Stumped Again: Our 2019 Stump Garden

Inside: We’re stumped again! Right back to create another lovely version of our 2019 Stump Garden. This year we went simple. Check it out.

What we planted in our 2019 stump garden. — Here she is–our 2019 Stump Garden!

Keepin’ It Simple

We’re back again around the stump. Back with trowel and plants in hand to make our 2019 Stump Garden just as lovely as the previous two years.

Sedum, purslane, creeping jenny, silver mound, and begonias planted into a stump. — Clockwise from top left: purslane in 4-inch pot, begonias, creeping jenny, silver mound, and my favorite sedum.

First things first: examine the stump. The usual suspects came back for the show this year–creeping jenny, silver mound, the two sedums, and Mexican firebush. The creeping jenny and silver mound have spread and become more hardy, along with the sedums, and, truth be told, the stump looked halfway decent before I even started to consider filling in with other plants. But I wanted to add some annuals, so after a decent haul from my favorite plant store, Sugar Grove Growers, I came away with a few goodies.

Ahem. More than a few goodies.

New Additions to the Stump Garden

I hadn’t spent much time on the stump, but I got the ball rolling by transplanting dark leaf begonias in red and pink in a line above the creeping jenny and silver mound. Days later, Mom stopped by for an impromptu planting at the stump. She’d been up to the farm doing some chores. . . Actually, I think she just knew I was beginning to feel overwhelmed because my outdoor table overflowed with plants, and I needed a little boost to get things going. So we added purslane, which she’d brought over, as well as some I already had in 4-inch pots, and we simply placed the pots into crevices in the stump. I love the little flowers, which seem to shine like tiny jewels in the morning and evening hours. Hopefully the bunnies don’t notice, as they tend to love purslane, too–eating it, that is!

Tip: Keep the bunnies away by sprinkling garlic powder on plants they are munching on.

As is often the case, we talked and tugged at a few stubborn weeds and diagnosed what else the stump needed. Mom moved a couple of Mexican firebush to a more suitable location to add some height. Nice.

Later in the week she dropped off some “dichondra,” aka silver falls and dark blue scaevola to trail down on the right side of the stump and bring some texture to the garden, but I didn’t get around to planting them for a while. And, in fact, I had the dark blue scaevola in a different pot around my steps until I thought better of it and decided a shot of purple (er, or dark blue) around the stump was just the perfect pop of color my little (or not so little) stump needed.

Begonias in pots around the back of the stump. — Fledgling begonias in pots around the back side of the stump.

Finally, I potted up some more begonias–I know why Mom loves them so!–at the back of the stump on either side. I love the bright red show of them for drivers-by to see and enjoy.

Plenty of Room to Grow

The previous two years we were overzealous in our attempts to make sure every spot on the stump was covered, but long about late summer, the only thing we saw was sweet potato vine and poor little vincas trying to peer out between it. So this year I decided I wanted plenty of room for the plants to grow and trail. The first pics of the stump might look somewhat empty in places, but my guess is that once August gets here, my stump plants will be living together in perfect harmony.

I’ll update you toward the end of the season to show you how it turned out, so stay tuned.

And happy growing!