Why I Oughta...

#19 on my 2026 annual to-do list in the garden is to "upgrade the stumpery" in the backyard .  Those 'upgrades' are both in terms of plantings, but also what I'll (loosely) call 'place-making'.   I first came across the idea of a stumpery in late 2023 when I discovered that King Charles has a world-class stumpery .  I started building my stumpery in the backyard by throwing a few stumps that I had on-hand in the area underneath the secondary Northern Red Oak tree in the backyard along the southside. Last year, I planted a pair of Autumn Ferns and three Godzilla Ferns in the Stumpery and called it a day back there.     This year, I have opted to upgrade the Stumpery via some plantings including (at first) seven Autumn Ferns (quart-sized) that I planted behind the All Gold grasses .  I also planted six Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' plugs to the front of that same bed .  And, just this past week I posted about eight more Autumn Ferns that I planted ...

Last month (November 2023), I discovered and then started (my own) stumpery in our backyard using a couple of various stumps and logs that I've collected over the years .  They included a few Norway Maple crotches/stumps and (I think) some hollowed-out Buckthorn limbs that have little areas that I can plant ferns and what-not.  The Stumpery is (currently) unplanted and will continue to evolve over time (hopefully), but it is the first real attempt at adding just a little bit of personality via what they call a " Garden Vignette ".     I was out there and decided to try to make a little (short) wattle fence around the front of the Stumpery using some of the limbs that fell off this season.  Below is a photo showing the small section of wattle that I quickly put together - it is about 3-feet-long and less than six-inches-tall: I've long thought about wattle fences - using whips of willow trees - but haven't pulled one off.  Each season, I prune up my esp...