A great idea Hetty!

I may need to do that with a tree or two in the near future.

Thanks. It was our Mango tree (to which I turned out to be violently allergic). The stump now is the home of a beautiful planter.

Yep, I use mine for a bird house. Good tip, thanks.

Oh, yes! That is a nice idea!

You read my mind! (Or saw my yard.)

The management decided to chop down a tree whose roots were buckling a driveway and road surface. This doubled the amount of sun I have in my yard!

For whatever reason, they left that stump several feet high. I put potted-up plants there, or pretty rocks, decorative twisted roots and forked branches.

I'm working on greatly improving the horrid clay and pathetic raised beds around it, and developing a Goddess Garden (one theme of white and pastel flowers, probably another of blue-violet and gold - I'll have to see what works).

I'll learn to grow some plants in big, permanent containers so I can move them into the Goddess Garden for their bloom period, and then away when they fade.

When it looks good enough, I'm going to move a statue of an angel (a gift) onto that stump in the center.

It's especially nice that the angel is carrying a horn-of-plenty that also looks like a basket of flowers.

I've always loved that idea--have seen container plantings atop stumps, even planted inside a hollowed out stump.
Rick, that sounds wonderful--any pics?

Be nice to post some before and after pictures, Rick. (hint, hint!)

Me too!!
Lost a big ash a few years ago. They didn't leave much of a stump, but enough for a big pot.

If like mine, your yard is FLAT, it is so nice to introduce a few 'elevated' spots to feature plants or ornaments.

GREAT idea Hetty - we have one stump I asked DH to leave and it is a seat for a gnome.

weeds said:Yep, I use mine for a bird house. Good tip, thanks.

We had two small trees in the landscape that needed to be cut down. DH thought I was crazy when I told him to leave "stumps". They're the perfect size for birdhouse posts or to lift garden art above the foliage!

Yes a stump for a pedestal.
I have a line os scoch pines that are dying a few years apart.2008 I removed this one and SIL put a carved mother bear and cub on it.


2010 removed another one and used the stump for birdbath. Its the low one in the distance not the one in the middle.




There is a third pine that will come down in fall of 2012. I will leave a higher stump as shown in the photo at the start of this article. Great idea.

Very cool Jo Ann. I love the bears!

If the diameter is wide enough, you could drill holes in the side of the stump, add a little soil, and tuck plants in there as well (or so says my massage therapist, who is also a landscape designer)

I've seen that done. i don't know if there were holes drilled in the sides but that's a good idea. Or you could not drill the holes & put something in there that likes to be on the wet side. Then you would just have to water it when things get real dry. So one could go either way with it.

The stump with the small birdbath ( NOT the tall black fountin) Is near my ferns and epimediums.

I am definatly going to leave a taller stump when the next pine comes down. I like the variance in heights, not have stumps with pots all at the same height.Of course the bear is a different matter. It is sitting on a few rebar pins and has shimmes to keep it level. SIL and DD did this in mid winter.

Oh I like that idea. Must investigate....
(about the holes in the sides, that is - we crossed posts)

Dutchlady1 said:Oh I like that idea. Must investigate....
(about the holes in the sides, that is - we crossed posts)

What my friend did wasn't with an actual stump... he took sections of trunk from a tree that had been cut down and drilled out/hollowed out the center, and/or drilled holes in the sides. So his were portable.

He said he tested lots of different woods -- not surprisingly, pine worked well, and oak was more difficult.

Me? My stumps are too skinny (maybe 4-6" diameter) -- I had two conifers that died in the last couple years. I left the stump at about 4' high. Put a birdhouse on one as garden art, and am waiting to see what I'm inspired to do with the 2nd one. They're maybe 10' apart from each other.

Cross posting is being called do-si-do by some. I think it's cute & apt.