Things I Love… My Stumpery

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My stumpery blooms right outside our garden gate, on a piece of wasteland that previously was choked by nettles and other weeds. What you can’t see from this picture is that our village is perched on the top of a hill, scourge of walkers and cyclists, and that the stumpery is a little visual reward for those who have made the effort to make it to the top. I often see people stopping to admire it, and whenever I work on it, I always receive bountiful compliments.

It doesn’t take much to maintain. All you need is a few minutes every now and then to get rid of the more egregious weeds, and it helps if you have a visiting mother, who is always willing to make a little addition and subtraction here and there. The hardest task is during the Autumn, when it’s covered with fallen leaves.

We’re grateful to our neighbour, who gave us the idea in the first place. He has a son who removes tree stumps from the ground, so we artfully arranged a few then dumped a mound of soil on the top. Then we planted a few things and left them alone. Only things that thrive in the shade are included, as it never gets terribly much sun.

Initially, we received a call from the representative of the parish council, asking if we had been the victim of flytipping. Now, our stumpery is a thing of beauty, and has a life and vitality all its own.

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