A Newport resident’s handmade tree stump planters have brought a splash of colour to Bert Payne Park, with three installed as a trial and three more ready to be added.
Handmade Planters Brighten Bert Payne Park
Patsy Fry has spent months turning recycled tree stumps into flower planters as part of a simple idea to bring more colour to Newport.
The planters were made from a felled tree that was saved and cut into sections. Fry then hollowed out six stumps by hand, sealed them, added drainage and prepared them with soil so they could hold flowers.
Her aim is to make Newport feel brighter and more welcoming, particularly around the town centre and Bert Payne Park on Barrenjoey Road.
The first three stump planters have already been installed at Bert Payne Park. They now form the start of what Fry hopes will become a fuller flowering display in the suburb.
Three Installed As Part of Trial
Northern Beaches Council supported the installation of the first three planters as a trial.
Contractors fixed the stumps into place using rods and concrete, with the work costing $1500. Under the arrangement, plants were to be supplied by the community, while the ongoing maintenance was not to be covered at council cost.
Fry has said she is willing to look after the flowers herself.
Three more stump planters have already been prepared, and Fry has sought to have them installed on the other side of the Bert Payne Park sign. Plants for those remaining stumps have been supplied by Johnson Bros Mitre 10.
Council has confirmed the first three stumps were installed as a trial, but said no further work at the site had been arranged or agreed to. It has also said it does not support installing more stumps at the location.
Idea First Raised with Newport Residents
The stump planter idea was raised before the current installation.
At a Newport Residents Association meeting on 19 March 2024, Fry presented the proposal to use recycled tree stumps as flower planters. The idea included placing them near the Bert Payne Park sign as a welcoming feature for Newport.
The meeting also discussed whether the project could proceed as a prototype, with support from the Newport Residents Association and Newport Chamber of Commerce identified as a possible step towards seeking grant funding.
At that stage, the placement of logs and planters in the park was not supported.
Three More Still Waiting
For now, the project remains half complete.
Three of the six handmade planters are in place at Bert Payne Park, while the remaining three are ready but have not been installed.
For Fry, the plan is a practical way to add flowers and colour to a well-known Newport spot. For Northern Beaches Council, the work so far remains limited to the original three-planter trial.
The result is a small local beautification project that has already changed part of Bert Payne Park, while leaving open the question of whether the full set of flowering stumps will ever be installed.
Published 15-June-2026
