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Hello friends, as I previously indicated Mike and I were keen to use the lovely slices of Oak trunk and logs which came from a dead Oak tree that had to be felled so we decided to create a Stumpery area for bugs, insects, birds inclusive so after preparing the area yesterday we spent the whole day toiling away to get this feature completed. I can't tell you how heavy the Oak slices were and because of my weak right arm (tennis elbow) I had to rely on a lot of help and muscle from Mike, however between us we did really well and managed to roll (with a struggle ! ) a lot of the Oak into place. I wanted to create an area for all wildlife so added perching twigs/branches and I nipped to the local garden centre to buy a wooden barrel which I could use as a bird drinking/bathing area amongst the stumpery. Anyway, without further ado, here are the photos of todays work which was the main project day. Yesterday we prepared the ground digging out a lot of top soil as the Oak had to sit bedded down slightly.
This is the area we chose at the far corner of the garden which is a mix of shade mostly but some filtered sunlight too. You can just make out Mike by the area we used.
These are some of the large Oak slices and logs we incorporated in the stumpery ....
and yes, I did my share of the soil shifting yesterday !! This is the basic shape and we took the top soil down to a good 6 - 8 inches.
now the first Oak slices into place, ignore the wooden barrel as that was repositioned to a different place once we got further into the project; we used two wooden posts to help position the heavy Oak into place as you couldn't roll them straight on to the soil as they would have bedded in and not moved ! ...
and now a series of the progress throughout today ....
I wanted to place perching areas for the birds around the back of the stumpery and to the right hand side ....
You can just about make out the branches for perches and the wooden barrel now in place ....
Fortunately with such a large garden I was able to dig out some existing ferns to start placing in the Stumpery
We also added some other shrubs plants and three more ferns, one a large one with lots of unopened fronds
I placed a perch above the wooden barrel for the birds ....
this is a side view of the area which just kept growing lol
The large Oak slice at the front had two rather nice ornate knots so we placed it front facing ........
it was the heaviest of all the Oak so we needed a tea break after getting this one in place !!!
the addition of a plastic bendy bucket, cut down to size as a liner for the wooden barrel. We added a double off cut forked tree branch which we
immersed in the water bucket so the smaller birds have somewhere to perch if they just want to drink and not drown lol !
We added a log edge border and a Pieris shrub I had spare ............
View from the other side
and view from the front
you can see the perch I fixed above the water barrel
lots of secured branches lateral and vertical for the birds and we added shrubs to the background area
I will try add more photos as it settles and matures. Just amazed we got so much work done today :)
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Regards, Hazel
Crikey, that was a monumental effort, Hazy. What you are doing for wildlife is absolutely splendid. It will be fascinating to see what sort creepy crawlies you get and what the birds make of it.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Awww thanks TJ, the first bird I spotted this morning was a Robin who perched on one of the branches and the hopped down to the water bucket for a drink and bathe so it seems this new creation is already attracting visitors and a Blue Tit has been chirping merrily away just above the stumpery, so happy he/she has a new foraging area lol We are outside again adding a couple more Oak stumps to the end of the area, just to use them up really; we have 4 large Oak slices left so pity a few of you don't live closer so you can have your own bird Oak dining table - although it will give you a double hernia shifting them lol
Those logs are perfect for an 'All The Mealies You Can Eat' Restaurant. If any of them crawl away then you'll have your first residents! lol
Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos
(One bush does not shelter two Robins)
Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)
lol MC ! I just put a few live mealies out the front and the GT's were courtship feeding with them :) no photos unfortunately but maybe next time. I will put a few mealies out on the logs later but at the moment Mike is working in that area so the birds will have to wait !
What a wonderful creation. Love the word 'stumpery'! Am looking forward to seeing photos of all the critters that live will soon set-up home!
Claire
What a lovely idea and a beautiful area you both have created. It just goes to show what can be done with trees/logs/stones etc that you may have about, or that you can get your hands on. Looking forward to seeing what all uses your new project.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Hi Hazy, just caught up with this thread! Your stumpery looks great! Plenty of habitat for varied creatures! You should certainly get hogs and toads!! Brilliant!
You should have given me a bell and I would have come to help you! I'm on nights this week and finish at the airport for 0430. I'd be at yours for 0500 and leave the key under matt, full English in around noon and I'd have cracked on lol....
Well done to you and Mike?
P.s couldn't sleep?? Not enough wine to wind down lol.....
Cheers, Jason
Evening and thanks Mrs T, Catlady & Alan,
@ Mrs T, I got the idea off a TV program "Great British Garden Revival" on Ponds and Stumperies episode. It seemed a good way to use the beautiful Oak off cuts from the felled tree and the birds and bugs will get the benefit too :)
@ Catlady, it has added a lovely feature to a none descript corner of the garden although I need binoculars to see the activity there lol today I put a few live mealworms, no mess seeds and some raw pastry in the cracks of the Oak ! I think Cyril squirrel found the food first lol
@ Alan, Mike can't have worked as hard as me yesterday LOL as he still had energy to shift another 4 oak slices today by rolling them !!! Its a pity they are too heavy to send you a couple, they make fantastic Cyril dining tables lol
LOL Jason, wish I'd of known, I'd have given you double big breakfast for moving those Oak logs lol and no, I didn't even have a sip of wine (silly me ! ) so I opted for Horlicks instead - I must be getting old LOL !!
Unknown said: No thanks you can keep them, i know how heavy they can be there are some nice stumps on my patch i would love but can't even pick them up to nick lol.
No thanks you can keep them, i know how heavy they can be there are some nice stumps on my patch i would love but can't even pick them up to nick lol.