One of the fastest ways to create an eyesore in your yard is to cut down a tree. While no one really wants to cut down trees, it’s sometimes a necessity.
You’re then left with a tree stump that can be expensive to remove. An alternative to paying for tree stump removal is to create a planter. If this idea appeals to you, check out the tree stump planter ideas other people have created. You may find something that works in your garden.
You’ll discover that you can use tree stumps and logs to plant things you may not have thought were possible.
For the best results, follow the same rules for plants and shrubs that are suggested for planting in any garden. Some plants do best in full sun, while others thrive in shady areas.
Every plant still needs the proper soil, root system, fertilizer, and a source of water.
To make a proper stump planter, your stump should be at least 16 inches tall and 10 inches wide. You’ll have to hollow out the middle.
Depending on the type of plants you’d like to use, drilling to add drainage holes may be necessary.
1. Introduce a Contrasting Color to Your Garden
Add colorful plants in the center like Flirt Nandina, Red Twig Dogwood, or Coleus.
The tree trunk will provide moisture and nutrients as it decomposes.
2. Fill out a Planter With Hanging Baskets
Petunias work well in hanging baskets. The homeowner created a lush hanging garden by securing a planter of petunias on top of a large tree stump and dropping a hanging basket on each side.
3. Keep Fungi for Color and Texture
If you like Marigolds but you live in a warmer climate, try Mexican Marigolds.
This small shrub will do just fine in warm regions. Another option that’s similar is Common Chinchweed. Both plants have uses in the kitchen.
The fungi add character.
4. Aging Stumps Fuel Trailing Flowers
Flowers that do well in hanging baskets will usually work in tree stumps. A trailing plant like Begonia Firewings will fill out and add a ton of color.
They’re a hearty plant whose trails will extend 15 to 20 inches long.
5. Bouquet of Petunias in Three Stump
A circle of brick edging encircles an area that was the home of a large tree with multiple stumps.
Each stump was treated as a separate planter for different colors of petunias.
6. Tree Stumps Are Perfect Home for Succulents
Succulents thrive in loose soil and can work well on an old tree stump. This stump looks like it has been moved from its original space.
Plant low-growing succulents like the flowering October Daphne Stonecrop.
7. Old Favorites Work in Tree Stumps
Add flowers like Begonias, Nasturtiums, and violets around the base.
It creates a nice transition between the lawn and the stump.
8. Add Flowers to Base of Tree Stump
If you want to fill out your tree stump with purple flowers, try Calibrachoa Superbells Lavender or Summer Wave Blue Torenia.
Dwarf Caladium bulbs planted at the base are thriving here, too.
9. Turn a Tree Stump Into a Small Bog
If you live in an area with a high yearly rainfall, create a miniature bog garden using ferns and trailing perennials like Swingtime Fuchsia and Lobelia.
10. Tulips Stand Tall in Tree Stump
Plant tulips in your tree stump and you’ll have a bouquet greeting you every morning.
11. Build Fairies a New Home
You don’t have to carve a house in your small stump. Use miniatures from a hobby shop to create your dream land.
Extend a wonderland around the stump with a picket fence. This will save your lawnmower’s blade from hitting any exposed roots.
via The Magic Onions
12. Two Stumps Bring Double the Fun
Two trees that were growing too close together have become a tree garden.
Experiment with different plants and colors. The soil will become rich with nutrients as these roots decompose.
13. Add Colorful Fungi to Tree Stump Planter
The tree stump of an oak is a perfect starting point for cultivating Chicken-of-the-Woods fungi.
The top can still be used as a planter for your favorite flowers, like these tulips.
14. Remove Outer Bark From Stumps
The advantage of using logs is you can move them around like regular planters, adding color and plants anywhere in your garden. When using logs, strip off the outside bark. It’s loose and most of it will come off without much effort.
Both tree stumps and logs can be used to plant anything from succulents like Tricolor Jade to ground cover like Hosta.
15. Tree Stump Looks Like a Broken Bowl
The beauty of using a stump is that it never looks broken. Plus, you can add beautiful color the same year you cut down the tree.
One cluster of Easy Wave Burgundy Star Petunias, planted in a stump, stands proudly in the middle of a flower bed.
16. A Buffet for Pollinators
Coppertips or Crocosmia can be grown in tree stumps. They’ll thrive in full or partial sun. Choose a red variety like Lucifer or Fire King.
Their red blossoms make them a magnet for pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies.
17. Mix Sweet Potato Vines With Flowers
Marguerite Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine brings a lot of greenery back to an oak tree stump.
18. Garden Stump Beautifies Landscape
Over time, a stump that’s been used as a planter will turn into a focal point in your garden.
Ornamental grass looks like a crown on a stump that’s been cultivated for several years.
via Lowe’s
19. Make Your Tree Stump Portable
This stump was stripped of its outer bark. It’s ready to go anywhere.
Purple Phlox looks great when paired up with a yellow flower like Dahlias or Pleniflora.
20. Palm Trees Make Great Planters
A felled tree was cut into three logs, bored out, and used as planters.
You can plant anything in logs like the ones shown here with peppers and herbs like basil and rosemary.
via The Crafty Tulip
21. Low Stump With Pansy Collection
A collection of pansies creates a rainbow of beauty in a large stump.
22. Tree Stump Bouquet of Marigolds
Marigolds bring much needed color to this gray stump. Choose a flower that can handle a little crowding.
23. Try Purple Tulips in a Stump
Tulips are ideal for pots and containers. Just a few tulips planted in this small tree stump add delicate beauty in this yard.
24. Petrified Tree Stump Planter
Tiny flowers and foliage add a little fun to this petrified stump that’s embedded in a walkway.
via Ken Jobro
25. Sealing Stump Extends Its Usefulness
The outer bark of a tree easily breaks off after it’s been cut. Decomposition starts immediately.
Adding two to three coats of polyurethane protects this tree stump, making it a permanent lawn fixture.
26. Flowering Ground Cover Becomes Trailing Foliage
Flowering ground cover like this Creeping Thyme can thrive in a tree stump.
They follow their natural tendency to expand, creating a waterfall of color.
27. A Home for Elves and Plants
People are getting very creative by creating tiny trolls and fairy homes out of tree stumps in their gardens.
It continues to be one of the most popular tree stump planter ideas. If you don’t have a tree stump in your yard, you can always buy one.
This planter is made from hand-cast concrete. Cap it with a spike moss Selaginella, which is a relative of the fern family.
28. Whitewash an Old Stump
Little Quick Fire Hydrangeas run wild in and around this old tree stump.
29. Decorate With Driftwood and Red Flowers
This stump got a beauty makeover when flowers and driftwood were added to its base. You’ll get amazing results when you combine the petrified driftwood with red flowers.
Choose a red petunia like Supertunia Black Cherry or Surfinia Red.
30. Plant a Wildflower Garden
If you love wildflowers but are afraid they’ll take over your yard, a tree stump will contain the root system. Angelonia and Gazanias will work in warm climates.
