Get Thee to a Stumpery

In Yonkers, a mysterious garden where they plant trees upside-down

Stone benches and upside-down trees at The Stumpery, Untermyer Gardens, Yonkers, New York.

It’s either a fantastical garden, or a secret Ent graveyard. (Ents are giant, tree-like creatures—shepherds of the forest—in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.)

The Stumpery can be found in Untermyer Gardens. Samuel Untermyer was one of New York’s most successful lawyers and an early foe of Hitler. He and his wife, Minnie, began creating lavish gardens surrounding their estate in Yonkers, New York in 1916. The property overlooks the Hudson River and Palisades.

After Untermyer’s death in 1940, it was given to Yonkers. It fell into near-complete disrepair—the serial killer “Son of Sam” supposedly hung out there—and has been undergoing a spectacular restoration since 2011.

I happened upon The Stumpery while on a long walk. There is an entrance to Untermyer off the Old Croton Aqueduct trail. Usually, I enter and go directly to the Vista stairs for exercise, but I had heard about a winding, shaded path to the Walled Garden (and its drinking fountain) and wanted to check it out.

I turned a corner and found myself in Middle Earth.

Someone had planted trees upside down, with the roots on top.

A massive stone bench was decorated with sculpted flowers.

There was a woodland hut, where surely a forest sprite—or perhaps a troll—lives.

There were even unique stone “cairns” placed along the paths.

One of them integrated tiles from earlier Untermyer restorations, I assume, perhaps the Temple of the Sky or the Persian Pool.

And stumps, stumps, stumps…

… a sacred stump glade, surrounding an ivy-covered conifer shard…

… near a stump-encircled fountain.

The Stumpery is a new garden at Untermyer, and it’s just getting started, really. “Water features and abundant ferns” will be added over the next several years. And eventually, there will be seven to nine cairns.

There aren’t many stumpery gardens today, but they were popular in Victorian times.

King Charles II has one at his Highgrove Estate.

According to Wikipedia, he built it from “sweet chestnut roots, held in place by steel bars,” and it “provides a home for organically grown ferns, hellebores, and hostas.”

There is a 9,000-square-foot stumpery on Vashon Island, Washington, with 95 stumps. And at least one stumpery in France and Italy.

In none of the stumpery videos I’ve seen have I come across upside-down trees. They are so dramatic, turning the possibilities of an environment upside down, too. What a place to sit, on that exquisite stone bench, to nurture topsy-turvy thoughts.

We have Head Gardener Timothy Tilghman and his team to thank for this stunning and, to me anyway, eccentric space. In this YouTube video, Tilghman credits Iris Dudman for her financial support and enthusiasm for the idea. And applauds the Yonkers high school interns who continue to help create it.

Lionsgate Studios donated and transported many of the stumps from its nearby construction project, spotted by Untermyer President Stephen Byrns. Perhaps movie makers appreciate the storytelling quality of a stump garden.

I have been to the Untermyer Stumpery three times this past week. As it’s a little hidden away, I’ve had it mostly to myself, and I’ve almost begun to feel ownership over it.

But you should definitely come have a look.

Like Charles, I am happy to welcome others to visit my Stumpery.

Keep an eye out for Ents.