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romanticintentions

Photographer Claire Takacs captures the centuries-old Victorian pastime of stumpery

gardening in her debut, DreamscapesCOMPILED BY HEIDI BERTISH PHOTOGRAPHS CLAIRE TAKACS

PAT AND WALTER RIEHL’S STUMPERY GARDEN ON

VASHON ISLAND, OFF THE US WEST COAST, IS

A PALETTE OF EMERALD HUES. AUSTRALIAN TREE FERNS,

DICKSONIA ANTARCTICA AND RHODODENDRONS FRINGE THE

PATH THAT LEADS ONE ALONG AND DOWN INTO THE GARDEN

OPPOSITE PAGE EMERALD GREEN FERNS AND NATURALLY

OCCURRING MOSSES COLONISE A COLLECTION OF SALVAGED

DOUGLAS FIR TREE STUMPS

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he idea of stumperies is rooted in the 19th-century British Romantic Movement that hyperbolised the beauty of nature. Pat and Walter Riehl’s new stumpery on Vashon Island is a hidden forest of native tree stumps brimming with emerald ferns, mosses and lichens planted in homage to this romanticism. Inspired by visiting European ferneries and stumperies with British fern expert Martin Rickard, as well as the secret stumpery created by Prince Charles at his Highgrove Estate, the Riehls have spent the past few years clearing their 110-square-metre shaded ravine of nettles and thistles to make way for a collection of around 175 Madrone and Douglas Fir Tree stumps bejewelled in some of their favourite fern varieties such as Blechnum, Adiantum, Polypodium and Dryopteris, to name but a few. The result – the largest stumpery in the United States.

‘As you access the garden through the pergola, which is piled high with stumps on all sides, you enter another world,’ says Claire Takacs of her experience of photographing this enchanting space. As the collection of native tree stumps slowly decompose, they provide wondrous sculptural interest and have become home to a multitude of plants, birds and insects. Colour is kept to a minimum – the only flowers being Epimedium in the form of ground cover. This restraint adds to the peaceful nature of a space planted with a great diversity of rare and unusual ferns. Moss softens the woodland garden naturally and Pat’s pride and joy are the south-eastern Australian tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica. n This is an edited extract from Dreamscapes by Claire Takacs, published by Hardie Grant Books. It is available from 8 amazon.com or 8 loot.co.za

WINDING DEEPER INTO THE WOODED RAVINE, ONE IS INCREASINGLY ENGULFED IN THE ARCHING FRONDS OF DICKSONIA ANTARCTICA, PAT’S FAVOURITE PLANT, AND THE GARGANTUAN CANOPY OF LOCAL FIR AND CEDAR TREES

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1. Adiantum venustum is a Himalayan maidenhair ‘ground cover’ fern that

thrives in the harshest of winters and Asarum splendens (Chinese Wild Ginger) is a deciduous perennial that flowers in

late winter followed by speckled metallic-like foliage in early spring.

2. Adiantum venustum. An evergreen maidenhair fern native to China and the

Himalayas. A good spreading ground cover, ‘but not a thug’, says Pat.

3. Beesia deltophylla, an evergreen perennial that thrives in bright shade and

develops delicate, white flowers on tall stalks. Added bonus – it self-seeds.

4. A tree stump encrusted with naturally occurring moss.

5. Athyrium niponicum var. pictum ‘Ursula’s Red’. The Japanese Painted Fern

has arching triangular leaves of silver, flushed with wine red down the middle

during the spring months. 6. Asplenium trichomanes. One of Pat’s

all-time favourites and a tough evergreen fern. A compact plant forming a rosette of black-stemmed fronds suited to planting in

a dry wall, rocky soil or on stumps. 7. Saxifraga fortunei ‘Silver Velvet’ is

a deciduous perennial that does best in partial to full shade with pretty pink flowers in autumn. ‘It thrives in moist but well-drained soil and does well in

a pot,’ says Pat.

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Pat Riehl’s Favourite

Garden Ferns

A DEEP GULLY WITHIN THE RAVINE WHERE MADRONE AND DOUGLAS

FIR TREE STUMPS HAVE BECOME THE SHADY HOME TO FROGS, INSECTS AND

A MULTITUDE OF LOCAL BIRD LIFE

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IN THE USA The Victorian Stumpery at the

Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Washington is one of the largest public stumperies, with over 140 stumps and logs. 8 rhodygarden.orgIN THE UK

The stumpery at Biddulph Grange, Staffordshire. Built in the 1850s, it’s believed to be the first stumpery ever created. 8 nationaltrust.org.uk

A recent addition to the Burnby Hall Gardens in Yorkshire, inspired by Prince Charles’ stumpery on his Highgrove Estate. 8 burnbyhallgardens.com

HRH Prince Charles’ garden at Highgrove, in Gloucestershire, is the largest stumpery in the UK. It was designed by Julian and Isabel Bannerman. 8 highgrovegardens.com

Ickworth Stumpery, in Suffolk, is part of a larger, Italianate-style garden. It boasts stumps uprooted during the Second World War. 8 nationaltrust.org.uk

Garden Book of the Month Dreamscapes is an exciting collection of 69 of the world’s most iconic private and public gardens, from Australia to the UK. It is a mesmerising journey seen through the lens of Claire Takacs, complete with personal anecdotes and insight into the horticultural world.

Stumperiesto Visit

‘AS YOU ACCESS THE GARDEN THROUGH THE PERGOLA PILED HIGH WITH STUMPS ON ALL SIDES, YOU ENTER ANOTHER WORLD,’ SAYS CLAIRE TAKACS OF HER EXPERIENCE PHOTOGRAPHING THIS ENCHANTING SPACE

OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP THE RIEHLS’ HOUSE AS GLIMPSED THROUGH THEIR WOODLAND STUMPERY GARDEN; THE PATHWAY INTO THE STUMPERY GARDEN; ONE OF 175 MADRONE AND DOUGLAS FIR TREE STUMPS ENCRUSTED IN SOME OF THE RIEHLS’ FAVOURITE FERN VARIETIES; SPECIALITY FERNS AND HOSTAS THRIVE IN POTS CLOSER TO THE HOME