When we moved into this house, there were way too many trees and bushes in the backyard and at the side of the house. We took a whole bunch out last winter and gained a whole lot of useable yard area. I begged DH not to cut down these two pine trees all the way, but to leave a couple tall stumps for our hammock. The kids love it, and it gets lots of use. So another summer has gone by and we know we will keep using the hammock and want to keep these stumps. Is there anything I could do with them to dress them up a bit? Make them look less... stumpy? :rolleyes: I don't really want to get a stand for the hammock because it will make marks on the grass and have to be moved around for mowing. This is the perfect shady location and I would just like to make these stumps look less like a mistake, and more like an on purpose design decision - maybe something unique and fun.
Any ideas???
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Hello Bizzymumma,
You may want to check out some of our recent gardening galleries for some inspiration:
Photo Gallery: Gorgeous Gardens
Photo Gallery: Tropical-Inspired Outdoor Spaces
Photo Gallery: Easy To Grow Plants & Blooms
Good luck with the backyard!
Gwen McAuley (gmcauley at hhmedia.com)
Hi there,
Just realized this was an old post but hey...I just couldn't resist. Something fun to do with those old trees/hammock situation. I'm sure there are others that struggle with this similar issue...create a "beach zone" border with stone or wood and fill with sand, add a large bucket beside the hammock for ice to cool those bottles of beer/pop....the mock up shows what to do with those ugly stumps.
Totem poles, Kimosabe lol
I'd avoid any real bird houses - you might not get any peace if you have feathered neighbours thinking it is their space. Also cats could attack them there.
Rather than clay, consider finding some resin products. Even in your climate clay needs to come inside for the winter.
You have a terrific space.
you guys are awesome - lots of ideas! I think I will pursue the carving idea... wouldn't that be cool to have the top half of each stump to be carved like a total pole? We know someone who carves totem poles too! :) I never would have thought of that! If that doesn't work out, I like the idea of cutting them a bit shorter and maybe putting hanging basket brackets on them or something. and maybe a birdhouse on top of each?
I don't really want to plant something climbing because I want something neat and tidy and low maintenance.
On the other side of the yard is our pool and we are redoing the pool shed with an outdoor kitchen next summer, so although that tiki hut is adorable, it wouldn't really work on that side of the yard.
Thanks so much for all the input! :)
I think you should just go with the stump/log theme. How about something else on the rustic side like some other stumps to sit on nearby or a nice log bench? Maybe some shorter stumps for resting drinks when one is on the hammock? Whatever you can do to make that area seem like you did it all on purpose and those stumps were very deliberate.
If you know someone who could carve,,,what about totem poles?
My first thought was to plant a climbing something at the base of the tree stump and let it grow up and around it although this could attract bugs, bees, etc, while you are laying in the hammock.
Another suggestion is to cut it down to just above where you tie off the hammock so the stump is not so tall and then it would look more like stands for a hammock.
Another suggestion (leaving it tall or cutting it shorter) is to attach birdhouses all over it. You might have to attach brackets of some sort first like we did on the 6x6 post so the houses could hang down or sit on top of the bracket and/or attach them directly to the stump. We have done this with a 6 x 6 post that holds our satelite dish and this way it hides the unsightlyness of the dish. On top of ours is a old vent that was on top of the barn when we bought this place. DH fixed it up and we painted it and stuck it on top but you could also cut your stump on 2 angles to resemble a house roof and then attach some metal sheeting/siding or even old shingles. I am putting in some pictures for examples of both our satelite dish and an old stump that we made look like a bird house and have now got bird houses around it on a live tree. Every year, I go around on the live tree and loosen off the screws so the tree does not grow around them. ( I realize that your trees are dead and will not grow around the screws but wanted other people to understand this)
One more suggestion is to get a chain saw carver to make it look like something i.e. a skinny bear, a snake or. . .
try something nautical and wrap a really, really big rope around it and put a couple of solar lights on top.
Hope this helps get the creative juices flowing!:D
Tiki Hut is exactly what I thought of too.
Or you could hollow out some of the stump and plant some trailing annuals - might be a pain to water.
Going 'tiki' as nana 24 mentioned is a fun idea. I googled "tiki hut' and got a few ideas. Here's one site with a DIY example:
[url]http://www.ehow.com/how_4607132_tiki-hut-luau.html[/url]
I was thinking if you went with something like this, you'd probably need to determine if there is any movement of the stumps when the hammock is in use. I wouldn't construct something out of lumber necessarily, due to the weight. How heavy are big bamboo sticks from the garden store? A cover would have a nicer 'tiki' feel if bamboo instead of lumber was in view from underneath when one is in the hammock.
Maybe you could fashion a base for the structure with 3 long (hollow) bamboo pieces that are a good length to run between the stumps. Then using 6 pieces of the same bamboo in 2-foot lengths, make two triangles. Join these two triangles by connecting all points with the 3 longer lengths of bamboo. I'm thinking you could run a length of rope through the long piece that makes for the top of the peak, and use ends of rope to secure to a large hook in each of the stumps. (you could wrap additional length of rope around the stumps and tie for extra security) All that's left is to find some kind of woven material to cover it with, and maybe some grassy stuff from a party store to dress it up.
I've included a few inspiration pictures I've found.
Lovely garden. The first thing that comes to my mind is make them look like palm trees. I've really no idea how you would do this but I'm thinking Caribbean tikki hut kinda thingy. You realize your DH will probably wish you never asked the question of the forum. LOL