Stumpy Garden Tour

The Stumpy Garden is a great location for coffee drinkers and summer readers. The rhododendrons are beautifully colourful in spring. In summer there are roses to enjoy, surrounded by foxgloves, delphiniums and penstemons, lupins and blue pansies. There are flaxes and grasses in the garden which slopes down to the water race.

Three blue wooden seats beckon on a secluded little oval lawn, the water rushes past, the willow branches swoosh gently in the breeze... Such are the simple sounds of paradise.

Should I mention that the giant Gunnera stalks and leaves around the willow stump offer shelter to the odd water rat? Rusty the dog goes barking mad when his dog-nose catches the rat scent. I usually grab the broom and make loud advancing noises, joining in...

I just wish that Non-Gardening Partner would make me a tree house to fit into the middle of the willow stump. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Introducing the Stumpy GardenIntroducing the Stumpy Garden...
The Stumpy Garden is the result of the slow but sure expansion of gardens by the water race. This area was originally called Stumpy Lawn, since it was full of large tree stumps. And one of my original Moosey cats was called Stumpy...
Stumpy Garden ImagesStumpy Garden Images...
The Stumpy Garden was originally designed to be shrubby, with mainly rhododendrons underneath the Oak trees. Things changed drastically in spring, 2013, when large pine trees shading the garden came down. Here are some images of this ever-changing garden.
RhododendronsRhododendrons...
My rhododendron garden, planted mainly with anonymous, unwanted shrubs, is really growing well in the dappled shade and shelter of the Oaks in the Stumpy Garden. It only took a few seasons for a kaleidoscope of warm fruit-salad colours to appear in spring.
Crab-Apple CharlotteCrab-Apple Charlotte...
Malus coronaria 'Charlottae', a crab-apple which I've been calling 'Charlotte', grows in the back of the Stumpy Garden near the lawn. It's the only blossom tree in this garden, and late in spring is covered in semi-double shell-pink flowers.
Willow StumpWillow Stump...
If you have a garden built around you, and you are big, it only seems polite to have a close-up photograph. This is the willow tree stump, in all its winter glory. Fluff-Fluff the cat has decided this is a good spot. But it looks cold. Brr....
PhormiumsPhormiums...
There are Phormiums (New Zealand flaxes) growing in the Stumpy Garden - of course there are! Large species of Phormium tenax fill up the garden at the end by the driveway, and along the edge of the water race. These are the usual rather drab olive green colour. Other lighter greens are squashed into the border between the rhododendrons.
Willow BridgeWillow Bridge...
The Stumpy Garden has a bridge! In the winter of 2008 a simple flat wooden bridge was built to connect this garden with the house lawns. I needed a direct route through to the gardens from my house and kitchen.
Secret LawnSecret Lawn...
At the back of the big willow stump there's a small, enclosed lawn, which is delightfully warm (and shady) in summer. The surrounding rhododendrons have filled out and the Oak trees grown taller. So this lawn has become a secret, sheltered, special place in which to sit and dream.
Blue Garden SeatsBlue Garden Seats...
After a short holiday to lovely tropical Samoa I decided my garden was terribly drab. The next time I had anything to paint I'd choose the brightest colour. My blue garden seats in the small enclosed lawn by the Willow tree are the result.
Tree PeonyTree Peony...
I only have one tree peony in my garden - it was a gift from a friend, and initially suffered from being shifted around. In the spring of 2004, settled at last in the Stumpy Garden, it flowered. What an exciting colour!
Tree Damage!Tree Damage!...
Oops. In September 2013 we had severe wind gales, with wind speed reaching 160 km per hour. This was too much for the neighbour's pine plantation, and trees fell like dominoes. The last ones crashed over our driveway and into the Stumpy Garden. Oh dear. It was a huge mess and I cried and cried!
Early DaysEarly Days...
The Stumpy Garden had a simple and sensible beginning. The gentle slope from the grass down to the water's edge was too difficult to mow, so I dug a garden instead. The perfect solution - when in doubt, dig! I initially filled it with reject plants from other borders, and roses and flaxes started off growing happily side by side...
Garden by Willow BridgeGarden by Willow Bridge...
After Willow Bridge was built in 2008, it tended to feature in all the garden photographs I took near the water race, whether looking upstream or downstream. It's hard to ignore such a strong, beautifully made feature!
ErythroniumsErythroniums...
A lovely clump of Dog's Tooth Violets, or Erythroniums, are growing happily in the semi-shade of the Stumpy Garden. They were dug out of a friend's garden when she was moving and relocated here.
Stumpy Garden RosesStumpy Garden Roses...
Many reject roses found their first home in the airy spaces of the Stumpy Garden. They might have been rescued from a bare root rose end-of-season sale, or dug out of a friend's garden. Unwanted and unloved, they were given a fresh start here, though eventually they were moved out into a sunnier area.
Willow Tree WatersideWillow Tree Waterside...
The Willow Tree sprouts each year from its large stump on the water's edge. I keep pruning the lowest shoots to create a canopy underneath, where I've planted hostas and rhododendrons. And every now and then the stump's biggest branches get the chain-saw treatment. Ouch!
The Eggy GardenThe Eggy Garden...
The Eggy Garden at the driveway-end of the water race was started in the year 2004. It quickly turned into a very typical Moosey foliage garden, I'm afraid - filled with the usual assortment of Phormiums, Pittosporums, Rhododendrons, and other shrubs.
Wobbly Garden BenchWobbly Garden Bench...
A wobbly garden bench sits in the Stumpy Garden facing away from the water race. It's set at the perfect angle for enjoying the mass plantings of nearby spring daffodils, and the roses and lupins which soon follow. But do I ever sit on it? Hmm...
Red Flowers in a Green GardenRed Flowers in a Green Garden...
The Stumpy Garden is primarily a leafy, shrubby, green garden, but some of my most beautiful red flowering plants grow here. Pride of place in mid-summer is taken by a clump of hybrid large red daylilies.
GunneraGunnera...
Each area of the Moosey Garden along the water race has Gunnera growing in it. In the Stumpy Garden these plants arrived from upstream as seeds, then chose a lovely spot on the edge of the garden to germinate and grow for me. How lovely! I'm so lucky - aren't I?
Cafe Garden FurnitureCafe Garden Furniture...
For a while the Stumpy Garden had the most elegant (and expensive) piece of garden furniture to be found in the Moosey Garden - an antique white cafe-style wrought iron table and two seats.
Cats Walking the PlankCats Walking the Plank...
The Plank marks the boundary between the Dog-Path Garden on the left and the Stumpy Garden on the right. The Head Gardener has fallen off it, and Rusty fell off when he was a puppy. But cats who walk the Plank always get to the other side...
Clary SageClary Sage...
The Stumpy Garden, being open and sunny, houses some of my favourite large perennials. Each year in mid-summer the big Clary Sages grow tall and form flowers, surrounded by roses and foliage plants.
Garden LawnGarden Lawn...
It is very important when taking a photograph of the whole of one garden area that the sun is in the right place - and that the surrounding lawns are freshly mown! Here's such a view of the Stumpy Garden - well, of most of it - and the resident lawnmower man.
Cats and DogsCats and Dogs...
The Stumpy Garden's tree stumps are favourite resting places for the gardening cats. Smoocher the ginger cat and his sister Tiger loved to jump up and down the stumps, teasing Rusty the dog. There would be much barking...
Tree Stump and DaffodilsTree Stump and Daffodils...
Some of the remaining tree stumps in the Stumpy Garden are still visible, waiting for the surrounding garden plantings to cover them up.
Blue DelphiniumsBlue Delphiniums...
This patch of blue delphiniums by the willow stump is well sheltered from the wind. The bees are attracted by their deep rich colours - it's rather noisy weeding around them when they are in summer bloom.
Water Garden FernsWater Garden Ferns...
Ferns have taken up residence along the banks of the water race. They decide exactly where to grow and I let them live a natural life. These ferns are most welcome to spread along the water's edge.
The Old Wooden BridgeThe Old Wooden Bridge...
The water race, with water from the Waimakariri River, flows underneath the car bridge at the edge of the property. In the early days the car bridge was built from heavy wooden sleepers laid over the water. The rough old gate was kept as a sheep barrier...
Tree Stump DogTree Stump Dog...
Taj-dog is standing wistfully by three of the stumps over the water race. This is a photo from the Moosey archives, when this area was garden-free. Taj-dog has his eyes on something, probably Stephen, a cat or a bunny.
Little John Taj-dogLittle John Taj-dog...
The Plank spans the water race and marks the beginning of the Stumpy Garden. The lawn used to be quite stumpy, until the gardens were developed to disguise the old tree remains. This is Taj-dog, the first Moosey dog, crossing the Plank.
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