A stump does not have to symbolize the end of a tree’s usefulness. Tiny, insect eating birds such as wrens and robins often choose one as a low level look-out post.
Meanwhile I have fun with stumps as ‘garden art’. That variegated rhodo hat would not look out place at the Melbourne Cup.
And here is anther very ‘cool’ hat for Miss Stump. The base was actually the ice from a bird bath. I rather like the understated grevillea trim.
On a more practical level, stumps make great garden seats. Here is one beneath my Japanese maples. It’s delightful to sit here with a book and a cup of tea on a sunny autumn day.
Of course, if you live in Australia there is one hazard with stump seats; spiders like to make their homes in them. I have a nasty feeling the one in the following photo might be a deadly funnel web. A bite on the bottom would be extremely unpleasant. 😨
Here is a solution…..try and move that rock Mr Spider!
This old eucalypt stump is the perfect platform for an insect house.
AT THE WOOD HEAP
The stump shown below is from an old acacia tree. Acacia wood is one of the hardest and densest woods of all. This one was almost petrified. It was cut with a chainsaw. Rather lovely really.
I’m afraid it defeated my little electric saw. Back to the chainsaw if I want small enough pieces for firewood.
Three snapped blades! 😨
If I had any woodworking skills I could make something beautiful, like this acacia wood salt pot.
And here is a much thinner section of acacia. The pink is paint from the blade of my saw, which struggled to cut even this piece. Hardly any sawdust is produced, just a tiny bit of what looks like fine, black pepper. It burned all night in our wood stove.
STUMP TINDER
OK, so sometimes you might find a damp old stump that has almost completely rotted away in the centre, but believe me it’s pure gold. What you have to do is separate the outer ‘shell’ with your axe or splitter and leave it to dry out. It will end up as light as cork. Sometimes I have a row of tinder drying out, rather like sun drying tomatoes.
Oh dear, I split a piece the other day to find two sweet, hibernating lizards and their ‘lodger’;
And there you go….no fire starter required. Just put a match to a small section of tinder. Even my associate Editor Des can do it.
It’s always such a loss when a tree has to go. Toll the bell for them Editor Des. 😥
FOR MORE IDEAS USING PLANTS AND OLD STUMPS, CLICK HERE.
