New ‘whimsical’ garden added by Trees Atlanta to Beltline Arboretum

By Crystal Villarreal

May 23, 2020

The Stumpery, is a new whimsical garden addition to the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum created by Trees Atlanta. Located in Reynoldstown on the Eastside Trail between Kirkwood Avenue and Wylie Street, the Stumpery is composed of repurposed logs and tree roots from various construction sites around the city.

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Take a virtual tour of the Stumpery with us tomorrow morning! You’ll hear firsthand about this unique new garden space from Kelly Ridenhour, who leads design efforts for the @AtlantaBeltline Arboretum. Registration link in our profile! 🌿 (📷: @nichuey) #NationalPublicGardensWeek #OurGardensYourHome

A post shared by Trees Atlanta (@treesatlanta) on May 15, 2020 at 11:38am PDT

"These rescued relics are to form the base of a stumpery, a style of gardening that intersperses plants with woody materials like old stumps and tree trunks," writes Trees Atlanta on their website. "The materials for the glade come from around Atlanta where they have been removed due to construction."

In addition to being a unique garden space for residents to enjoy, stumperies also provide habitat for an extensive diversity of wildlife and mushrooms. Over the next few months, Trees Atlanta will continue to bring new life to the Stumpery by adding over 80 species of woodland plants and mushrooms.

In the meantime, you can see how the new garden was created on the organization's Instagram page.

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If you got a glimpse of the new Stumpery garden space, you probably wondered how all the stumps and trunks were arranged. This is how we did it, thanks to the help of @royal_athens! And not to worry, these pieces of wood were repurposed from construction sites around Atlanta. “A stumpery is an intentional arrangement of woody material like old stumps and tree trunks. The goal of a stumpery is the creation of habitats especially for ferns and other shade-loving plants; secondarily comes the sense of accomplishment from the arrangements of the arresting architecture of the roots, or any other things that you can find on or in re-purposed wood.” - @rhodygarden. Stumperies also provide a perfect habitat for wildlife and mushrooms. #NationalPublicGardensWeek #OurGardensYourHome

A post shared by Trees Atlanta (@treesatlanta) on May 17, 2020 at 4:42pm PDT

“If you got a glimpse of the new Stumpery garden space, you probably wondered how all the stumps and trunks were arranged,” Trees Atlanta wrote on Instagram. “This is how we did it, thanks to the help of @royal_athens!”

Founded in 1985, Trees Atlanta works to protect and preserve the city’s forests through planting, conversation and education. With dedicated volunteers, Trees Atlanta serves the metro Atlanta area and has grown to become one of Atlanta’s most widely known and supported non-profit organizations, according to the organization’s website.

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