Stumperies, Faeries and Forests 

This is a Stumpery odyssey: a personal take on the garden style that uses tree stumps, roots and branches to create striking architectural features in mossy dells and ferny woodland landscapes. Stumperies emerged in the Victorian era as the fern craze took off, and as the increasingly urbanised and industrialised society seemed driven to reconnect with the wildness of the woodland landscape in a safe and contained way. Stumperies also seem intertwined with the prolific fantasy and fairy folklore of the Victorian era, which often associated magic and supernatural beings with trees, woods and forests … No fairies were harmed in the making of this video!
Images include the stumpery at Ickworth in Suffolk, a relatively recent, atmospheric creation that has evolved over the past 20 years, as well as footage of the fernery at Ightham Mote in Kent. Famous UK stumperies on our visit wish-list include the earliest known ‘root garden’ at Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire, and the landscapes it inspired at Highgrove, Gloucestershire, garden of HRH the Prince of Wales, and RHS Garden Rosemoor in Devon.