HelpfulGardener.com

Hello,
My husband had to cut down a large tree close to our home last year, but it has left a stump near our front porch and I am at a loss as to what to do about it. We have tried to dry it out, dig it up, grind it, nothing will get rid of this thing. Is there some way to mask it??

How high is the stump? You can always grow a clematis over it. They range in height from 2/3ft to 30ft or more so you shoud find one that will cover it. You could also plant around it. I did this in my front garden where I had a conifer cut down. The stump left was only about a foot high so I planted Hebes around it. They are evergreen so now it is invisible.

Thank you for your input Jess. I think the stump is about 1 or 2 feet high at the most, it is just wide and in a very inconspicuous spot right in front of my front porch. What about this, if I could find a big enough bird bath that is not too tall, or maybe shorten the stand of one, and plant evergreens like you said around that. Do you think that would look ok? I just don't want it to be obvious to anyone that see's it that we are trying to hide something.

Sounds good to me. If it is really wide you could also put pots on it with something semi-trailing in it so what comes up meets what goes down and don't think of it as hiding it. You are making a feature of it!

Jess wrote:Sounds good to me. If it is really wide you could also put pots on it with something semi-trailing in it so what comes up meets what goes down and don't think of it as hiding it. You are making a feature of it!

Thank you so much for your help Jess. What kind of herbs did you plant around the one in your yard? The idea of a trailing plant in a pot sounds lovely. Thank You

Um ....not herbs, Hebes. I planted small ones 2ft approx high but they arch and spread so give good coverage. You could do herbs though, lavender is evergreen though slightly scruffy in winter.

Sorry...I missread your post. Thank you again for all your help. Now I will go shopping for a bird bath!