Winter Interest In The Stumpery - January 2026

A few days ago, I wrote about a pair of small Canadian Hemlock trees in our backyard and mentioned that a place where I could add another one of the unique trees (Conifer that grows in shade), might be the stumpery.  I first wrote about stumpery gardens in the Fall of 2023 when I came across (now) King Charles Stumpery at High Grove.  Upon learning about the idea, I immediately ran back to my pile of wood pieces and grabbed a few stumps and hauled them up to a spot closer to the house.  With those three small stumps, I created my own stumpery.   

That first growing season, I planted a few ferns around the stumps.  Last year, I added a few more.  I put some Shredded Umbrella plants in the garden bed adjacent to the Stumpery, but figure that I should add some of those to this bed this year.  

In January 2024, I first documented the "winter interest" in the stumpery.  I seem to have not posted any winter/snow-covered photos from 2025.  Below, is a look at what the Stumpery looks like in the snow this year - in January 2026:

What this makes me realize is a few things:

1.  The stumps are small.  Likely too small.

2.  There aren't enough stumps.  

3.  There's no evergreens/conifers around here.   (Hence the Hemlock talk above/earlier this week.)

Something to think about for 2026: how do I get large, funky stumps?  And, this is an area that needs some evergreens/conifers for added Winter Interest.