Many of the trees we inherited from the previous owners were either too large for our garden or in poor condition and, unfortunately, had to be removed. Yet they remain very much a part of the garden.
Photo of the tree removal
We chipped their leaves and smaller branches and turned them into mulch. Their trunks, meanwhile, have reincarnated in many different forms. Some became seats around the fire pit, others found a new purpose in the various log piles dotted throughout the garden, while a number were buried or arranged to form a stumpery beneath the fig tree at the very back of the garden. We also use them as natural plant supports.
We hadn't exactly planned to create a stumpery. It was a happy accident. Once the birches and amelanchiers we planted had reached a reasonable size, they created an area of dappled shade at the back of the garden. Although much appreciated in summer, when the garden receives relentless sunlight from early morning until evening, it also meant we had to rethink part of our planting scheme.
Out went the struggling sun-loving perennials; in came ferns, epimediums, geraniums, alpine strawberries and brunneras.
The stumpery also arose in response to a moth problem that has affected our fig tree over the past two years. The culprit, the Fig-leaf Skeletoniser (Choreutis nemorana), is a relatively recent arrival from continental Europe. Our hope is that, by underplanting the area using hügelkultur-inspired techniques, the buried, decaying wood will attract predatory beetles that may help keep the moth population in check.
Damage caused on the fig leaves by the moth Fig-leaf Skeletoniser
Moth caterpillar has emerged.
Damage caused on the fig leaves by the moth Fig-leaf Skeletoniser
The stumpery was quickly adopted by frogs and, because it provides yet another habitat within the garden, it helps attract a wider range of wildlife and ultimately increases the garden's resilience to pests, even if the jury is still out on its effectiveness as a biological control for the fig-leaf skeletoniser!
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