I learned a new word this past week. As I was attempting to escape the snow, rain and ice in search for spring I landed at the nearby Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

The intoxicating aroma upon arrival at the Spring Flower Show was just what my soul needed. All the smells of roses, hyacinths, tulips, daffodils and more represented everything good about the season of growing that will be upon us soon in 2023. But nestled in all the life of new growth was an intriguing feature utilizing what was no longer living – dead and decaying wood stumps. The “stumpery,” as The Arb described it, was a new word to me. I’d never heard that word before in all my years of gardening. Defined by the horticulturalists there, a stumpery is a “stylized garden that uses tree stumps as habitat for plants.”

A couple of years ago, several area neighborhoods (including mine) experienced a wind event that took down numerous trees. The city was even instrumental in helping with clean-up by hauling extra wood material from our yards and gardens. But despite a one-off natural wind event that can impact large trees, if you own a property with a wooded yard you can expect to lose a tree now and then to the elements of nature.

I now have something to look forward to from a garden perspective. In addition to the natural light that beams in after the loss of a large tree, I can create a “stumpery” by re-using the tree stumps! That, my friends, is brilliant!

Decaying wood creates life for nearly a quarter of all life – think insects such as native bees, beetles, fireflies and moths and plant material such as moss, ferns and lichens. As the snow melts outside, just the tops of the stumps from a large tree that fell during that aforementioned windstorm are becoming visible again. With the knowledge I now have of what a “stumpery” is, I’m planting my own vision for this type of garden.

The Arb’s version had an impressive large tree trunk that stood upside down with tree roots facing up, as well as a large tree trunk positioned horizontally across the space with cut outs that appeared to be formed by a chainsaw to hold containers of flowering plants. The principles of growing with adequate light, water and soil will still be important for the containers of plants you use within the stumps, or should you choose to grow plants directly into the holes already decaying through the bark.

Dealing with decaying or storm-damaged trees? Create a stumpery! It will be an environmentally friendly use of wood as well as a home for beneficial insects and plants for years to come. Eventually, the wood will all decay away, back into your soil, providing a sustainable circle of life within your own yard. Thanks to that quick trip last week in search of spring, I’m no longer stumped about what to do with the stumps left in my yard after the loss of a tree.