Why are 3 trees planted upside down at Fredericton Botanic Garden?

Upside-down ash trees stand in the Fredericton Botanic Garden after being attacked and dug up during the spread of the emerald ash borer. (Ian Curran/CBC)Social SharingAt the Fredericton Botanic Garden, visitors may expect to find trees planted firmly in the ground.

Instead, three ash trees are standing upside down.

The unusual installation, known as the Stumpery, has become one of the garden’s most popular spots for photos and selfies, despite starting as little more than a joke.

The trees were among 14 ash trees the garden at the west end of Odell Park had to remove after they were infected by the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that attacks trees.

The garden wanted to make sure the trees were not simply wasted, said Linda Stephenson, executive director of the Fredericton Botanic Garden.

“Some of the trees were cut up into firewood that was given to people that could benefit from it,” Stephenson said. “Some have gone to a mill to be planed to make benches in the park.”

Three of the trees, each about 14 feet tall, were turned into the Stumpery.

Stephenson said volunteers Eldon Toner and Matt Forlot had heard about stumperies before and decided to create one at the garden.

Then Toner suggested taking the idea a step further.

“Why did we turn it upside down? I have no idea,” Toner said. “We just did it for a joke.”

The joke has attracted considerably more attention than Toner expected.

Stephenson said people have stopped at the garden’s resource centre to talk about the installation, while photos of it have circulated on social media.

“It’s become the selfie site in the garden,” she said.

Some visitors see more than just an unusual photo opportunity.

Liam Jackson, a Fredericton resident who visited the Stumpery, said he liked the idea of giving the diseased trees a second purpose.

“If these were sick trees, now they’ve got a second life,” he said.

Stephenson said people have also interpreted the installation as an art piece, although she said there is no single meaning behind it.

“Since none of us really know what the meaning of it is, I think that’s sort of neat, that it means something different to different people,” she said.

For Toner, the artistic interpretation was not part of the original plan.

He said he was working nearby when he overheard visitors discussing the upside-down trees and suggesting the garden had an artist in residence.

“They noticed me and they just asked me a few questions about it and who thought of this,” he said. “And I said, well, you’re looking at him.”

While the Stumpery is playful, the problem that created it is serious.

The emerald ash borer has killed millions of trees across Canada since its arrival in the country was confirmed almost 25 years ago.

Toner estimates there are between 500 and 600 ash trees on the 56-acre garden property. He expects many could eventually have to be removed because of the beetle, which was first detected in the city in 2021.

“In the next 10 years, they’re either going to be falling down in the woods or cut down for safety reasons,” he said.

Stephenson said the garden is already seeing more ash trees affected by the insect and expects managing them to be a continuing challenge.

The garden plans to give the Stumpery another transformation next spring, adding flowers and vines around the trees.

Stephenson encourages people to visit the garden and see the installation for themselves.

The garden is open until dusk and there is no admission charge. 

Polina Kozlova is a journalist based in Fredericton. You can contact her with story ideas at polina.kozlova@cbc.ca .