Nature sometimes creates very bizarre forms. Often, a lone stump or dried snags look surprisingly picturesque, reminding us of a fairy goof or other mysterious creatures. The art of creating a garden of roots - rutaria - is based on these properties of dried snags, roots and stumps. It is very easy to create a rutary with your own hands, it is enough to show imagination and turn on the imagination.
Search and preparation of materials
If there are large trees in your garden, there are always branches of an interesting shape after trimming them. If there is a huge old stump on the site, do not rush to uproot it, the stump can be so transformed that it becomes a central figure in your garden.
This decorative stump is well located on the road, the wood is processed and painted. A large stump area allows you to grow several types of flowering plants in the recess. Various plants are planted between the roots. This stump is an excellent decorative composition on the site
Rutarium is a new word for us, although people with creative imagination have long been creating decorative compositions from roots and stumps. The word is derived from English “root” - the root.
If there are no old stumps and trees on the site, you can go to the forest or to plant. Here you can always find snags, the remains of stumps, bark and large branches that are useful when creating a rutaria. When updating the park area or streets in the city, you can find excellent stumps, saw cuts, and logs.
After the materials for creating the rutaria are selected, it is advisable to process them. Dry wood does not belong to durable materials, a raw wood rutarium will retain strength and appearance for a maximum of 6-7 years. The selected components must be washed, rinsed with boiling water, where necessary - cleaned from dust, where necessary - sawn, joined or cut. The tree can be opened with varnish, treated with special impregnations, painted. But if you are satisfied with the service life of 7 years, it is enough to clean the tree from insects and dust and leave it in its natural form.
Rules for creating a good composition
Rutarias are created today both in apartments (mini-rutarii) and in summer cottages. Rutaria in the garden will transform your corner for relaxation, making it mysterious and more comfortable, it will go well with any style design that you have chosen for your garden. In order for the root garden to turn out successful, you need to take into account some rules and know something:
- Think about what you would like to create. Rutarium can consist only of dead parts of a tree; it does not look very joyful, but mysterious. If you use a combination of snags, stumps and fresh flowers and plants, you can create beautiful eye-pleasing compositions. Sometimes driftwood is so reminiscent of a figure of some animal or goblin that it is simply impossible not to finish this image.
- The advantages of rutaria are that each of them is unique. It is impossible to create identical gardens from snags, because there are no identical snags and stumps in nature.
- You can create a rutarium anywhere - for example, at a fence or on a veranda.
- You can create rutarium using only wood as the material, but you can use ceramics, forging elements, garden decor in the form of various figures, pebbles, artificial and natural stone. Dry wood and moss combine well.
More details can be found in the video:
3 main varieties of rutaria
Rutarium happens:
- Natural. In a rutary of this type, living and nonliving plants are used. This is the most beautiful and organic option that many choose.
- The simplest. Only snags and stumps are used here, but usually you still need to work on them. For example, you found a snag, which is very reminiscent of a forester, but for greater similarity, you need to trim and file it in some places, this process is similar to creating a sculpture.
- Decorative. In rutarias of this type, both living plants and figures made of wood are used, but the latter play the main role. For example, the focus will be a stump or driftwood of a bizarre shape, surrounded by modest plants, against which it will look more expressive. Or it will be a composition of several figures on the background of a green lawn, ivy twined with ivy, etc.
Below are illustrations of all three options.
Such a rutaria could be considered natural, but the wood is treated in a special way - the texture is emphasized, the wood is painted, so this option is rather decorative
But this option is almost untouched, as was intended by nature. For decor, the author decided to plant flowers directly in the center of the composition
An example of decorative rutaria. An interesting composition, in the center of which is an inverted treated root surrounded by various plants
Such a rutary can be done at a recreation area or playground. When creating, garden decor is used in the form of a gnome figurine, a wooden barrel, stones, a stump and wattle in the background
Where is the best place for your masterpiece?
We offer several options to choose from:
- At the entrance to the cottage. A stylish bright composition will make a good impression, where flowering plants and roots at the entrance to your site are combined.
- Near the recreation area. At a small pond or fountain, next to the arbor, the composition of the garden from the roots with garden decor will look good - gnomes, bright colors, funny animals.
- If you want to equip a mysterious corner in the garden, you can place a large root or fancy driftwood surrounded by green plants in the far corner of the fence. This may be an old stump, from the center of which flowers grow picturesquely.
Landscaping rutarium should ideally merge into a harmonious whole with your site and garden style.
In the far corner of the garden, you can place the figure of such a mysterious monster peeking out of the thicket. The snag is preserved in its natural form, the edges are slightly sawn, and a stone is used for the eye
Choosing the Right Plants
In combination with living plants, the composition will look brighter, more pleasing to the eye. Plants should not be particularly lush, with luxurious flowers, because the main emphasis is on figures made of wood. One of the most successful decisions is to make something like a flower pot out of a stump or log. It is easy if the wood is rotting. It is necessary to remove the core, process the tree and fill the vacant place with earth. In such a peculiar capacity, fern, modest vinca flowers and chamomiles will grow and look good. Cornflowers, phloxes, petunia and Chernobrivtsi are unpretentious and will also look harmonious in rutaria.
Ferns and ivy look spectacular against the background of gray dry wood, make the rutarium picturesque. You can use pieces of lawn, moss, combine them with a stone. Plants in rutaria can be changed at your discretion, this is real creativity.
In a single composition, sometimes bright flowers look good
A figurine of a cute goblin with glass eyes against a background of fern is an example of a simple rutaria. The driftwood has undergone a little processing, good material for the eyes has been selected - and the composition is ready
It’s very pleasant to work on creating a root garden, and the finished creation of your own hands will delight you even more.
