The big hollow stumps sat at the bottom of our hill for months, abandoned and lonely at road’s edge, the rest of the diced-up tree hauled off for firewood.
I’ve always liked planting hollow tree stumps. It’s kind of a full circle thing, a natural flowers-to-wood remembrance, a much better ending than going up in smoke.
Locust stumps (Robinia pseudoacia) make some of the best planters, a tougher wood not prone to rotting, which, of course, makes them harder to find.
My new flower stumps are a softer wood, perhaps good for two or three years before rotting to compost, and much better than clay, porcelain or plastic for feel-good aesthetic.
So, I drove by them two, three even four times a day, wanting them, fearing someone would beat me to them, knowing at several hundred pounds they were way too heavy for me to lift into my pickup, plotting how to get them up our hill, home, flowers to follow.
The problem was solved thanks to our Utica Street Department. The stumps were on city property, thus absolutely a complete and utter public nuisance, a continual threat to city employees cutting grass.
We all agreed on that.
So up the hill they came riding the two front forks of a big city-owned tractor, then carefully placed in my tax-paying yard, old bricks and limestone blocks added beneath to hold them reasonably level, firm and in place.
The stumps’ new home is in filtered shade along the driveway. I can already see bright pink impatiens tightly mounding up in them, perhaps frothy red begonias, even green hostas.
Mission accomplished. Stay tuned for happy-planting photos. Sure, it’s November, but can spring be far behind.
What would you plant in my hollow stumps?
Ferns would be beautiful and might be able to establish in the site as the stumps rot away gradually.
Good luck. When I have tried planting in stumps, the critters usually dig in there and toss out my plants. I have given up, but I wish you much success.
Nice! I’m envious.
I can’t wait for the photos, a really novel way to use the stumps and so pretty!
Hardy maidenhair ferns would look gorgeous spilling over the edges, then you could combine with them a rotating cast of annuals or tender perennials, maybe underplanted with bulbs. I hope you’ll share photos!
Thanks for sharing and for using natural materials rather than man-made planters. Agree with the folks above about ferns, especially ones that will droop (cascade) over the edges.
Mother Earth thanks you, Bob!
I’m envious of your stumps. Maybe something enticing at the base will keep what’s planted in the stumps a bit safer?
What’s the planting medium for a stump? Potting soil?
I have a stump in my yard, and every year I buy a new heuchera, plant it in a clay pot, then put it in the stump. In the fall, I plant the heuchera somewhere in my garden. Next spring, I repeat.
A win win for everyone! Thank you for sharing. I might like to plant Hellebore & violas & maybe some of the new candytufts & perhaps Georgia Blue veronica draping over the edge, plus early/mid/late season bulbs of your preference-I’m not one for restraint!
What nice city employees! They could have fluffed you off or been told by higher up that were not allowed to do things like that. Can’t wait to see pictures.
I planted daffodills, hucheria and dwarf dalhias, and it was a joy to see.
But how come the stump is conveniently hollow to start with? Did someone already craved the inside?
Fantastic! I’m late to the party but I’d plant Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) as it is such a natural accent and holds up through the winter – perhaps a few tete a tetes for a little spring color. – MW