Avoiding Common Tree Mistakes

Covering Up A Stump With A Flower Garden After You Cut Down A Tree

29 February 2016 by Chiara Brun

If you have recently cut down a tree in your yard, you may be unsure of what to do with the leftover stump sticking out of the ground. If so, one way to lessen its visual impact on your landscape is to cover it with a gorgeous, colorful flower garden using the two steps below.

Step 1:  Cover The Stump With Dirt

The first step in creating your flower garden is to create a base for it by covering the stump with dirt. There are two ways you can achieve this, with the first being to simply mound dirt up and around the stump. Using this method, there will be no border around the flower garden, making it slightly more difficult to cut or trim the grass around it without spreading dirt everywhere.

The second method is to create a wooden border using two-by-four boards. You can create a square by cutting four boards the same size, depending on the width you wish the border to be. Place the boards on their skinny edge, then nail or screw the ends together to form the square. Fill the space between them with dirt, mounding it up towards the center of the stump.

Pack down the dirt slightly to prevent future settling, then refill with loose dirt until you have reached the desired height. Then, go on to the next step.

Step 2:  Plant Flowers With Shallow Roots

In this next step, you will be planting flowers that have shallow roots. Using plants with a shallow root system ensures that they will no grow into the ground under the flower bed, in case you decide to remove the stump permanently.

For example, most annuals such as impatiens and petunias have shallow roots and add a splash of color, camouflaging the stump with their beauty. You could plant these towards the center of the stump to act as a centerpiece. Then, use sweet alyssum for the borders. This annual not only has a shallow root system, but it is also a ground cover that spreads fairly quickly to cover the outside edge of the mound.

Covering the stump with a flower garden is just one way to take temporarily take care of the stump in your yard. However, if you decide you want it completely gone, you may want to contact a tree stump removal service, like Dubois Tree & Land Management LLC, to discuss your options for permanently getting rid of the potential eyesore.

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