Stumperies.

Some of the masses who commented on my post about my stumpery seemed unfamiliar with the word .

Stumperies were popular Victorian garden features . In the 19th century many hoi polloi were grapple bypteridomania;that is a sorting of mad fern- pyrexia . The countryside was discase of native ferns and many new variety were imported from overseas . A stumpery is a wonderful way of display them . It ’ s a sort of rock garden for fern , but using Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree stumps instead of rock ‘n’ roll . fern enjoy the damp shade in the pockets of the roots .

The first stumpery was created in the 1850′ s at Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire . It was at first referred to as a ‘ rustic solution garden ‘ . People were perhaps surprised to see quondam tree diagram roots pack up and made into a feature . But then James Bateman ’ s design for this garden was nothing if not eccentric . There was a taste at the time , not only for gaucherie , but for grotesque and exotic garden features . I still have n’t cope to see this wonderful garden , but I believe it is well deserving a sojourn .

Wind in the Willows. Illustration Arthur Rackham.

The first stumpery I saw , was some age ago now , when Prince Charles invited me to lunch at Highgrove . OK , I have to spoil the story here and add that Prince Charles invited all the County Organisers of The National Gardens Scheme to lunch , and I was one of them at the time . It wasn ’ t just me and HRH getting snug over the canapés . But although there were many people there , Prince Charles made sure he spoke to us all individually . He spoke to me about magnolias . I admired hisMagnolia sieboldiiand he spoke knowledgeably about the remainder between this and the very similarMagnolia wilsonii . He is understandably a hands- on gardener who loves and knows his plant . Unfortunately we were not admit to take photographs , but the stumpery has been featured in many gardening magazines . Over 180 huge solution of Sweet Chestnut , Castanea sativafrom the estate and elsewhere , have been used . Some of them are held together with steel and make an arch which you could walk through . Hostas , fern , Euphorbia and hellebores grow very well here . Everything is grown organically . I would like to know how the genus Hosta are kept slug- free as they are all pristine , not a hollow in tidy sum . Perhaps there is a Royal Slug- Remover who assume care of it all .

Prince Charles also told the story of how his Father-God , the Duke of Edinburgh was unimpressed when he date the stumpery and involve him when he was going to cut all the wood . He must have liked this tarradiddle and reprise it , because I have since seen it reported in the pressing .

Near where I live , in Suffolk , at the National Trust Property , Ickworth House , there is a large stumpery . As at Highgrove , they have used many large etymon and stumps from the estate of the realm in very creative means . After the with child storm of 1987 there were many uproot tree that could be used . The wholesale landscape of the parking lot was designed by Capability Brown , but the gardens round the theatre were created by the First Marquess of Bristol in the other nineteenth C . There was an Italianate garden and a stylish stumpery . Recently the stumpery has been extended and is now huge . Sean Reid , the head nurseryman came to talk to my garden group about create the stumpery . He say it reminded him of an Arthur Rackham draftsmanship and he desire to create a deep sorcerous place . He has succeeded very well .

$Wnnd in the \Willows. Illustration Arthur Rackham.$

Wind in the Willows. Illustration Arthur Rackham.

steer in the Willows . Illustration Arthur Rackham .

To maintain the charming atmosphere there is a dragon ’s den .

There is even a grasp of dragon eggs .

I do n’t recognise how safe it is to take the air along here .

Some of the roots are really beautiful .

I would sleep with some of these huge roots in my garden , but I have to be content with a more modest weighing machine . As you may see in the next picture , there is still a way to go exculpate round the tree . There is a lot of the elephant I was talking about the other day , still to be digested . But I have made some advance .

For those of you who have designate out that what I in reality have here , is a pile of log , all I can say is please humour me . I have longed for a stumpery for so long and this is the cheeseparing I will ever get . So please countenance ’ s call it a stumpery . As you may see my little robin garden helper is never far aside .

53 Responses toStumperies.

I must include that had n’t occur across a stumpery until I call in Highgrove a few years ago – not for luncheon with HRH but on a trip with our gardening cabaret 🙂 We had just set off on the grand tour when it started to bucket down so we were forced to take shelter for some considerable time . Everywhere was dripping when we continued but the stumpery reckon most fresh and magic . I chuckled at the sentiment of a Royal Slug Remover . Looking fore to seeing your planting in this area Chloris .

I ca n’t say I ’ve ever check a stumpery here in Southern California ( even with the rapid descent of pine trees associated with our drought and pine barque beetle plague ) but they seem to have achieved a level of popularity in the Pacific Northwest . It has a climate more like I imagine yours to be , where fern flourish and there ’s lots of rainfall to kick upstairs disintegration and the development of beautiful moss and lichens . deplorably , here I conjecture drained Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree limbs and stump would just be fodder for wildfire .

The report of your luncheon with Prince Charles was delightful ! Your post made me smile as a mates of twelvemonth ago , I started keeping some interesting little stumps and collecting fern . Now I have a little muckle of logs and some potted fern sitting in a seam where I ’m working on eliminating running bamboo roots . Your stumpery looks much more rarefied than mine .

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