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 over the water race, and follows the water from the driveway car bridge down to The Plank, a narrow but sturdy water crossing. Its name celebrates Stumpy, one of the original Moosey cats...
Stumpy Garden ImagesStumpy Garden Images...
Here is a collection of images of the Stumpy Garden. Some are recent, some from earlier in the garden's history.
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.
Red DayliliesRed Daylilies...
The Stumpy Garden is a leafy, shrubby, green garden, but a most beautiful red flowering plant grows here. Pride of place in mid-summer is taken by a clump of large flowered red daylilies.
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. That is, before the ravages of time rot you away and you are sawn off at ground level by the chain-saw...
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.
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!
Early Days 2 - FlowersEarly Days 2 - Flowers...
After digging the Stumpy Garden I initially filled it with flowering plants. First I planted lots of roses and perennials near the water. There was lots of room back then (in 2004) and lots of sunshine...
Early Days 1 - DiggingEarly Days 1 - Digging...
The Stumpy Garden was a slow but sure expansion of garden area over the water race. When in doubt, dig! Digging started in the grass of Stumpy Lawn, around the lines of large tree stumps. When in doubt, dig! The original shelter belt of gum trees had been felled in 1999.
Early Days - 3 - Tree Damage! Early Days - 3 - 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!
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.
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 was hard to ignore such a strong, beautifully made feature! The nearby Gunnera made things interesting, though
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.
WatersideWaterside...
The Willow Tree used to sprout each year from its large stump on the water's edge. Initially I pruned the lowest shoots to create a canopy underneath, where I planted hostas and rhododendrons. And every now and then the stump's biggest branches would 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 used to sit in the Stumpy Garden facing away from the water race. It was set at the perfect angle for enjoying the mass plantings of nearby spring daffodils. But did anyone ever sit on it, apart from the cats? Hmm...
GunneraGunnera...
The first seedling Gunnera plants in the Stumpy Garden appeared on the edge of the water by Willow Stump in 2006, and I thought they were soooooo cute! Gunnera is a giant leafed perennial, native to south America, and in parts of New Zealand is a menace to natural waterways. I promised to keep it under control.
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.
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.
Taj-dogTaj-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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