Parasite

Knowing that we had managed to kill our beautiful palm tree, we had to decide what to with the remains.

As the front of the house still needed a feature, Ed had the idea of hollowing out the remaining stump, and planting something else inside it.

This was a big, messy job. The chainsaw was certainly the tool for the job, but as a palm tree isn't normal wood, but a strange fibrous substance, Ed looked like a flour grader when he had finished. There were tiny bits of fibre everywhere.

Once the trunk had been hollowed out, we had to use a whole bag of compost to fill it back in! We then planted a pampas grass in the stump. This could grow to up to 2 meters, which will be a lovely replacement for the lost palm. It will obviously take a while to get to that size, but in the meantime, it looks quite nice with the wispy blades fluttering in the breeze. It will barely need watering, as the trunk of the palm is still very wet inside. In time, the roots will find their way down inside the palm, and it will be totally self sufficient. As the palm slowly rots away, there will be a mature plant in it's place.