The Riehl Stumpery, on Vashon Island

The Riehl Stumpery, on Vashon Island, Washington, is someplace I have long wanted to visit. I finally got the chance to see it in person on June 22, part of a Hardy Fern Foundation tour. Emily Joseph was my partner in crime for the day and we arrived at the Riehl garden a bit before the rest of the folks touring. That gave us a great chance to chat with Walt Riehl and look around a bit before we got started. 

Walt said I was the first person to call Tanuki by name, I don't know how that's possible, he's an icon!

Pat Riehl, Walt's deceased wife, who had the vision for the stumpery, was a devotee of Japanese plants and culture. I know Tanuki only because Andrew lived in Japan for a year prior to our dating. He brought a small Tanuki statue back when he returned to the States.

Walt and Pat's home and plantings around it...

 

I've seen this style of metal fern bench in books on the Victorian fern craze, fun to see it in person.

The main attraction was just beyond the gate...

And we're in!

A new baby tree fern (Dicksonia antarctica) waiting to be planted.

A small rock garden near the staircase down into the ravine and stumpery.

If you know me, then you know I do not do guided tours. I long to break free and see what I want to see, which is rarely what we're told to see. It's a testament to the pull of this garden and its maker that I managed to stay in line as we slowly worked our way down the stairs into the ravine.

Of course the fact there were ferns, especially pyrrosia, surrounding us as we descended the steps helped to calm and ground me.

Looking down, that's Walt in the green cap at the front of the group. I wasn't able to hear everything he said, but I could hear his passion for keeping the garden going and in doing so honoring the memory of his wife Pat.

Still on the stairs, working our way down into the garden.

Pyrrosia!

I love the simple metal stands for the potted pyrrosia collection, I'd could use a few of these for my garden.

I had time to appreciate the staircase railing too. Simple...

But sturdy.

Not only were Emily and I the first to arrive at the garden, but we also hung back, after the others left. Thus I was able to go through the stumpery a second time, and get a photo of the stars without people. Looking down... 

Looking up...

This strange bottle shaped tree fern was at the bottom of the steps. 

As was this nice metal fern table.

This stump "tunnel" marks the entrance to the stumpery proper...

Looking up

And to the side...

Here's a bit about the stumpery in Walt's voice from the Garden Conservancy Open Day's listing: "My former wife, Pat Riehl, created this garden in 2010 with the help of British fern expert Martin Rickard. The idea of using stumps as a major garden element was first used in mid- nineteenth-century England. Stumps are removed from the ground, arranged either on their side or upside-down. Areas around them are planted with ferns or other shade-loving plants. There are 250 stumps arranged in a 10,000-square-foot area. There is a stump tunnel and a stump grotto. You will walk down a set of stairs and go through the tunnel. Douglas fir tower overhead, and thirteen tree ferns on either side of the pathway. There are two fern tables, a fern chair, and a fern bench to engage your eye. It is a MAGICAL PLACE." That it is.

Here's another page with information, this a reposting of something Valerie Easton wrote for the Seattle Times.

And here's the sad truth I've learned in trying to share the magic of this place. You can't.

The repetition of the stumps and thirteen tall, trunking Dicksonia antarctica just doesn't seem as amazing in photos as it does in real life. 

You really had to be there to appreciate it.

Stump with plantings...

Here the group paused next to the second metal fern table so Walt could talk us through the way the tree ferns are protected each winter. It's a big undertaking for sure, but if you're wondering, Vashon Island doesn't get nearly as cold as Portland. The coldest winter temperature I found online was 29F. Of course the cool probably settles in the ravine, I wish I could remember what Walt said about temperature.

A closer look at that fern table.

And a fern mash-up with another metal Victorian bench.

Woodwardia and Selaginella.

These tree ferns towered over us as we walked past them, Of course we were down at the bottom of the ravine, but at over 16 years in the ground, and already trunking when planted, they are all beefy specimens.

Podophyllum

Honestly I wanted to plant more ferns on most of the stumps. I'm a natural born cramscaper and felt they were seriously under planted.

Two of the smaller Dicksonia antarctica.

Back up near the house I had to walk down and get a close-up of the watering can tree. Thank you to Walt Riehl for welcoming us into your garden, and to the Hardy Fern Foundation for organizing the tour. I'm dreaming of tall tree ferns!

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All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.