence. I add small branches as they fall if they have the right shape and so the “wall” is about a foot tall now. I go to a swap group spring and fall where perennial divisions are traded. One of the members lives out in the country with lots of trees around. She almost always brings interesting shaped pieces of fallen limbs to trade and they are readily snapped up by attendees. They add an interesting look to shady beds. If you know someone who lives out in the boonies ask to go for a walk in their woods this spring and you might find some additions to your shade area that way.
In redwood forests, stumps are too massive to remove. Most were charred by forest fires after their harvest. Not only do they become garden features (whether we like them or not), but I made one that was hollow inside into an outhouse, and another that was both hollow and charred inside into a shower. One stump is about eight feet wide inside, so could become a guest cabin.
Looks like you have a great idea going there. Addie will enjoy climbing on your stumps, so be sure they are set solidly!
Looks llike you’ve got a good start on your stumpery. Addie will probably want to climb on it, so be sure things are solidly set!
It looks like you’ve got a great idea!
WordPress was acting wierd, which is why there are multiple similar comments from me.
I also have a couple of these logs. They make good companions in the garden. Insects, birds and Grands will all appreciate it.
Lovely–the vibe, the bubbles, the family, the beautiful photos of the garden in all seasons. And you have limbs and stumps for various purposes. Nifty!
Beth @ PlantPostings.com
Gardens evolve over time, and you have a wonderful vision of where to take things with your own garden with the stumpery, Judy. I will enjoy seeing how things develop over time in you own bit of paradise.
I live on the west coast, where fire is an ever-present danger and we are not getting as much rain in winter. I am reworking my own gardens and plantings to handle heat and drought.
I want a small stumpery in a wayback corner of my woodsy garden but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to acquire the stumps and wrestle them into place. So it is still just a dream.